Review The Highlander Restaurant - Clarens

The BEST Anchovy pizza I have ever had in my life! Cold night but warm restaurant with central fire. Oxtail soup & homemade bun. Enjoyed our evening. (Suggestions: we weren’t told about the specials, had to ask. Apple pie was served cold on a winter night should be warm)

The pizza's were delicious , and their beverages were okay. It's quite a little place.

Haven't been here for years but it was a pleasant surprise to see that it's still one of the best place for pizza 🍕 and oxtail. Loved it

Really enjoyed our food here. Had trout, and it was better than expected. A bonus was the 'half price' special for drinks between 5.30-6.30 The service was also excellent!

My rump was great but we're not a fan of the pizza bases. My seven year old is a bit of a pizza connoisseur and she felt it could be better but then tastes do differ, however another member of the party felt the same. For the rest we felt that the staff were friendly and helpful and service was fast and efficient. There's a lovely view and next time we'll have to test the bar which looked inviting.

What a super meal we had. Roast duck pie, pizzas & eisbein were all excellent. Service brilliant and ambience lovely. The only thing that could have been better was the creme brulee

Garlic snails and fillet to die for! Unfortunately lacking a bit on the vegan side - my sister had to have chips and cheese sauce as the nachos left a lot to be desired for. Lovely atmosphere with the roaring fire. Oh, and try the fancy bar outside. A lovely experience.

Springbok carpaccio and snails for starters and loved it... Fillet with chillie chocolate sauce and chicken and prawn curry for mains... can't even describe how delicious the mains were... so much flavour, so many friendly faces... definitely the place to be!

Very affordable and absolutely delicious. They went the extra mile to provide vegetarian options for my partner. Bread was deliciously sweet and homemade. Could not believe how cheap it was for what we received!

What a great experience we had at this restaurant. For the pork lovers, you have to try their eisbein, you will be sold for life. Good service from the staff, limited but excellent cocktails available. Pitta bread with feta cheese, curry chicken salad and the butternut salad are excellent choices. Excellent job guys, we will be back.

Food was top notch. Everything served was fantastic. Gin on tap was also great- we tried all of the flavours. Raspberry and blueberry are a must have.

Okay… winter in Clarens with food to die for. Nothing better. Wasn’t sure what to expect as we read some negative comments first but thought we would give them the benefit of the doubt… and were not disappointed. Oxtail and Lamb cutlets. Mmmmm

I first ate here 10 years ago, and was super impressed with pizza's. To eat here again after so long, and too find the food just as delicious is a sign of a quality restaurant. The staff are also very attentive and friendly.

Always a pleasure dining here. Great food and excellent service, I am happy to tip both the chef and waiter. I enjoyed quite possibly the best T-bone steak I've ever had tonight at this restaurant. It was perfect.

Definitely the best place to have a Cocktail or two, fantastic meals and wonderful accommodation that our friends that were with us, had booked into. Friendly staff, top class food and a great location in Clarens.

A chi BBC hi hi JHB hi nvm BBC b BBC Hugh h

We spent a few days in Clarens over the festive Season and decided to try out the Highlander for lunch on one of the days. The Chicken and Mushroom Pizza was definitely a winner...crammed full of toppings and cheese. Would definitely recommend this pizza, and it also wasn't too badly priced.<br/>The Manager and the staff were very friendly and made the experience worthwhile.<br/>Will definitely be back on our next visit!

Lovely atmosphere to begin the year with. Most probably to visit again on an every day basis. The staff was friendly.<br/><br/>The food, out of this world. It could do with a lot more various sauces to accommodate people with different tastes. They could also do with a non-alcoholic drink list since we did not receive one and had to order something from out our heads.<br/><br/>On a lighter note, The Highlander Restaurant is a huge saver on the pocket too. I'm definitely taking friends there on the next visit.

The medium steak was rare, veggies a bit overcooked.<br/>The pizza was very good and service was good the baked cheesecake looked and tasted more like a fridge cheesecake

Sadly we thought that the recommended Wagyu beef (R160) and Duck & Cherry (R140) pies were overpriced and mediocre. Too little meat with too much gravy.

We arrived at the Highlander restaurant for lunch after an amazing hike.<br/><br/>We arrived with no one to assist us and walked around the entire restaurant trying to find a table for ourselves.<br/>After a short while, the waitress arrived with the menus.<br/><br/>We ordered various pizzas - chicken and mushroom, margarita, marinara and a vegetarian. The marinara toppings aren't great and definitely not worth the price we paid. The chicken and mushroom pizza however, was very tasty.<br/><br/>The restaurant does not offer chilli, garlic and parmesan to accompany the pizza. Two teaspoons of chilli costs R15. I thought this was absolutely ridiculous.<br/><br/>Service isn't great at all. We waited a while for the bill, then again for the card machine, and the waitress never checked up on us.

We were there for Easter weekend and the service was very slow. From the wait staff to the speed of food. It didn’t seem like they were expecting the crowd. Pizzas seemed to be made from pre-prepared bases and fell apart under the toppings. The smoked trout starter was delicious however and you could see that the waitresses were doing their best.

Mediocre at best.<br/><br/>The food is underwhelming and tasteless and definitely not worth the 45+ minute wait.<br/><br/>Pina Colada and Mojito cocktails, however, are really tasty and well-made.

We had food (pizza, steak, hamburgers) and cocktails. We enjoyed the view and the atmosphere. Friendly service! Prices were good in comparison to the rest of the town

I was in Clarens 2 weeks ago for work and had pizza @ The Highlander every night. (I can recomend Fiona's Classic). <br/>My boyfriend and I came back to Clarens for the weekend (14-15 October 2017) and I took him here for pizza last night. <br/>We really enjoyed it!<br/><br/>The service is slightly slow - but it's not a train smash - we are here to relax afterall!<br/>

On the back of a cycling camp, we were a hungry bunch. Pizzas were mostly orders of the day and boy are they good! A thin base and made to perfection, only down side was on a long weekend the place was madness and with one pizza oven you can expect a long wait. However waitrons did warn us. The generous Spaghetti Bolognese is highly recommended as well as flavorful curries. All in all good service and great food, just the time delays were frustrating but cold beers and friendly staff made up for this. Worth a visit while enjoying this quaint town.

I do understand the difficulty in running a restaurant that is only very busy for 2 out of 6 days... but still!<br/>We booked Saturday night 24 June. We were a table of 12...<br/>Our food took 1 hour to arrive! No communication from waiters, no intervention from absent management.... nothing<br/>As I said before, when you pay for meals in excess of R130... there is an expectation of quality and service.<br/>My wife had trout...... thinking that being in trout country, it might be a recommended dish, well it was dry, and tasteless <br/>Same with the person who ordered schnitzel... meant to be Parmesan crusted.... tasteless<br/>My lamb curry was ok, nothing special, could have called it a stew..<br/>The lamb prawn curry was relatively dry with huge chunks of chicken.... tough<br/>So overall not a great experience

Lovely fireplace so nice and cosy.<br/>Skipped starters and had a Highlander pizza - bacon peppers mushrooms onions olives fresh tomato and shaved Parmesan <br/>Good pizza<br/>Again wine selection sub par but did manage to find a Allesveloren Tinta 2014 which was not too shabby<br/>Service again was so-so<br/>Staff keen to go home

This one is easy to review:<br/><br/>restaurant kinda slow on service (I was hungover so probably my only fault as everything seemed to take a while even me getting the day started) but all I can say is:<br/><br/>Homemade pies and beer nuff said

Although the service is slow, Its a great restaurant situated in the towns center, that's serves amazing pizza and a great selection of salads

What a disappointment. We were in Clarens for the weekend and the place came recommended by the owners of our guest house. When we arrived we asked for a table outside but were told that those tables were reserved for smokers only and that we could only sit inside. Given that Clarens is renowned for its views, this was very disappointing. Nonetheless we took a table inside which was extremely hot and the seats were very uncomfortable - hard wooden benches that should only be in beer halls. <br/><br/>The manager took our drinks order without so much as a 'how are you?' and then disappeared never to be seen again. Our beers arrived and when we asked what they had to snack on we were advised to refer to the menu. Unfortunately the restaurant only has 2 starters - snails and soup. And that was the last we saw of anyone for over half an hour. Fortunately this gave us ample time to research other more intersting restaurants in Clarens. We paid for our drinks and left.  <br/><br/>I definitely won't recommend this place to anyone wanting dinner.

With limited options for dining out in the evening in Clarens I decided to give Highlander a go. Most disappointing is although I booked in advanced to avoid waiting. Upon arrival at the restaurant I find out that no table was reserved .. very annoying! I tried the nice and crispy clay oven chicken pizzas which I thought was probably much better than the other pizza options in town. My wife tried the chicken schnitzel which was also fairly decent ! The restaurant had a lively atmosphere was completely full so if you visiting during peak periods it's best to book in advance. Most disappointing was the shocking service from the waiters ! They took an eternity to bring our drinks order , not friendly at all and inexcusable serving attitude in my humble opinion. Probably worth a visit nonetheless.

Super slow service if u order pizza ! Be prepared to wait !! Foods good over all. Because it's one of the few places open at night service is even slower as they get busy. Pizza are bland. Chips are ok.

We had been hiking the whole day, so we were hungry, and we craved pizza and steak. So we had garlic and mozzarella pizza to share as a starter, and fillet as a main - best of both! And both were great! I will come back for the fillet. Generous portions, good prices and friendly staff.

Delious food every time I come here. <br/>Highly recommended. <br/>Great steaks and vegetables, pizza's, starters and great wine list. Prices are very reasonable.

This restaurant never lets you down. Definitely a Friday night favourite, you have to book in advance or you aren't going to get in. Reasonable food, good service and an extensive wine menu.

A safe bet that caters to a wide variety of tastes. Staff are friendly and the food is good, but not great. That's ok - it's still far better than most franchised spots.<br/><br/>Adult and kiddy meal portions are generous and tasty. The fresh Chilli was dull, old and feels like it's been pickled in oil for far too long.<br/>The chocolate milkshake was yum. <br/>Worth a try......

One of the best homemade pot pies that I have ever eaten!! <br/><br/>I have tried several meals on their menu including the chicken and mushroom pizza, which didn't overwhelm me but their signature homemade pies are incredible! <br/><br/>The service was good, the beers were cold and their signature Free State lamb & onion pie was incredible! In fact, even the complimentary side chips & salad were delicious. I am used to the chips being a let down at pubs, but even these were freshly cooked and absolutely delicious! (Clementines could learn a thing or two from this pub's sides)<br/><br/>Another thing that I like is that The Highlander offers a choice of three (3) local beers on tap: the stout, pale ale and pilsner. I had all three and it is always awesome to see pubs supporting locals. <br/><br/>I thoroughly enjoyed my 'local' beers sitting out on their wooden deck in the sun and watching the world go by. <br/><br/>*Recommendation: You cannot go wrong with their wholesome lamb & onion pie and a few pints watching the world (and people) go by. The Highlander is an unpretentious pub with lots of character and a great location.<br/> <br/><br/>For more, find me on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter: LaurasWorldza

Delicious food. Great variety on the menu and everything we ordered was great. Don't order a burger it's small. Best service we had all weekend, cost, popular place.

The Highlander has a wood-fired pizza oven and have very nice pizzas. <br/><br/>They have a good spot on the Clarens square and the venue is nice and lively. <br/><br/>The waitresses were really friendly and the service good. <br/><br/>They also stock good craft beer from Nottinghamroad and they have an interesting wine selection. <br/><br/>In our opinion really worth a visit😄

I have no idea why this rating is so bad, we had a lovely time here. Every meal was delicious. The fire place and gluhwein was the perfect cherry on the cake to a cosy night.

We went to Highlander on a very cold evening. The atmosphere inside was very nice and welcoming. We got bone marrow, trout fillet, oxtail and pot pie. The food was delicious and the service was super nice and fast. The only thing that I would recommend changing is gluhwine - it was too sweet and not herbal enough, but that's a matter of personal preference I guess.<br/>I can honestly and wholeheartedly recommend this place.

Nothing better than than a quick weekend trip to Clarens and a lekker duck and cherry pie at the highlander, perfect way to start the weekend.

We decided on the highlander after asking a few locals for recommendations. Even though we booked inside we opted for an outside spot, even though there was a storm pending<br/><br/>I tried the Wagyu Beef Bone Marrow starter which was delicious and totally out of my ordering norm. I was very tempted to have the Wagyu Beef steak as my main, but was a little bit out of my pocket R260 ;( <br/><br/>I ended up having the standard rump with a delicious, if not hot, peppercorn sauce. Very tasty<br/><br/>All in all a great little spot given the huge variety in Clarens. Service was friendly and food was great.

Tried The Highlander last night and were all suitably impressed as it doesn't wow you when you arrive. It doesn't look bad...just average.<br/><br/>Our table of 4 skipped starters and went straight for mains...the Oxtail x 2, Trout and Natal Beef Curry were all really tasty & impressive given our first impression of average.<br/><br/>The pizzas on other tables looked fantastic too!<br/><br/>Prices acceptable. Service wasn't exceptional but not a disaster either - also acceptable which is fine!<br/><br/>We ended off with their Cheese Cake which was so fresh it was perfect and also their Creme Brûlée & Dom Pedro. 👌<br/><br/>Definitely worth a visit...call & try book a table outside 👍

Nice little restaurant in the gorgeous town of Clarens. Clearly a local hangout, with a great vibe. Service is acceptable and the food was good, nothing spectacular but I did enjoy the lentil and coriander soup with pot bread. Big Fat Italian

Nice restaurant in a great and booming little town, varied menu from pizza to curry, wouldn't say the best but it has its little place in this little town. Good value for money, don't go if you expecting 5star food.

Very disappointing, food was low quality not tasty at all. service what service? Sorry but I will not be back at all. Total wast of my money!

Bustling restaurant with great ambiance... The service was slightly slow as the restaurant was busy. The food though was delightful and definitely perfect with a set of sundowners.

First tasting of Wagyu beef and it was exceptional. 250g Wagyu rump cooked to Medium rare perfection. Pricey at R260 but it was delicious. Meal took ages to arrive. Ordered pavlova for dessert and sent it back as meringue was flat and burnt. They replaced with Creme brûlée which arrived without the berry coulis. So, steak excellent, everything else average.

Ideally positioned on the main road we arrived for breakfast a table of 6 . Very prompt in taking and serving our drinks order after which we placed our breakfast order . We waited 45 minutes as our order was forgotten about , no waiter enquired as to our satisfaction . The matter was handled very poorly . Cold food and unhappy guests will no be returning any time soon .

Wonderful service with a smile, Eisbein very tasty and the beef curry came with all the trimmings including poppadum, banana and relish. Gluhwein a bit sweet, Nottingham road beer available.

After doing a bit of a look around for the rugby we were very happy to end up at the highlander restaurant after it was recommended to us by some locals. <br/><br/>We originally sat in the immediate section which was away from the bar. To be honest the waitresses were anything but helpful after we explicitly asked for an open table by the TV. After waiting 15min and seeing people leave we took things into our own hands and moved. However the service improved during our meal but we were in plain site of the owner who seems a bit of a driver. She should do walk arounds! The restaurant has a wood fired pizza oven and we weren't disappointed at all by the ones we ordered. I had the bacon, feta, olive and avo pizza which was proper tasty and my girlfriend had the spicy Mexican which had just enough burn without ruining the flavour. Was great! The ambiance was that of a normal bar, nothing special but nothing amiss. I was very impressed to see that they serve Nottingham road beer which is just fantastic. <br/><br/>There's nothing special here just a simple restaurant bar that does what it says it does and serve decent food with beer!

This a typical family restaurant. Basic menu and wine selection. The food does include some home-made dishes like the Lamb & Onion Pie which is very tasty. As for the rest, what you see is what you get. Nothing too exciting but neither disappointing. Service is okay, it could be more friendly since the town is a tourist attraction.

A 45 minute wait always creates an expectation... Is it gonna be THAT good..? Generally not... In this case not... A fairly average experience. Had such high hopes for The Highlander.

Not a bad little place, but a bit more pubby than a restaurant. Decor is poor, and overall cleanliness feels low, but the pizza was excellent so it got a few more points. The beer on tap is also good... Overall if you're in Clarens and you're keen on a pizza, it's a good option, but don't bother any other time ;-)

Went for an early lunch before setting off back to Johannesburg. Ordered the pizzas and I was pleasantly surprised at how tasty they were. I wasn't expecting much but I was really impressed!!! The service was also decent, not incredible, but definitely worth a mention. The prices are great for the portion sizes and quality of food, and we left The Highlander really satisfied!

Pizza was definitely not worth the 40min wait. Pizza looks better than it tastes. Marinara pizza base was soggy due to the lack of traditional tomato purée base, instead they used fresh tomatoes under the toppings of mountains of onions and scarce tough seafood. It lacked seasoning and those who hate warm soggy tomato will hate this pizza as much as we did! The only thing that salvaged this pizza was green Tabasco sauce! You are better off eating a tin of tomato and onion mix.