South Africa's Braai Season Has Come to London
There's a particular kind of warmth that's difficult to manufacture. It's not candlelight or soft music — it's the smell of meat over fire, the sound of conversation around a shared table, and the feeling that no one is in a rush to leave. That's the spirit of the South African braai, and this spring, it's alive and well at Vivat Bacchus.
Our new spring menu is now on, the terraces are open, and the kitchen is cooking with the ingredients and ideas that make South African food so distinctive — bold spice, quality provenance, and an instinct for generosity.
New Spring Dishes Rooted in South African Flavour
Starters That Tell a Story
South African cuisine carries centuries of cultural exchange in every bite, and two of our new starters make that history delicious.
Bobotie Stuffed Spring Cabbage (VE) takes one of the Cape's most beloved dishes — a fragrant, spiced mince bake with roots in Cape Malay cooking — and reimagines it for the season. Pronounced boh-BOH-tee, bobotie has graced South African family tables for generations. Here, those warm spices are wrapped in tender spring cabbage leaves and finished with a fragrant Cape Malay sauce. It's a vegetarian dish with genuine depth.
'Karoo Style' Lamb Chop (Tjoppie) is about provenance. Karoo lamb is grazed on the wild herbs and scrubland of South Africa's vast semi-desert interior — a landscape that imparts a flavour you simply can't replicate anywhere else. A proper tjoppie (chop-ee) to start sets the tone for everything that follows.
Braai Sosaties: Made for Sharing
The braai is the cornerstone of South African social life — part cooking method, part ritual, part excuse to gather. Sosaties (soh-SAH-tees) are skewers grilled over fire, and they're everything a braai should be: smoky, communal, and satisfying.
This spring, choose from three:
Springbok Sosatie — lean, distinctive game meat with a clean finish
Chicken Sosatie — a crowd-pleaser, well-seasoned and perfectly charred
Boerewors Sosatie — South Africa's iconic spiced sausage in skewer form
They're built for the table to share, not the plate to guard.
A Dish Built Around Chenin Blanc
Peri-Peri Crusted Cod brings together two of South Africa's most recognisable flavour signatures. Peri-peri — the fiery little chilli that travelled from Mozambique and became inseparable from the South African kitchen — is crusted onto fresh cod, balanced by a bright purée of pea and asparagus. The sauce is made with Chenin Blanc, South Africa's most planted and celebrated white grape, lending a subtle acidity that ties the whole dish together.
It's the kind of plate that rewards attention.
Immersive Dining and Summer Events at Vivat Bacchus
Theatrical Moments That Belong on the Table
The new dishes join a menu already known for its theatrical dining moments — touches of performance and storytelling that turn a meal into a proper occasion.
The Heritage Braai Board arrives with a smoking beef fat candle, filling the table with the scent of the fire
The Biltong Trolley Experience brings South Africa's most iconic cured meat directly to you
The Peppermint Crisp Tart is a South African institution — if you haven't had it here yet, that changes now
These aren't gimmicks. They're rooted in the South African instinct to make every meal feel like an event worth remembering.
Summer Events: Braai Season on the Horizon
As London moves into longer evenings and warmer air, our terraces are ready for it. Summer events are coming — watch this space for announcements — but the essence of what makes Vivat Bacchus special at this time of year is already here: the food, the wine, the setting, and the welcome.
South African hospitality doesn't really have an off-season. It just finds new reasons to bring people together.
Raise a Glass, Pull Up a Chair
Spring at Vivat Bacchus is the South African braai season translated to the heart of London — new dishes rooted in real culinary tradition, immersive moments that give the meal its character, and a terrace ready for the season ahead. Whether you're coming for a tjoppie and a glass of Chenin Blanc, a full table of sosaties with friends, or simply to see what the fuss is about, the door is open.
Book your table now and taste South Africa this spring.
