Meraki by Charlie Lakin

10/06/2026

27/05/2026

Our last menu for the month of May is created with all the stunning fresh produce that Charlie's suppliers from the local area have to offer, from lovely buttery pecans offering a nutty crunch to the creamy Avocado mousse and quail breasts lightly smoked with the pecan shells, peppery watermelon radish with the steak tartar, rich quail eggs on a seared ballontine of ham hock with cauliflower picalilli, there's Jerusalem artichoke and a variety of kale served with Tracy's chicken and finished with some ruby grapefruit to lift the hops in the APA.

For Charlie though the star of the show has to be the lamb main course a real tilt of the hat to his mum's lamb stew, stunning lamb from near Richmond in the form of roasted leg and braised lamb shank served with braised heirloom carrots, candied turnips, baby onions confit in lamb dripping and a butter braised fermented cabbage with a cheeky little lamb hot pot served alongside pickled red onions and crispy lamb bits.

Finishing the menu off this week with the Queensland blue pumpkin rum baba soaked in a spiced sugar baron rum syrup with a velvet mascarpone ice cream, which is just the perfect dessert for these wintery nights.

To make a booking or any other enquiries please drop us a WhatsApp on 067 346 5995

Photos by .hazell

2 star

20/05/2026

As the nights are drawing in and the nights chill gets colder this week's menu at Meraki by Charlie Lakin is definitely one to warm the soul. From one of the first bites of a crispy unctuous duck croquette topped with onion jam and porini ketchup to a predessert melon sorbet with a fragrant gentle burn of the galangal added served with a salad of the last of Chisomo's melon with peppermint geranium from our herb box and a yuxu custard right through to the warm spiced bread pudding with confit orange zest as a parting note on the petty fours and these are just some of the extra bits served around the menu's

On the actual menu we have the cheeky little chilli bit of the chicken and sweet potato empanada wrapped in a roasted chicken fat dough with a fermented Aji Amirillo chilli mayonnaise, the nostalgic comfort of the short rib and bone marrow cottage pie served alongside the retired dairy cow sirloin and beer braised shortrib and carrots, boulangere potatoes and the rib sticking decadent English best bitter and bone marrow gravy. Then finishing up with a light but flavourful Queensland blue pumpkin run baba soaked in
barrel aged rum syrup putting a little fire in the belly served with a decadent mascarpone ice cream, candied pumpkin and confit mandarin for a bit if vitamin c much needed at this time of year.

To make a booking or any other enquiries please drop us a WhatsApp on 067 346 5995

Photos by .hazell

2 star

18/05/2026

WINTER SPECIAL 3 COURSE MENU R525.

Come and join us for our winter special 3 course menu and let Busi and the team wrap you in their warm welcome at Meraki by Charlie Lakin.

Available
Dinner Wednesday to Saturday.
Lunch Thursday to Saturday.

To make a booking or any other enquiries please drop us a WhatsApp on 067 346 5995

2 star

13/05/2026

A new week, with a new set of menus and as always dictated by produce from the upper highway and midlands farmers and producers, providing a natural flow of ingredients following the seasons.

To name a few, stunning fresh haas avocado and tassel berries from Bronwyn in Crestholme. Heirloom carrots, jerusalem artichokes, jaboticaba and baby cabbages from Deon and Chisomo in Merrivale, pigs from Rocky in Hilton, poultry from Tracey near Peitermaritzburg and beetroot, leeks, green beans and pumpkin greens from Nikki in Drummond, as well as the ingredients foraged from around the restaurant by Charlie all working harmoniously together to create the Meraki dining experience.

Also this week we are introducing our winter special 3 course menu at R525 per person, available Wednesday to Saturday dinner and Thursday to Saturday lunch.

To make a booking or any other enquiries please drop us a WhatsApp on 067 346 5995.

Photos .hazell

2 star

12/05/2026

❄ WINTER SPECIAL ❄ 3 COURSE MENU R525 p/p

As the colder days of winter roll in we will be offering a special 3 course menu available from Wednesday to Saturday for dinner and Thursday to Saturday for lunch.

Charlie as always will be drawing inspiration from the ingredients and produce from his local farmers and growers to create a menu to warm the soul on these chilly days.

To make a booking or any other enquiries please drop us a WhatsApp on 067 346 5995

2 star

07/05/2026

As the cold winter nights draw in with us at Meraki by Charlie Lakin, warm up your soul with one of our Hot Toddy's.

A blend of Boplass year old whiskey, macadamia blossom honey, Meyer lemon juice and cinnamon, perfect to take the edge off the night's chill as you arrive to enjoy your evening with us.

To make a booking or any other enquiries please drop us a WhatsApp on 067 346 5995

06/05/2026

This week's menus as always, dishes in the planning for weeks. Some ingredients spending months even years in preparation and creation. The last minute tweaks and additions are done once the ingredients are finally in Charlie's hands.

It might be the fermented porcini that, once tasted, takes Charlie to early mornings walking through pine woodlands creating a different direction for the dish.

The good timing and lucky find of a large patch of peppercress noticeable by its scent given off as the Municipality just started to cut into it, which was the missing link for the duck leg.

The cured pig cheek from a large well fed pig from last November, tucked away aging, waiting to be wrapped around a ballontine of leeks to garnish the pork loin.

Or our Butternut chutney made back in 2022 when we first opened served with the Village Cheese custard.

Every dish brings its own sense of time and space on the flowing creative journey that forms the Meraki by Charlie Lakin experience.

To make a booking or any other enquiries please drop us a WhatsApp on 067 346 5995

Opening -
Wednesday to Saturday for dinner
Thursday to Saturday for lunch

Photos by .hazell

01/05/2026

We will be open as usual for lunch and dinner on Worker's Day, 1st May.

So come and join us for some of Busi and Nombuso's warm welcoming service and Charlie's cooking.

To make a booking or any other enquiries please drop us a WhatsApp on 067 346 5995