Cornuti in Knysna, Garden Route

With its exceptionally beautiful location on the edge of the ocean, and pared down, cool, décor, Cornuti is a pizza joint with a difference. It’s swish hip décor and dramatic views serve as the perfect backdrop for sexy sundowners. An impressive antipasti menu whets the appetite – perfect for enjoying with a chilled bottle of wine or with cocktails. The pizzas are just as fresh and crisp as the décor.

Kicking off with the exceptional pizza selection, expect to be blown away by pizzas like the verdure, with artichokes, asparagus, olives, white mushrooms, onions, green peppers and sundried tomatoes, the goats cheese and rosemary with aubergines, sundried tomatoes and fresh rocket, the pizza Calabria with wholewheat base, red pesto, goats cheese, sundried tomatoes, olives and rosemary or the cipolle e gorgonzola with mozzarella and gorgonzola, caramelized onions, roasted garlic and rosemary.

For those who would prefer something from the mains menu, our favourites lean towards their pesce del giorni: fresh fish baked in olive oil with cherry tomatoes and spring onions, served on couscous and the seared tuna steaks, served sushi style on couscous with soya sauce, wasabi, pickled ginger and dhania.

A glance at a sample of the winter menu has us all drooling: gnocci al ragu:
home-made potato dumplings with in our bolognese ragu. Pizza porcini with grilled porcini mushrooms, mozzarella, parsley, garlic and olive oil. Polpette cornucci: home-style meatballs in tomato and basil, served the Italian way with spaghetti. The lamb shanks sounds rib-sticking and out-of-this-world, served with mashed potato and fresh veg, while the oxtail al forno is slow-cooked to hearty perfection in our wood-burning oven, served piping-hot in a red wine pomodoro sauce with mashed potatoes and fresh seasonal veg.