The Village Ridge Boutique Hotel offers a collection of refreshingly different vegetarian and vegan dishes through its 2 restaurants. La Terazza is a delectable pizza/pasta spot with its own wood-burning pizza oven, while L’epicurien is the hotel’s signature restaurant, which offers an exquisite fine dining experience. The Village Ridge Boutique Hotel in New Muckleneuk, Pretoria, offers visitors a choice of 2 vegetarian-friendly restaurants. La Terazza is an alfresco dining spot with its own proper pizza oven, serving a choice of 10 vegetarian pizzas. The chef makes his gourmet pizzas from scratch, including the dough, and is particular about sourcing authentic, fresh produce to achieve the best possible end product. His mozzarella, for example, is hand made by local Italian cheese-makers. Besides pizza, there are salads and light meals to enjoy. Think gorgonzola cheese served with Turkish apricots and walnuts, or a poached pear salad with saffron, pine nuts and feta cheese. La Terazza is particularly adept at al forno (oven-baked) vegetarian pasta dishes like gnocchi with broccoli and blue cheese, and teleggio cheese and sage lasagne. The chef is also happy to cater for vegans. Vegetarian dining in Pretoria is taken to a fine dining level at the hotel’s signature restaurant – L’epicurien. Particularly popular is its sweet onion, tomato and mozzarella tart with basil pesto dressing; brie and apricot bake in a filo parcel; mushroom and walnut paté; and oven-baked camembert … and that’s just for starters! More substantial are the fettuccini with porcini mushrooms, served with a black truffle cream, and the 3-cheese macaroni bake – to name just 2 of a dozen offerings. Few Pretoria vegetarian restaurants have their own pastry chef, as this hotel does, and so fresh bread, cakes, tarts, pastries and friandises are baked daily. The Village Ridge Boutique Hotel is ideally situated in the upmarket eastern suburb of New Muckleneuk, minutes from the well-known Waterkloof area of the city. From the hotel it takes just more than 10 minutes to reach the Pretoria CBD. The hotel’s amenities include a business centre, luxurious pool and beautiful gardens, which complement its en suite accommodation.