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Michael Broughton is smiling again. The chef who spent nearly two decades turning Terroir – on De Zalze estate in Stellenbosch – into one of the Cape Winelands’ best-known restaurants has swapped the vineyards for Hermanus, and fine-dining flourish for a tiny cottage kitchen and fish fresh off the boats. And it looks like he couldn’t be happier.
This new chapter for Broughton is certainly not Terroir-by-the-sea, though. At Fisherman’s Cottage, Broughton is deliberately keeping things simple with a compact menu, blackboard specials (where the real magic lies), superb seafood and a wine list that takes its cue from the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley.
As he puts it, he doesn’t want anything ‘poncy’. He says it’s fine to arrive in your shorts and plakkies, as long as you eat well surrounded by friends and family and leave thinking: “That was flipping lekker. I’ll be back.”
Now what’s not to love about that?
The Backstory
Fisherman’s Cottage is in the heart of town and is certainly not new to Hermanus. The building itself dates to the late-1800s and was built first as a home, then became a coffee shop and, eventually, a seafood restaurant. Most recently it was run for 11 years by the late Anton Verhoogt, who died tragically in an accident in 2025.
Broughton’s journey to Hermanus was unintended. After Terroir closed during Covid, he spent several years consulting and developing plant-based products. When Verhoogt passed away Broughton offered to help keep Fisherman’s Cottage running for a few weeks. Weeks became months. He bought half the business in 2025, took full ownership in March 2026 and followed it up with a renovation in May.
The Vibe
But, while he’s polished the experience both in the kitchen and out front, the character and charm of the space remains. Fisherman’s Cottage is just that: a rustic space of thick whitewashed walls framing an intimate dining room that opens out to a shady terrace for sunny days. When the weather’s fine, you’ll find braai fires going out front too.
There’s no sea view, but that lack of seafront locale means you’re also sheltered from the winter weather or summer southeasters. And besides, the food and the ambience more than makes up for the view, that you can enjoy on a post lunch wander anyway, right?
The Food
With a tiny kitchen to work with, Broughton has pared down the menu while elevating the offering. The old three-page menu is now a single sheet, backed up by a blackboard of special plates that change almost daily.
Seafood is unsurprisingly the focus, although there is the likes of fillet steak with béarnaise and a Cape Malay-inspired roast sweet potato dish if you’re avoiding fish. But then, you’re missing out, as Broughton puts his own inspired spin on the local catch.
Think smoked snoek pâté with noem-noem chutney and spekboom. Sardines are served with escabeche and pickled vegetables. Mussels arrive either au naturel or with cream and garlic. But check that blackboard before you commit.
Sole, queen prawns, crayfish and hake and chips were all available when I visited. Yellowtail ceviche with ginger, lime and avocado has become a regular feature, as regulars demand it stays on the menu. Little wonder: the fresh fish, zesty acidity and zip of ginger are just what you want as summer beckons.
But – trust me here – don’t miss the crayfish aglio e olio spaghetti. It’s great value: R165 as a starter or R395 as a main, but it comes packed with crayfish meat (a full tail in the starter alone) and is perhaps the dish that best sums up the new Fisherman’s Cottage. There’s little to distract from the quality ingredients expertly put together: delicious crayfish, al dente pasta, a hint of garlic, quality olive oil and a gentle hit of chilli.
The Drinks
Just as Broughton looks local for everything from fish to olive oil, so wine comes (mostly) from the neighbourhood, with a great selection from the Hemel-en-Aarde valley.
Creation, Bouchard Finlayson and Newton Johnson are all well represented, with a handful of older vintages on the chalkboard too. There’s a small but well-chosen selection by the glass. Corkage, if you must, is R75 per bottle.
Why Go?
You mean besides that crayfish pasta?
Broughton has turned a tragedy in the village into a new beginning for an Hermanus institution. And while it would have been easy for him to create a pricey fine-dining destination that’s out of reach for locals, instead he’s made Fisherman’s Cottage into a restaurant where the food is accomplished enough to make it feel like a night out, but so accessible you could come twice a month and not get bored.