De Vrije Burger Stellenbosch by Bertus Basson
De Vrije Burger Stellenbosch: Bertus Basson's burger bar at 13 Drostdy Street. Free-range beef, free soft-serve, hours, rand prices and Overture's fate.
Photo: Raymond Ellis, CC BY-SA 3.0
De Vrije Burger is Bertus Basson’s burger restaurant in Stellenbosch, at 13 Drostdy Street, 7600. It is open daily from 12:00 to 20:00, according to his official site, which I checked on 31 October 2026. Looking for Overture, his fine-dining restaurant at Hidden Valley Wine Estate? It closed on 30 September 2022, and the team moved to Chorus at Waterkloof Wine Estate in Somerset West. The burger is simple: free-range beef, double cheese, a homemade bun and, by the restaurant’s own description, a free soft-serve on the side.
De Vrije Burger Stellenbosch at a glance: address, hours and branches
The official site lists three De Vrije Burger branches: Stellenbosch, Sea Point in Cape Town, and Bellville. I took every address and opening hour below from bertusbasson.com on 31 October 2026.
| Branch | Address | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Stellenbosch | 13 Drostdy Street, Stellenbosch, 7600 | Daily 12:00–20:00 |
| Sea Point (Cape Town) | 7 Penarth Road, Sea Point, Cape Town, 8005 | 12:00–21:00 |
| Bellville | Welgemoed Forum, 24 Kommissaris Street, Welgemoed, 7530 | 12:00–21:00 |
- Contact: the official site gives only an email address, info@devrijeburger.com. Directory listings give two different phone numbers, so I have left both out.
- Opened: 2017, in Stellenbosch.
- Award: Eat Out Everyday Eatery Best Burger Award for the Western Cape, 2019.
- Still trading: Visit Stellenbosch’s 2025 festive-season hours had the Stellenbosch branch open 12:00–20:00 on 24, 26 and 31 December 2025 and on 1 January 2026. It was closed on Christmas Day.
Map of Cape Town and the Cape Winelands with De Vrije Burger’s three branches: Stellenbosch (13 Drostdy Street, marker in the town centre), Sea Point (7 Penarth Road, Cape Town) and Bellville (Welgemoed Forum). Chorus, at Waterkloof Wine Estate in Somerset West, lies at the south-east edge of the map. (Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL, https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright)
What changed at De Vrije Burger: old address vs current
De Vrije Burger has moved within Stellenbosch, and half the listings online haven’t caught up. Older guides such as Cape Town Magazine still give the launch-era address and prices.
| Launch era (Cape Town Magazine, undated) | Today | |
|---|---|---|
| Stellenbosch address | 24 Simonsplein, 61 Plein Street | 13 Drostdy Street (official site, checked 31 Oct 2026) |
| Patty weight | 200g free-range beef | 180g free-range beef on the Time Out Market stall menu (undated); current Stellenbosch weight not confirmed |
| Classic burger price | R75 | R125, or R155 with chips, on the Time Out Market stall menu (undated); current Stellenbosch price not confirmed |
I could not find out when or why the restaurant left Plein Street. The official site simply gives Drostdy Street, and Visit Stellenbosch’s listing gives no address at all. If you’re relying on an old guide or a map pin, check the official page first.
Collins Cottage, seen from Bletterman House at the corner of Plein and Drostdy streets in Stellenbosch (2009). De Vrije Burger first opened on Plein Street (61 Plein Street, Simonsplein) and now trades on Drostdy Street. Illustrative street photo, not taken at either address. (Photo: Michael Clarke, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stellenbosch\_02\_(3555809475).jpg)
The burgers at De Vrije Burger: menu and prices in rand
The core of the menu is a double-cheese burger of 100% free-range beef in a homemade bun, with hand-cut chips and house sauces. The restaurant’s own line is ‘100% free range beef, double cheese, home made bun and all the trimmings’ (Visit Stellenbosch, bertusbasson.com).
The fullest priced menu I found comes from De Vrije Burger’s stall at the Time Out Market Cape Town, 19 Dock Road, V&A Waterfront (Time Out). Two caveats. The page has no date, and the stall is not among the three branches on the official site, so it may well have closed. Read these prices as a guide to the menu, not as your Stellenbosch bill.
| Burger (Time Out Market stall menu, undated) | What’s in it | Burger | With chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| De Vrije Burger | 180g free-range beef, double cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles | R125 | R155 |
| De Jonge Burger | Not described on the page | R115 | R145 |
| Die Bennie Griessel | With mustard pickle | R125 | R155 |
| De Vrije Vegetarian | Falafel | R115 | R145 |
| Hand-cut chips | Side | R45 | — |
De Vrije Burger menu prices at the Time Out Market Cape Town stall (undated): the De Vrije Burger and Die Bennie Griessel cost R125 (R155 with chips), and the De Jonge Burger and the falafel De Vrije Vegetarian cost R115 (R145 with chips). Treat these as a guide, not as Stellenbosch prices. (Chart: Burger Breton, data from Time Out (timeout.com/cape-town/time-out-market/de-vrije-burger), rendered with QuickChart)
Compare that with launch day. Cape Town Magazine listed a 200g free-range patty with lettuce, tomato, pickles, onion and two slices of cheese in a brioche bun for R75. Chips (‘tjips’) with peri-peri, barbecue or cheese were R30–R42. The patty got smaller and the price went up by two-thirds, at least at the market stall. Ask in store or check a delivery app for today’s Stellenbosch prices.
Price of the classic De Vrije Burger in rand: R75 at launch on Plein Street (Cape Town Magazine) against R125, or R155 with chips, at the Time Out Market stall (Time Out). Both sources are undated, and the current Stellenbosch price is not confirmed. (Chart: Burger Breton, data from Cape Town Magazine and Time Out, rendered with QuickChart)
The free soft-serve: De Vrije Roomys
Every burger comes with a free soft-serve, according to both Cape Town Magazine and Visit Stellenbosch. The restaurant calls it the ‘De Vrije Roomys’, and roomys is Afrikaans for ice cream. It’s the detail people remember. Neither source is recent, so ask at the counter if you’re counting on it.
Who is Bertus Basson?
Bertus Basson is a South African chef and restaurateur whose career is rooted in the Stellenbosch winelands. Born in Cape Town on 12 April 1979, he grew up in Polokwane, Nelspruit and Witbank. At about 19 he was cooking at Chez Bruce, a Michelin-starred restaurant in London (Wikipedia).
Back home, he founded the catering business All Things Culinary in 2005 and was named Unilever Chef of the Year in 2007. TV audiences know him as a judge on seasons 1 to 4 of The Ultimate Braai Master. Jacana Media published his two books, Homegrown (2017) and Being Bertus Basson (2018).
Overture restaurant Stellenbosch: what happened
Overture closed on 30 September 2022 after 15 years at Hidden Valley Wine Estate. Basson had opened it as chef-owner in November 2007. Its peak came at the 2019 Eat Out Awards, when Overture ranked 12th in South Africa’s Top 20 and Basson took Chef of the Year.
The ending was about the lease, not the food. Basson told Eat Out the team ‘had no success in negotiating a new lease agreement with the owners of the farm’ (Eat Out, original URL, now redirecting to News24 Eat Out). Less than three weeks later, on 18 October 2022, Chorus opened at Waterkloof Wine Estate in Somerset West, and Basson’s signature soufflé was back on the dessert menu (Dineplan).
Overture never served burgers. De Vrije Burger grew out of a different venture: according to Visit Stellenbosch, Basson and his wife Mareli created it after the success of The Deck at Hidden Valley.
Bertus Basson timeline: from Overture to De Vrije Burger
The key dates of Basson’s career, from Wikipedia, Eat Out, Dineplan and his official site:
- 1979 (12 April): born in Cape Town.
- About 1998: works at Chez Bruce in London, around age 19.
- 2005: founds the catering business All Things Culinary.
- 2007: named Unilever Chef of the Year; opens Overture at Hidden Valley Wine Estate in November.
- 2017: opens De Vrije Burger in Stellenbosch with Mareli Basson; publishes Homegrown.
- 2018: publishes Being Bertus Basson.
- 2019: Eat Out Chef of the Year; Overture 12th in the Eat Out Top 20; De Vrije Burger wins the Western Cape Best Burger Award (Everyday Eatery).
- 2022 (30 September): Overture closes.
- 2022 (18 October): Chorus opens at Waterkloof Wine Estate, Somerset West.
Bertus Basson restaurants today
Bertus Basson’s official site lists nine current businesses, from fine dining at Chorus to the three De Vrije Burger branches. This is the list on bertusbasson.com as I found it on 31 October 2026:
- In and around Stellenbosch: Chorus (Waterkloof Wine Estate, Somerset West), Basson & Co., Spek en Bone, Kantien, and Toevlug (Annandale Wines).
- Elgin: BLOEM, at Paul Clüver.
- Burgers: De Vrije Burger in Stellenbosch, Sea Point and Bellville.
- Cape Town: Ongetem, at Canopy by Hilton.
- Catering: Abundance Catering.
Wikipedia also lists Eike, opened in Stellenbosch in 2018. It is not on the official site and I couldn’t confirm it still trades, so I’ve left it off.
Is De Vrije Burger worth it compared with RocoMamas?
On paper, De Vrije Burger is the burger I would pick in Stellenbosch. It is chef-owned, made with free-range beef, won the 2019 Western Cape best-burger award and comes with free ice cream. RocoMamas, in Eikestad Mall, is a chain smash burger with a menu running from R79 to R159 nationally (October 2026). It is the better choice if you want late opening: it trades until 22:00 or 23:00, while De Vrije Burger closes at 20:00.
| De Vrije Burger | RocoMamas Stellenbosch | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Independent, chef-owned (Bertus Basson) | South African chain |
| Location | 13 Drostdy Street | Eikestad Mall |
| Burger | 100% free-range beef, double cheese, homemade bun | Smash burger |
| Extra | Free soft-serve with every burger | — |
| Award | Eat Out Best Burger, Western Cape (Everyday Eatery), 2019 | — |
Our RocoMamas Stellenbosch guide has its address, hours and prices, and the RocoMamas brand profile covers the chain. For the other national giants, see the Steers and Wimpy profiles. A chef’s burger bar is rare in a country where those chains dominate.
Where else to eat burgers in Stellenbosch and Cape Town
Our Stellenbosch burger hub gathers every Stellenbosch guide we have published, each with a full address and a dated price in rand. The Sea Point and Bellville branches fall under the Cape Town burger hub, and every city we cover is on the Restaurants hub.
How I checked this article
I checked every address and opening hour against Bertus Basson’s official site on 31 October 2026. The biography draws on Wikipedia, Eat Out, Dineplan and Jacana Media. Prices come from Cape Town Magazine and Time Out, and I’ve marked them undated because neither page carries a date. There’s no Tripadvisor rating here: the only figure I found was an undated snapshot.
FAQ: De Vrije Burger and Bertus Basson
Is Overture in Stellenbosch still open?
No. Overture closed on 30 September 2022 after 15 years at Hidden Valley Wine Estate, when the team failed to agree a new lease with the farm’s owners. They opened Chorus at Waterkloof Wine Estate on 18 October 2022.
Where is Bertus Basson cooking now?
At Chorus, Waterkloof Wine Estate, Somerset West. His group also runs Basson & Co., Spek en Bone, Kantien, Toevlug, BLOEM, Ongetem, Abundance Catering and the three De Vrije Burger branches.
Where is De Vrije Burger in Stellenbosch, and when is it open?
At 13 Drostdy Street, Stellenbosch, 7600, open daily from 12:00 to 20:00 according to the official site (checked 31 October 2026). The old 61 Plein Street address is out of date.
How much does a burger cost at De Vrije Burger?
The Time Out Market stall listed the classic De Vrije Burger at R125, or R155 with chips (undated). At launch in Stellenbosch it cost R75. Current Stellenbosch prices are not confirmed, so check in store or on a delivery app.
Do you really get free ice cream with every burger?
That’s what Cape Town Magazine and Visit Stellenbosch both say: every burger comes with a free soft-serve, the ‘De Vrije Roomys’. Neither source is recent, so ask when you order.
Does De Vrije Burger have a vegetarian burger?
The Time Out Market stall menu listed De Vrije Vegetarian, a falafel burger, at R115 (R145 with chips). Check whether the Stellenbosch branch offers it today.
Does De Vrije Burger have branches in Cape Town?
Yes, two. One is in Sea Point (7 Penarth Road, Cape Town, 8005) and the other in Bellville (Welgemoed Forum, 24 Kommissaris Street, Welgemoed, 7530). Both open from 12:00 to 21:00.
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