The Observatory Restaurant is the newest Fine Dining Restaurant in Gauteng. It is situated at Aloe Ridge in the Cradle of Humankind, a World Heritage Site.
The Observatory consists of a 25" (62 cm) and a 16" (40 cm) telescope. The 25" is a Newtonian/Cassegrain Bradford telescope made by the Rand Corporation in the USA. It is the largest privately owned telescope in South Africa and the largest professional telescope in amateur hands in the Southern Hemisphere. The 16" (40 cm) Meade LX200 operates with an Apogee 7 CCD camera. The CCD camera makes the 16" LX200 telescope very powerful for deep-sky photography of very faint and distant objects. It is used for Comet hunting as well as for Supernova searches.
Visitors to the Observatory are given the chance to make use of both telescopes. Guests will be called to look through the 25" telescope usually on a table for table basis, before and during the various courses of food ordered in the restaurant in a feast of "astronomy with gastronomy".
The 16" telescope is usually used during and after desserts to look at objects that are too faint to be seen with the 25" telescope and the human eye. The images are projected onto a screen in the restaurant. A short Comet hunt and/or Supernova hunt add to the excitement of the evening. It is quite possible that a dining guest will one day discover a comet from the comfort of his or her dinner table at the Observatory Restaurant.The Observatory Restaurant is ideally suited for private functions and corporate events. The resident astronomer is your "Tour guide of the Night Sky". The cost for the Astronomy is R100.00 per person. The Menu is a la carte and a 10% gratuity will be added to the Food/Bar bill. Starting times are 18h00 during the autumn and winter months, and 19h30 during the spring and summer months.