The new words on serious diners lips are ‘Gåte’ and ‘Quoin Rock’, both not having been heard of by most, but already associated with superlative dining, on a wine estate tucked away outside Stellenbosch where no expense had been spared to create eating and drinking experiences to take one’s breath away! This is what we experienced when invited to eat at Chef Rikku O’Donnchü’s Gåte restaurant on Friday evening. I was still pinching myself over the weekend as to whether this was real, or just a dream. I invited my friend Stuart Bailey to share this experience with me. (more…)

Very quickly and quietly The Harbour House seafood restaurant at Constantia Nek has been transformed into a fine-dining The Restaurant at The Nek, now making it part of an interesting trio of fine-dining experiences at the pinnacle of Constantia, flanked by Eat Out Top 10 restaurants La Colombe and Chef’s Warehouse Beau Constantia. (more…)

After a year of not having an African restaurant on the World’s 50 Best Restaurant list, The Test Kitchen In Cape Town has done our continent proud in scraping in at number 50 at the gala awards ceremony held in Bilboa in Spain this evening. The restaurant was praised for its emphasis on waterless cooking, giving the water scarcity in Cape Town. Last year the restaurant fell to 63rd position, when its arrogance in charging astronomically for lunch service, and for the presence of Chef Luke Dale-Roberts, led to its downfall. 

La Colombe made it onto the 51 -100 List, at number 73 last year, but has fallen right off the list this year, a karmic reaction to its involvement in restaurant politics, which was already evident in its slide at the Eat Out Awards in November last year.  (more…)

At a private intimate dinner party my first book ‘SwitchBitch: My journey of transformation from Sour to Sweet’ was launched last night, attended by very special friends. It documents my journey of a mainly physical transformation over a twenty month period.  (more…)

Episode 5 of the JAN TV series of nine episodes broadcast weekly on viaTV, and dedicated to our country’s best chef  Jan-Hendrik van der Westhuizen of JAN restaurant in Nice, focused on the relationship between sons and their fathers, and more specifically between Chef Jan-Hendrik and his dad.  (more…)

Episode 4 of the JAN viaTV series was focused on Apricale, and foraging in the area, both for wild-growing flowers and herbs, as well as for truffles. It was special to see Jeanette van Manen, owner of the Apricus Locanda, at which I stayed in August whilst writing The Book. (more…)

After a quiet August as far as restaurant openings in Cape Town and the Winelands are concerned, September is seeing a number of new restaurants opening between now and the end of the month. 

We update information about newly opened and closed restaurants continuously, and welcome such news.

Restaurant Openings

#   Roast & Co has opened alongside HQ, in the former Bizerca Bistro space, in Heritage Square (photograph) (more…)

A visit to Europe became more exciting when I decided to add a visit to France, dining at one Michelin star JAN restaurant in Nice, and continuing my World’s 50 Best Restaurants journey, eating at Mirazur in Menton (6th best), and at L’Arpège (19th best) and Septime (50th best) in Paris. Mirazur is the most highly ranked French restaurant, and has two Michelin stars. Mirazur means ‘look at the blue sea’. Last year I ate at the World’s 50 Best Restaurants in New York, and in London.  (more…)

Michalak pâtisserie came highly recommended by Foxcroft Chef Glen Williams for top pâtisseries to visit in Paris. It has a modern and funky feel, and I got the feeling that its owner Chef Christophe Michalak has had fun in creating his Michalak pâtisserie range.  (more…)

Today I depart on a two-week eating tour of France, continuing my World’s 50 Best Restaurant journey I began in New York and London in July last year. There is no more exciting start to my culinary trip than dinner at JAN restaurant in Nice on Wednesday, given that it has just been awarded the 2017 Michelin one-star rating. In February 2016 owner Jan-Hendrik van Der Westhuizen did our country proud, in becoming the first South African chef to own a Michelin-star restaurant.  (more…)