New restaurant openings continue, especially in Cape Town, despite winter having arrived, and further restaurants have closed down.

We update information about newly opened and closed restaurants continuously.

Restaurant Openings

#   A Mexican-style tapas restaurant has opened inside Tuk Tuk craft beer microbrewery in Franschhoek (photograph)

#   Mulberry & Prince has opened on the corner of Bree and Pepper Street, with owners American Cynthia Rivera and local Cornel Mostert 

#    Villa 47 has opened on Bree Street, with Locando restaurant on the ground floor.  Stuzzico Italian finger-food and bar has opened on the second floor, and The Restaurant ‘fine dining with a twist‘ on the third floor is to open in September, with Chefs Clayton Bell and Vittorio Bianchi.

#   The Orangerie has opened at Le Lude in Franschhoek 

#    Chef Jan-Hendrik van der Westhuizen of one Michelin star JAN restaurant in Nice could open a restaurant in Cape Town!  Chef Jan-Hendrik’s first step has been to host three dinners at his Higgovale home.

#   Chef Luke Dale-Roberts opened Naturalis as an ‘incubation hub’, for lunches, and a venue for occasional dinners and events. (NOTE: Naturalis is currently closed for lunches, and will re-open as a Wine Bar in the evenings when it has received its liquor licence).

#    Live Bait has opened in Muizenberg

#   Pop-up Luke Dale-Roberts at The Saxon inside five hundred in Johannesburg has become a permanent restaurant.

#   Melissa’s is opening in Franschhoek, and in Camps Bay.

#   Charango Grill & Bar Peruvian restaurant is to become a franchise operation.

#   Chef David Higgs is opening his 250-seater Marble restaurant in Rosebank in Johannesburg on 4 July, with business partner Gary Kyriakou. Chef Werner Spöhr has joined them, as has Wikus Human, the new Wine & Associate Manager.

#   Tiger’s Milk is to open in the SanClare Building in Claremont, in Century City, in Stellenbosch, in Bryanston in Johannesburg, and in Dubai.

#   Mon Desir has opened in Hermanus.

#   Springfontein Bar(n) has opened outside Stanford, at Springfontein, serving German bar food.

#   Bread & Butter Co has opened in Paarl

#   Raya Kitchen by Kitima has opened in the city centre.

#   The Kove Collection has opened Dalliance Restaurant & Bar in the V&A Waterfront

#   Floreal Brasserie has opened at Marianne Wine Estate in Stellenbosch

#   The Tasteroom and Brewery has opened at Darling Brewery

#   The Press Burgers and Craft Beer has opened in Sea Point

#   Nooka Café vegetarian restaurant has opened.

#   Harbour House is to open in Johannesburg

#   Hard Rock Café is said to open in the V&A Waterfront.

#   Little Saint has opened on Bree Street

#   Marigold Indian restaurant is to open in Franschhoek in winter.

#   Chef Luke Dale-Roberts’ Shortmarket Club with Wesley Randles, former Pot Luck Club Chef, has opened.

#   ASH restaurant has opened inside Frankie Fenner Meat Merchants/Publik, with Chef Ash Heeger and the former chef of Culture Club Cheese.

#   Restaurant Jardine has opened in Stellenbosch, the kitchen headed up by Chef Brendan Thorncroft, owner Chef George Jardine alternating between the new restaurant and Jordan Restaurant.

#   La Petite Ferme has opened a Tapas Bistro.

#   Jason’s Bakery has opened a new branch on Loop Street

#   Jamie’s Italian is to open in Cape Town next year.

#   Knus Karoo Kombuis is opening in Paarl

#   Guts & Gizzards has opened on Loop Street.

#   Dunkin’ Donuts will open 250 outlets in our country, the first four in Cape Town.

#   Crumbs & Cream has opened on Regent Road in Sea Point.

#   [spasie] Upstairs has opened on Bree Street, as an art gallery and cocktail bar.

#   Madison Ave Night Club is opening

#   ONE Wine Bar and Bistro has opened in Riebeek Kasteel

#   Manor House Restaurant has opened on the Stanford Valley Guest Farm.

#   An interesting rumour is that Chefs Liam Tomlin and Ivor Jones are to jointly open a restaurant at The Silo hotel development in the V&A Waterfront,.   The Silo hotel is due to open in March 2017, and will have the Rooftop Restaurant, Rooftop Champagne Bar, and The Silo Café as its offering.

#   Baked Bistro has opened a second branch, on Regent Road in Sea Point.

#   La Colombe Executive Chef Scot Kirton and Pastry Chef Glen Williams are opening an additional more informal restaurant to be called Foxcroft at High Constantia in Spring

#   Shego Turkish restaurant has opened in Cape Royale Luxury Hotel in Green Point.

#   Nomad Bistro Fusion has opened on Waterkant Street

#   Jerry’s Burger Bar is to open another branch, in Sea Point

#   The Tea Bar has opened on Long Street.

#   Idiom Wines has opened its new Restaurant and Wine tasting room.

#   Papa San, previously of Takumi, is opening his own restaurant Obi in conjunction with Ben Bettendorf on Long Street in July.

#   The Catch Fish & Chips has opened in Hout Bay.

#   Cheyne’s is opening a cocktail sake bar, to be called Fire Monkey.

#   Chef Ivor Jones has teamed up with Chef Liam Tomlin, to open a second Chef’s Warehouse at Beau Constantia wine estate.

#   Easy Tiger has opened in Kenilworth.

#   Marthinus Ferreira is to open another restaurant alongside DW Eleven-13 in Johannesburg.

#   Chef Cheyne Morrisby is opening a Ramen and Japanese Grill House called SHIO in Green Point.

#   I Love Coffee, the first deaf-run coffee shop in SA, has opened inside the X-Body Fitness Gym in Claremont

#   A new Slip Slops restaurant is to open in Cape Town.

#   Marta Dalla Cia has opened Marta’s Kitchen at 11 Papegaai Street (off Dorp Street) in Stellenbosch.

#   The Harbour House Group is to take over The Grand on the Beach, promising to make it grand again!

#   Chef Garth Almazan, previously of Catharina’s at Steenberg, is opening a restaurant in Paternoster.

#   Jarryd’s is opening a second branch, on Hout Street in two months. It has also opened a bakery section, called Bentleys Bakery Co, inside Jarryd’s Sea Point.

Restaurant Closures

#   Rafiki’s has closed down.

#   Takumi has closed down

#   The Flagship in Simonstown, formerly the restaurant of the late Bruce Robinson, has closed.

#   Tuscany Beach in Camps Bay is closed for renovations. The new restaurant The 41 will open in November.

#   Ranoushe restaurant has closed down, after only three months!

#   Crisp in Franschhoek has closed, to make space for the new Woolworths.

#   Freres Bistro has been sold, and is currently closed.

#   Active Sushi in Portside on Bree Street has closed.

#   Chandani has closed.

#   Dudley’s Larder in McGregor has stopped trading.

#   Borage Bistro has closed down at its Bree Street premises, to relocate to new premises, and reopens in September.

#   Dropkick Murphy has closed down on Kloof Street.

#   The Salmon Bar appears unlikely to reopen in Franschhoek.

Restaurant changes

#   La Parada and Harbour House are opening in the former Constantia Nek restaurant building.

#   Breakaway Café has opened where Keenwä used to be

#   Reuben’s Franschhoek will move to new premises, and its space is to become a Woolworths.  It has closed for renovations, and reopens at its new location at 2 Daniel Hugo Street in November. They will operate a pop-up restaurant at the Riffel-owned Racine at Chamonix in June and July.

#   OYO at V&A Hotel has closed, for a few months, for a complete renovation.

#   The Stack has re-opened, after renovations due to fire damage.

#   The Harbour House Group is to take over The Grand Camps Bay.

#   Chef Johann Breedt has bought Viva Cafê in Green Point, which is to be renamed Bernie’s.

#   Sababa has changed the name of its Bree Street branch back to its original name, after trading as Olami for a short while.

#   Tiger’s Milk Smokehouse is opening where Emily’s used to be on Kloof Street.

#   Chefs Warehouse’s Streetfood has closed, and has been replaced by their No Reservations Bar.

#   The Long Table Restaurant and Café at Haskell Vineyards closed in March, and will re-open after an extensive renovation, upgrade, and general maintenance, to be run by the winery itself when it re-opens.

#   La Cuccina is to open an outlet in the former Andiamo in the ‘old’ Cape Quarter.

#   Kan10 has opened in De Warenmarkt, offering lunches, ‘grab-and-go’, and dinners, with Chefs Nic van Wyk and Westley Muller.

#   The Bakery @ Jordan is no longer operated by Chef George Jardine.  It has been taken over by Jordan Winery.

#   Rivendell Restaurant has moved to the Wine Tasting venue on the wine estate.

#   Chef Liam Tomlin is on a major expansion spree. He is taking over and renovating the former Takumi space as an Indian tapas bar, on two floors, opening in about three months. His chef Sheldon Raju will head up the (as yet unnamed) restaurant, and the project partner is Dimo Papa Christodoulou of Fat Cactus and Long Street Cafe. They will not take reservations.

#   Chef Warwick Taylor, ex-Creation, has opened SOURCE restaurant in Hermanus, where Season and Biga used to operate.

#   The Village Tart has opened where Gideon’s Pancakes used to be in Franschhoek.

#   Chef Eric Bulpitt and his team are leaving The Restaurant at Newton Johnson at the end of September, and are opening at Avondale on 1 November.

#   Chef Bertus Basson is renovating Overture in winter 2017.

#   The Fat Butcher has opened in Stellenbosch.

Chef and Restaurant staff changes

#   Chef Lucas Carstens of Cuvée has moved to Makaron, with Chef Pete Goffe-Wood appointed as Consultant.

#   Chef Ryan Shell is now at Vergenoegd wine estate.

#   Chef Andres Condé has left the Harbour House Group, and returned to Spain.

#   Chef Adrian Buchanan is the new Head Chef at 96 Winery Road.

#   Chef Angelo Scirocco has left Chef’s Warehouse, opening a new restaurant Urbanologi in Johannesburg,  as its Head Chef

#   Chef Garth Almazan has left Catharina’s, and Chef Archie Maclean has taken over, having left Neethlingshof.

#   Chef Jaco Grové is the new Executive Chef at Creation.

#   Neill Beningfield and Kyle Gray are the new owners of Eat @ Altydgedacht.

#   Chef Dean Correia has left Chef’s Warehouse, and is the Head Chef at Bliss Boutique Hotel.

#   Taj Cape Town GM Michael Pownall has left the hotel, and has joined PMR Hospitality Partners.

#   Chef Henrico Grobbelaar now heads up the kitchen at Southern Sun The Cullinan.

#   Louise Starey, former Manager of  The Bakery @ Jordan, has joined Bertus Basson at Spice Route.

#   Luis Pinheiro is now GM of the new Silo hotel in the V&A Waterfront.

#   Jeremy de Matteis is the new chef at Grape Vine Eatery at Silvermist.

#   Stephen Mandes is the new Head Chef at Mondiall, having formerly co-owned La Vierge restaurant in Hermanus, and was a co-winner of Ultimate Braai Master Season 3.

#   Chef Dean Jones has moved from The Tasting Room at Le Quartier Français to Copperleaf at The Els Club golf course in Centurion.

#   Leopard’s Leap Culinary Manager Martell Smit has moved to Leeu Estates.

#   Marie-Louise Oosthuizen has moved from Café BonBon to Leopard’s Leap as its new Culinary Manager.

#   Chef Duncan Doherety is said to be moving back to Franschhoek, to take over Café des Arts or Le Verger at the Le Franschhoek Hotel.

#   Chef Richard de Wet is the new chef at Nomad Bistro Fusion in Cape Town.

Restaurant News

#   Haute Cabriere is open for lunch on Tuesdays – Sundays, and for terrace lunch as well as dinners on Fridays and Saturdays during winter. (3/5)

#   A complete list of the 40 restaurants on Bree Street can be seen here.

#   La Mouette is closing for a winter break from  13 – 27 June.

#   The Kitchen at Maison is closed in June and July.

#   Borage Bistro:  Closed for winter hibernation

#   Reuben’s Franschhoek: Closed for move to new building. Opens as a pop-up at Racine (Chamonix) in June and July (closed on Tuesdays).

#   Gaaitjie in Paternoster is closed until 3 August.

#   Karoux in McGregor is closed in June.

#   Camphors at Vergelegen: Closed 1 – 14 June

#   La Colombe: Winter break from 6 – 27 June.

#   Nomad in Stellenbosch is closed from 12 – 30 June

#   Le Quartier Français will be closed for maintenance from 19 June – 15 July.

#   Waterkloof Restaurant: Closed from 19 June – 20 July

#   De Grendel: closed from 27 June – 14 July.

#   Terroir:   Closed 27 June – 20 July.

#   Red Table Restaurant @ Nederburg: closed 28 June – 20 July

#   Aubergine closes from 2 – 25 July.

#   Bistro13:  Closed from 4 July – 18 July.  New winter hours:  as of 1 June- 30 September 2016 – Lunch Tuesday- Sunday, Dinner: Wednesday – Saturday.

#   Bistro Sixteen82: Closed 25 July – 10 August.

We welcome all restaurant news: whalecot [at] iafrica.com

Chris von Ulmenstein, WhaleTales Blog: www.whalecottage.com/blog  Tel 082 55 11 323 Twitter:@WhaleCottage  Facebook:  click here Instagram: @Chris_Ulmenstein