Category Archives: WhaleTales Blog

Cape Town and Winelands see host of new restaurant openings: December 2020 update!

 

Cape Town and the Winelands is experiencing a restaurant boom, with new openings currently as well as openings announced for 2023.

The biggest restaurant opening extravaganza is that of JAN Franschhoek, the third restaurant in the JAN Restaurant Collection, opening at La Motte in Franschhoek. La Motte is undergoing a major renovation and changes at its wine estate, with a Bread-related Café & Deli opening  in the La Motte Manor House in February 2023. Chef Chris Erasmus is working with La Motte as a consultant, until February. He is going overseas thereafter. Chef Peter Tempelhoff opens his third restaurant next week, a Japanese Street Food restaurant Ramenhead. Chef David Higgs has announced opening Continue reading →

Platter’s by Diners Club Wine Guide 2023 Awards 5 stars to 196 wines!

 

The 43rd edition of Platter’s by Diners Club Wine Guide has announced its 2023 list of 196 wines in 28 categories that were awarded 5 stars this year. A total of 8000 wines by 900 producers was evaluated this year.

Red and White Blends as well as Chenin Blanc are the biggest 5 star classes, with 28, 27 and 28 individual labels, respectively. The Chardonnay, Shiraz/Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon wine categories also performed well, with 22, 16, and 12 brands, respectively.

The Top Performing Winery of the Year goes to the winery that achieves the most five-star ratings after the annual final tasting round, it being Mullineux this year, with 8 five-star wines. It is the Swartland- Continue reading →

Chef Peter Tempelhoff to open Ramenhead Street Food Restaurant shortly!

 

Peter Tempelhoff’s newest restaurant (his third) is due to open next week. Ramenhead Restaurant is described as a Japanese Street Food restaurant, and is opening in Speaker’s Corner on Parliament Street, at street level of the same building in which his two star FYN Restaurant is located, and next door to Labotessa Hotel.

The restaurant opening has been delayed by a few months, it having taken over the previous space of a number of short-lived operations such as a French bakery and a Dim Sum kitchen. Continue reading →

Marble to open in the Cape in 2023, following a trend!

 

At the Eat Out Awards last week the Marble Group announced that it is to open Marble in Cape Town in 2023. This follows deluxe Sandton restaurant Tang opening in the Waterfront shortly. The move of these two top restaurants confirms the dominance of Cape Town as the Gourmet Capital of South Africa.

One star Marble restaurant is headed up by Chef David Higgs, once Executive Chef of Rust & Vrede, and resulting in the restaurant becoming the number one restaurant in the country. Soon thereafter Higgs packed his bags and left the Cape, to open Marble. Saint and The Pantry opened subsequently, and make up the Marble Group. Continue reading →