Tasting Menus have had a reputation in our country to offer endless numbers of courses (over 20 at The Test Kitchen in pre-Covid Lockdown times), with a price ticket to match!
Seeing the prices charged by Chef Jan-Hendrik van der Westhuizen at his new Restaurant KLEIN JAN at Tswalu, as well as his Innovation Studio pop-up in Cape Town, I did some research to check what is being charged at some of our top restaurants. I have listed the number of courses and the prices, and then calculated an average price per course with and without wines..
The Test Kitchen and Restaurant KLEIN JAN offer the most expensive Tasting Menus on a total price as well as on a per course basis. It is a shame that the La Colombe Group Menus are almost all designed according to the same formula. Interesting too is that most top Restaurants charge a Premium on their Vegetarian/Vegan Tasting Menus. Continue reading →
It was by chance that I discovered Labotessa Café in the Labotessa Boutique Hotel on Church Square in Parliament Street in Cape Town two weeks ago. It is part of the Labotessa Hotel, in a beautifully renovated five story building reminiscent of Amsterdam from its exterior, exuding beauty and style.
It was a surprise to read that Chef Peter Tempelhoff is to open his second restaurant beyond, at Buitenverwachting in Constantia. This follows the success of his Fyn restaurant in the city centre, which he opened two years ago. He is to open a Street Food restaurant on Shortmarket Street sometime soon too.
While not all restaurants and their diners are happy that the Curfew has not been lifted, they are definitely happy that the alcohol sale ban has been lifted as of Tuesday 18 August. A host of restaurants at all Levels have announced their reopening for Sit-Down, being restaurants that only offered a Food Delivery and Collection Service, or Restaurants that remained closed since the start of Lockdown on 27 March. However not all restaurants are reopening, some still waiting for the international tourists to arrive back.