Tag Archives: Mama Cucina

More than 40 new restaurants have opened in Cape Town and the Winelands during Lockdown: November 2020.

 

News about restaurants closing down during Lockdown has almost ground to a halt, which is good news in itself. Even better news is that a number of new restaurants have opened or are planning to open in Cape Town and the Winelands, the latest count being 44 new restaurants.

The latest Lockdown Restaurant Closure list stands at 77 Restaurants in Cape Town and the Winelands, an increase of only two Restaurant Closures in the past month. Clarke’s, The Shortmarket Club, Koffi Terapi,  Ocean Blue, and Dahlia on Regent announced their permanent closure due to Lockdown, but have reopened.

The Test Kitchen and The Food Barn have changed their offerings and their restaurant names in reaction to the Covid Lockdown.

The Test Kitchen and The Foodbarn Restaurants transformed to cope with aftermath of Covid Lockdown!

Franschhoek saw a number of Lockdown Restaurant Closures, but has five new restaurants opening, some restaurants relocating, and some changing their offering.

Franschhoek Restaurants during Lockdown: which are open, closed, and opening soon!

 

Restaurant Closures since Lockdown:

#   The Shortmarket Club (has reopened)

#    La Bottega in Woodstock.

#    Empire Café in Muizenberg.

#    SMAK Delicatessen and Eatery.

#    Buitenverwachting Restaurant in Constantia.

#    The Deli Coffee Co in the V & A Waterfront

#    Under Oaks, Paarl (re-opened for Sit-Down, previously reported as Closed Down)

#    Craft Burger Bar, Sea Point

#.  The Butcher, Camps Bay

#   La Franca, Gardens

#   Go Go, Bree Street

#   The Butcher, Sea Point

#.  Cold Gold Artisanal ice-cream (reopened for Delivery in partnership with For Food’s Sake)

#   StarGarden Café, Fish Hoek

#   Oven Baked, Muizenberg

#   Noordhoek Café & Deli

#.  Kalk Bay Theatre

#   The Kitchen, Woodstock

#   Bay Expresso

#  Mugg & Bean, Constantia

#   Jessy’s Waffles, Camps Bay

#   Chi Cha in Sea Point

#   Ocean Blue in Camps Bay (reopened 18 July)

#   The Trumpet Tree, Stellenbosch

#   Tolhuis Bistro, Ceres

#   Maker’s Mark, Tulbagh

#   Thai Food Sushi, Sea Point

#   Meraki, Stellenbosch

#   All Things Good, Stellenbosch

#   Mama Cucina, Riebeeck-Kasteel

#   Brownies & Downies, City Centre

#   Dahlia on Regent, Sea Point (has reopened)

#   The Larder, Claremont

#  Café Blouberg,  Bloubergstrand

#   Jason’s, Bree Street Branch

#   Koffi Terapi, Willowbridge (reopened)

#  Blasters Family Restaurant, Cape Gate.

#  Fláva, Wilderness

#  The Fat Greek, Table View

#   Myoga, Vineyard Hotel, Newlands

#   Schwarma Express, Sea Point Branch

#  The Stack, Gardens

#   Two and Sixpence Tavern, Simon’s Town, after 21 years

#   Perseverance, Gardens, oldest pub in Cape Town

#   Fire Monkey, Claremont

#   Cattle Baron, Tokai

#   Clarke’s, Bree Street (has reopened)

#   Masala Dosa Restaurant, Long Street

#   Vicious Virgin Bar, Wale Street

#   Exhibit A, Bree Street

Exhibit A in Cape Town the first Fine-Dining Restaurant to close down due to the Corona Lockdown!

#  Frankie Fenner, Durbanville

#   Dale’s Black Angus, The Paddocks, Milnerton

#  TableThirteen, Green Point

#  Ton Khoon, Tyger Waterfront

#   Terroir, Stellenbosch.

#   Daniela’s Deliciously Decadent, Cape Quarter.

#   Batavia Café, Bo-Kaap

#   Addis in Cape Ethopian Restaurant

#   Fork on Long Street

#   Yumcious Café, Durbanville

#   Aces & Spades, City centre.

#  Guilio’s Café, Loop Street

#  De Wijnhuis, Stellenbosch

#  Café Mozart, Church Street

#  Active Sushi, Hudson Street

#  Amore, Kenilworth

#.  Primi Muizenberg

#   Primi Eden on the Bay

#   Primi Willowbridge

#   Mink & Trout, Bree Street

#   Lou Lou’s, Cape Quarter

#   Knead, The Point Centre

#   Pastis, Constantia

#   Viande at Grande Roche, Paarl.

#   95 Keerom Street, Cape Town

#   95 at Morgenster, Somerset West

#   Tintswalo Kitchen at Tintswalo Atlantic

#   Will’s Café and Deli, Oranjezicht

#  Jerry’s Burger Bar, Stellenbosch

#   Maison J in Camps Bay

#   Beluga in Green Point

#   Goloso in Sea Point

#   Restaurant Seven in Somerset West, owned by Chef George Jardine

#   Baker Brothers in Green Point

#   Bodega at Dornier, Stellenbosch

#   Doppio Zero, Stellenbosch

#   Restaurant at Waterkloof closes on 22 November

SA Top 10 Restaurant List loses one of its stars as Restaurant at Waterkloof closes down in two weeks!

 

Restaurant Openings (During Lockdown)

#   Regent Burger Bar has opened where Craft Burger Bar was on Regent Road in Sea Point.

#  Chef Liam Tomlin is opening Local at Heritage Square, a retail collection of local food products, fresh and packaged, in the former HQ space.

#   Chef Liam Tomlin is opening Mazza upstairs in the former HQ, as a Middle Eastern eating bar.

#   Ciao Pizza, Long Street.

#   Firefly Café in Camps Bay

#   Chef Chen Sushi Bar pop-up, The Point Mall, Sea Point.

#   Floozies has opened on Kloof Street.

#  Fork has opened in Franschhoek

#   Entrée in Franschhoek

#   Flower Café opened in Woodstock.

#   Jooma has opened in Sea Point

#   Starbucks is to open in Camps Bay

#   Yama Sushi Emporium opens in Franschhoek in December

#   Oku opened in Franschhoek on 14 October

#   Blue Coriander Indian restaurant has opened in Place Vendome in Franschhoek, the owner being a former chef at Marigold

#   Oxalis Eatery has opened on Wale Street.

#   Fat Harry’s in Wynberg has reopened, with new owners, an interior makeover, and new menu and staff.

Fat Harry’s in Kenilworth transformed from Bar to Restaurant with a Bar, with new owners, new decor, new kitchen and chef, new menu!

#   Chefs Warehouse Tintswalo Atlantic has opened

Tintswalo Kitchen at Tintswalo Atlantic to be transformed into Chefs Warehouse at Tintswalo Atlantic!

#   Barstaurant is opening at Glencairn Hotel in Simonstown, by the Tintswalo Group.

#   Bo-Kaap Deli has opened in Bo-Kaap.

#   Restaurateur Stuart Bailey is opening De Vleispaleis,  a meat restaurant in the Black Horse Centre on Dorp Street in Stellenbosch.

#   Curry Cave has opened on New Church Street

#   Ideas Cartel Bar at Casa Labia, Muizenberg

#   Mexicola Locale opened at the end of October in Hout Bay, another new Chef Cheyne Morrisby Restaurant

#  FreeBird has opened in Kloof Street Village.

#   Sharon’s Cafë has opened at The Palms

#   Clay Café has opened on Bree Street.

#   The Pokémon Co Claremont has opened

#   Rosetta has opened on Bree Street

#    Forneria Italia Beachfront has opened in Table View

#    I Sapori has opened in Table View

#    Seed & Circus has opened in Zonnebloem/District Six

#   The Manor at Nederburg has opened, in Paarl

#   Culture Wine Bar has opened on Bree Street, a joint venture between Chef Matt Manning and wine fundi  Chris Groenewald

#   Royale Eatery has opened on Vineyard Road in Claremont.

#   Salushi Express has opened in Cavendish Street, Claremont

#   Vadas Pasteis de Nata & Café is to open in Stellenbosch in November

#   All Things Edible (ATE) has opened at Silver Forest Boutique Lodge in Somerset West, with  her Michael Broughton

#   The Shortmarket Club is reopening as The Shortmarket Grill.

#.  OK JA has opened in Camps Bay (former Maison J)

#   My Sugar is opening in Claremont in November

#   Bokeh Creative Studio has opened on Regent Road in Sea Point.(Photograph)

#   Chef Peter Tempelhoff is to open a Street Food restaurant on Shortmarket Street.

#   Ernie Els Wines Restaurant has opened in Stellenbosch

#   Kleine Zalze Restaurant, with Chef Nic van Wyk

#   Drum has opened in the Black Horse Centre in Stellenbosch

#   Old Town Italy in the V& A Waterfront

#   Old Town Italy in Durbanville

#  Lime Tree Café has opened a Deli.

#   Chef Peter Tempelhoff is opening Beyond at Buitenverwachting in Constantia, with Nicholas Walker as Manager, and Chef Julia du Toit heading up the kitchen.

#   Chef Kevin Grobler has opened The Restaurant at Grande Roche in Paarl at the beginning of November.

The Restaurant at Grande Roche opens in two weeks, just after Viande Restaurant closes down at the Paarl hotel!

The Restaurant Closure and Opening Lists are updated continuously throughout the month.

For a list of Restaurants currently open for Food Delivery and Collection as well as Sit-Down Service, see the Facebook Group I created at the beginning of May: https://www.facebook.com/groups/261165661682371/?ref=share

 

Restaurant News

  1. Chef Calvyn Metior is the new Executive Chef at Monneaux Restaurant, previously Head Chef at La Motte.
  2. Chef Kayla-Ann Osborn has left The Chef’s Table in Umhlanga, now heading up the kitchen at Delaire Graff.
  3. Chef Scott Armstrong has rejoined JAN Restaurant in Nice as Sous Chef.
  4. Chef Nico Vorster has left La Paris Bistro outside Franschhoek, and has bought The Good Food Co in Franschhoek.
  5. Bossa Stellenbosch and Die Strandloper suffered extensive fire damage during Lockdown.
  6. Chef Bell McCleod has left Bones in Woodstock, now heading up the Hemel & Aarde Brewery.
  7. Chef Henry and Mari Vigar have left La Mouette, now solely owned by Gerrit Bruwer, and have moved to take over their restaurant Upper Bloem in Green Point.
  8.  Chef Neill Anthony Vaughn has been appointed as the Culinary Advisor to La Mouette.
  9. Chef Arno Janse van Rensburg has left his restaurant Janse & Co, his next venture not yet known.
  10. Stellenbosch has introduced an innovative community-supported incentive to restaurant diners to pay by SnapScan, offering them a 50% discount, with a maximum of R400, presented as a voucher.
  11. Epice will be moving to the space of Le Petite Colombe at Le Quartier Francais in Franschhoek.
  12. Le Petite Colombe will open at Leeu Estates on 6 November.
  13. The Foodbarn in Noordhoek has transformed into Foodbarn Café & Tapas.
  14. The Test Kitchen has changed its offering and its name to The Test Kitchen Origins

Details of new restaurants opening, and of restaurant closures, are highly appreciated. chrisvonulmenstein@gmail.com

 

Photograph:  Bokeh Creative Studio in Sea Point (Own photograph)

 

Chris von Ulmenstein, WhaleTales Blog: www.chrisvonulmenstein.com/blog Tel +27 082 55 11 323 Twitter:@Ulmenstein Facebook: Chris von Ulmenstein Instagram: @Chrissy_Ulmenstein

About Chris von Ulmenstein

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FEDHASA Cape understates severity of Cape Restaurant closures!

Rey Franco, FEDHASA Cape chairman of the Restaurant and Catering Industry segment, seems to be out of touch with the segment which he represents, in claiming in Cape Business News that 27 new restaurants opened and only three closed down in the Cape in the past year!  The situation is much worse in terms of restaurant closures, despite far more new restaurant openings.

Our ongoing tracking of restaurant openings shows that new restaurant openings were greater in number than the FEDHASA Cape figure, at 80 openings in the past twelve months, and included Cousins, Thai Café in Stellenbosch and Sea Point, De Oude Meul Bakkerij, Frères Bistro, The Urban Garden, Goloso Deli & Restaurant, Goloso Pizzaria, Bar1, Tamboerswinkel, I ♥ my Laundry, Millhouse KItchen at Lourensford, Reserve Brasserie, The Rotisserie at Leopard’s Leap, Café Blanc de Noir at Brenaissance,  Moyo at the V&A Waterfront, Mischu, Cattle Baron in Paarl, Latitude33, Baked Bistro, Richard’s Supper Stage & Bistro, Deluxe Urban Café, The Eatery at Diemersdal, De Grendel Restaurant, Camphor’s at Vergelegen, Antipasto Bar at Antonij Rupert Wines, Kloof Street House, Orphanage, Peter’s House, Le Venue at JC le Roux, Mitico, Slug & Lettuce on Kloof Street and in Stellenbosch, Ali Baba Kebab in Camps Bay, 5Rooms, La Belle Café & Deli, Big Route Top Gourmet Pizza, Stables at Vergelegen, Vovo Telo, Glashuis at Babylonstoren, Hussar Grill at Steenberg, Dorpstraat Deli, The Boat House, Orinoco, Cassis Paris Salon de Thé, Dog’s Bollocks, Jackal & Hide, Saints on 84 Kloof Street, Sushibox, Mama Cucina in Riebeek Kasteel, Salzburger Grill, The Stall, Shimmy’s Beach Club, The Red Table Restaurant at Nederburg, EuroHaus, Merchant’s Café, Truth on Buitenkant Street, Deluxe Coffeeworks, No 6 Restaurant at Welbedacht, Simply Asia in Paarl, La Pentola in Hermanus, Lizette’s Kitchen in Hermanus, Vino’s in Wellington, Sacred Ground Bakery & Deli in Franschhoek, Col’Cacchio In Hermanus and Westlake, Christina’s at Van Loveren, four Vida e Caffè, Gourmetboerie, Kushi Indian Restaurant, Moksh Authentic Indian Cuisine, Alfama, Paulina’s Restaurant at Rickety Bridge, Wakaberry in Rondebosch and Kloof Street, Okamai at Glenwood, Café Dijon in Green Point, and Deli @ The Square in Paarl.

Restaurant closures were more severe in the past year than reflected (maybe Franco wanted to project a perfect picture of the Cape restaurant industry, or he is that out of touch?), with at least 29 closures as per our count, which included Vanilla, two Café Dijon in Stellenbosch, Sabarosa in Bakoven, Toro Aperitif Bar, Caveau on Bree Street, Gourmet Burger, Limoncello, Casa Nostra, Wicked Treats in Franschhoek, Bistro on Rose, Paparazzi,  Rhapsody’s, Cape Town Fish Market in Somerset West, Josephine’s Cookhouse, Wale Rose Lifestyle, Mason, Café Sofia in Camps Bay (all outlets may have closed down), Gesellig, Beads in Stellenbosch, French Toast Wine Bar & Tapas, ACT Restaurant, The Kove, Planet Green Salad Bar, Freedom Hill, Sapphire, Grilleri in Hermanus, Franschhoek Deli, and Illyria in Stellenbosch.

The article emphasises how tough the restaurant industry is, with rising cost of food, electricity and gas, rental, and staff a major challenge, as is the tightening budgets of restaurant patrons.  The restaurant industry is highly overtraded and fragmented, and Franco says that ‘keeping a restaurant above water (sic) has always been a tough challenge’.  He adds that only a few have a winning ‘recipe of setting, food, social placement and value proposition’.

He noted a trend of restaurants opening at the start of summer, with restaurant closures visible at the start of winter. His statistic of two restaurants opening for every restaurant closure knocks his own restaurant opening and closure statistics mentioned above.  He also has seen an increased demand of catering for children, and a focus on healthy and organic food.  Loyalty programmes work, and refurbishments keep a restaurant interior fresh, he advises.

The larger franchised restaurants have done well in the past year, the Spur Corporation’s sales having increased by 17,5% in the last six months of 2012, whilst the Famous Brands franchises of Steers, Debonairs, Wimpy, Mugg & Bean, and Fishaways jointly increased turnover by 13% last year.  It is the smaller independents that may face another bleak winter to come, starting early this year due to the early Easter, which is synonymous with the end of the summer season.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage

Hot new Cape restaurants opening: Burrata, Orphanage, Bruce’s Boat House, and more!

Our list of latest restaurant openings and closures fortunately lists more openings than closures, and will be updated continuously, as we receive information.

Cape Town

*   Neil Grant, ex-sommelier of Rust en Vrede, has opened Burrata, a new restaurant in the Old Biscuit Mill.  They will introduce a new 3-course food and wine pairing menu at the end of April.

*   Luke Dale-Roberts, Eat Out Top Chef, is to open a real test kitchen, called The Kitchen of Dreams, a private experimental place to develop new recipes, at the Old Biscuit Mill in June

*   Chef Bruce Robertson (ex-The Showroom) has opened Bruce’s Boat House for lunches, in Scarborough

*   La Belle Café & Bakery has opened in the Alphen Boutique Hotel.

*   5 Rooms Restaurant has opened at the Alphen Boutique Hotel

*   Sabrina’s, which opened about two months ago where Depasco was, at the corner of Kloof and Long Street, has also closed down

*   Chef Craig Paterson has started as Executive Chef at Dash (Queen Victoria Hotel), the V&A Hotel, and Dock House

*   Mitico has opened a pizzeria and ’spaghetteria’ on Kloof Street, where St Elmo’s used to be (son of the original Luigi from Hout Bay)

*   Don Pedro’s in Woodstock has re-opened, under Madame Zingara management

*   Myög has opened as a frozen yoghurt outlet, at 103 Kloof Street

*   Thai Café has opened in the old Cape Quarter

*   On a Roll has opened in Mowbray as a gourmet hot dog restaurant

*   The Dog’s Bollocks has opened as a burger pop-up restaurant

*   Jackal & Hide has opened on Kloof Street

*   Graham Beck’s Gorgeous bubbly bar has opened at Catharina’s at Steenberg.

*   Col’Cacchio is opening new outlets in Claremont and Westlake

*   Dale Thebus is the new chef at Salt restaurant at the Ambassador Hotel.

*   A new Vida é Caffe is opening on Prestwich Street

*   A  cupcake shop is said to be opening on Ebenezer Street, next to T & Co/Table 13, in Green Point

*   Il Cappero is moving from Barrack Street to Fairway Street in Camps Bay, opening on 2 June.

*   Saints on 84 Kloof has opened on Kloof Street

*   Sushibox has opened at Newlands Village

*   Richard’s Supper Stage & Bistro has opened on Main/Glengariff Roads in Sea Point, as a dinner theatre (from May), and Bistro restaurant, owned by Richard Loring and Roland Seidel

*   ‘I ♥ my Laundry‘ restaurant has opened on Buitengracht Street

*   West Street Café has opened in the new Woodstock Foundry, owned by Chef Alan West

*   Orphanage has opened as a cocktail and tapas emporium on Bree Street

*   Valora on Loop Street has closed down

*   ACT Restaurant and Play Bar at the Baxter Theatre closed down

*   Philip Arno Botes is the new Chef at Pure Restaurant at Hout Bay Manor.

*   Maz Sushi has closed down on Main Road Sea Point

*   Planet Green Salad Bar has opened on Kloof Street

*   Vanilla in the Cape Quarter has closed down.

*   Madame’s on Napier has opened in De Waterkant

*   Moyo is to open where the Paulaner Braühaus was in the V & A Waterfront.

*   Sinn has closed down its Deli at Wembley Square

*   Table Thirteen is closing down in Green Point and moving to Paarden Eiland at the end of May

*   Slug & Lettuce has opened on Kloof Street, where Mason was.

*   Pizza Vezuvio has opened in the Tygervalley Waterfront

*   Bistrot Milano has opened on Blaauwberg Road, Table View

*   Forneria Italia has opened in the Bayside Centre, Table View

*   Maharajah is selling food at the Baxter Theatre on a take-away basis prior to shows.

*   Hussar Grill is to open at Steenberg

*   Chef Fred Faucheux is the new Executive Chef at Nobu.

*   Cassis is opening a new Salon de Thé in the Gardens Centre in May

*   De Grendel has opened De Grendel Restaurant, with Chef Ian Bergh and owner Jonathan Davies

*   Toro Wine and Aperitif Bar has closed down

*   Piroschka’s Kitchen has moved from Bree Street to Waterkant Street, De Waterkant.

*   Honest Chocolate is opening a second outlet with a ‘production kitchen’ in the Woodstock Industrial Centre next month

*   The Fez is reopening as a nightclub on Friday, to be called Sideshow

*  MasterChef SA finalist Guy Clark, who was eliminated in episode 9, has started as a chef at the Madame Zingara restaurant group next week.

*   Josephine’s Cookhouse is to open in Newlands, where Caveau at Josephine’s Mill used to be, belonging to Societi Bistro owner

*   A new Vida e Caffe is to open on Maindean Place in Claremont.

*   Vovo Teli has opened in the V&A Waterfront, in half of the original Vaughn Johnson shop. They have branches in Port Elizabeth and Johannesburg already.  The name is Portuguese, and means ‘grandfather’s place’.

*   Orinoco has opened on Bree Street, serving Mexican and Venezualean food

*   Rotisserie 360° has changed its name to Café Frank

*   Gesellig on Regent Road in Sea Point is standing empty, closed down or undergoing a major renovation

*   Sapphire has closed down in Camps Bay

*   A new McDonalds is opening in the Sanlam Centre

*   Salt Deli has chanegd its name to Salt Café

*   Keenwa has opened the P.I.S.C.O Bar above its restaurants, open Thursdays – Saturdays from 5 pm

*   Characters has opened on Roeland Street

*   TRUTH Coffee has opened on Buitenkant Street

*   The V&A Food Court is closed for renovations until November.  A sign outside the construction area lists the following businesses moving into or returning to the area: Primi Express, Anat, Carnival, Nür Halaal, Royal Bavarian Bakery, KFC, Boost Juice, Simply Asia, Steers, Debonairs, Subway, Marcel’s, and Haagan Dazs.

Franschhoek

*   Leopard’s Leap has opened its Tasting room and Liam Tomlin Food Studio and Store outside Franschhoek, and the new Deli will open at the end of June

*    Reuben’s, which was said to be opening a Franschhoek branch in a building off the main road, when his Huguenot Road branch lease expires this year, appears to now be looking for an alternative restaurant venue on the main road, as the building purchase close to Place Vendome appears to have fallen through.

*   Donovan Dreyer is the new Restaurant Manager of Indochine at Delaire Graff.

*   Cheyne Morrisby is the new chef at the Franschhoek Kitchen at Holden Manz

*   Chef Vanie Padayachee has joined Le Quartier Français

*   Chef Darren Roberts is leaving Grande Provence for a new appointment in the Seychelles at the end of April.  Chef Darren Badenhorst steps into his shoes.

*   Alton van Biljon has been appointed as Restaurant Manager at Haute Cabriere.

*  Wicked Treat has opened.

*   FEAST is to open where Franschhoek Food Emporium was, in Place Vendome

*   Deluxe Coffeeworks has opened, where the Reuben’s Deli used to be.

*   The bubbly Inge Hoffman has left Leopard’s Leap, and is the new Brand Manager for Boekenhoutskloof

*   Ryan’s Kitchen is now offering cooking classes on Friday mornings, starting on 1 June

*   Okamai Japanese restaurant has opened at Glenwood wine estate

*   Chef Shaun Schoeman of Fyndraai Restaurant at Solms Delta has the amazing honour to be working at Noma in Copenhagen for two weeks in July.  He also shared that Fyndraai will move to another building on the wine estate in November, and will offer fine dining.  The current restaurant will serve light lunches and picnics.

*  Taste South Africa, belonging to Cybercellar, has closed down in The Yard off the main road. They have Tweeted that they are looking for new premises.

Stellenbosch

*    Cavalli restaurant is said to open on the stud farm on R44, between Stellenbosch and Somerset West, this year or next

*   Dorpstraat Deli has opened, where Cupcake used to be.

*   De Oude Bank Bakkerij has opened a bar, serving Bartinney wines, and craft beers.

* David Higgs has resigned as Executive Chef from Radisson Blu Gautrain in Johannesburg (previously with Rust en Vrede).  He starts at The Saxon in Johannesburg in May.

*   Slug & Lettuce is to open where Beads is on Church Street

*   Stables at Vergelegen Bistro has opened as a lunch restaurant in Somerset West.  Its Lady Phillips Restaurant is being given a make-over by Christo Barnard, and will open in June, with a new name called The Vergelegen Restaurant.

*   Warwick wine estate’s new chef is Dane Newton (ex-Chamonix, Cascade Manor).

*   Chef Bjorn Dingemans is to open up The Millhouse Kitchen restaurant on Lourensford wine estate in July

*   Chris Olivier has opened SimpliciTea Deli in Somerset West

*   Chef Jonathan Heath has left Indochine, and will be opening a restaurant at Coopmanshuijs on Dorp Street in June.

*   A new Hussar Grill is said to be opening in Stellenbosch

Wellington

*   Chef Johan van Schalkwyk has left the Stone Kitchen at Dunstone Winery.  He opens his own restaurant Twist Some More in Wellington in July.

Hermanus/Overberg

*   Rivendell Estate and Bistro has opened as a restaurant and winetasting venue on the road between Hermanus and the N2, near the Kleinmond turn-off.

*  Grilleri (ex-Mediterrea) has closed down, and Chef Shane (ex-La Vierge) is now heading the re-named La Pentola restaurant.

Riebeek Kasteel

*   Mama Cucina has opened

Robertson

*   Emile Fortuin has been appointed as Executive Chef at Reuben’s Robertson

Garden Route

*   Katarina’s has opened at the Kurland Hotel.

Restaurant breaks

*   La Colombe is closing for renovations from 17 May – 16 June.

*   Constantia Uitsig is taking a winter break from 25 June – 24 July.

*   The River Café is closing for a winter break from 13 August – 4 September.

*   Tokara closes for a winter break from 22 April, re-opens on 4 May

*   Nguni in Plettenberg Bay closes from 1 May – 31 July

*   The Foodbarn will be closed for renovations on 7 and 8 May

*   Bientang’s Cave in Hermanus is closed for renovations until 21 June.

*   The Kove in Camps Bay will be closed from 1 May – 30 August

*   The Test Kitchen will be closed from 13 – 28 May

*    Burgundy in Hermanus will be closed for dinners until 17 June

*   Makaron Restaurant at Majeka House will be closed in June

*   Olivello at Marianne Estate will be closed from 30 July – 21 August

*   Grande Provence is closing on Sunday evenings until the end of September.

*   Pierneef a La Motte will be closed from 18 June – 13 July.

*   The main Delaire Graff restaurant closes from 3 -24 June, but Indochine continues to trade.

*   Blues will be closed from 1 – 30 June

*   Waterkloof in Somerset West is closing for all June.

*   The Franschhoek Kitchen at Holden Manz is closed for all of June

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter:@WhaleCottage