Tag Archives: Restaurant at Waterkloof

Only 16 of the 2019 Top 20 Restaurants in SA are still operating! How has our Gourmet scene changed in the past year?

In preparing for an interview conducted by Süd-Africa Magazin newsletter writer Werner Klein about how the restaurant scene has changed in Cape Town and the Winelands since Lockdown started over a year ago, I looked specifically at the Eat Out Top 20 Restaurant List of November 2019. Eat Out did not Award any restaurant awards in 2020, and appears unlikely to do so in 2021.

Of the latest Eat Out Top 20 Restaurants shortlisted, only 16 of our country’s Top 20 are still operating, I was shocked to discover.  Three of the four the top restaurants closed down in 2021. Two of the restaurants were on the Top 10 list, and two on the List of 11 – 20 ranked local restaurants in 2019.

The four restaurants which have closed down permanently are the following:

#   Restaurant at Waterkloof: The Chef Gregory Czarnecki owned restaurant operating at Waterkloof Winery in Somerset West closed on 22 November 2020. There has been no sight or sound of Chef Gregory, last posting on Instagram on 22 February. The restaurant held the number one slot of the Eat Out Top 10 list in 2018, and was ranked third in 2019.

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

#   The Shortmarket Club was the first Fine-Dining restaurant to close down in Lockdown, almost immediately after it began last year.  In December 2020 it reopened with most of its chef team, who left Tintswalo to reopen the restaurant.  It has since ‘closed indefinitely’ but is still on the website of the LDR Group of Restaurants owned by Chef Luke Dale Roberts.  The site currently operates as The Test Kitchen Fledgelings, a Burger joint only operating on Fridays, and a training ground for new chef talent. In 2019 The Shortmarket Club was ranked at number 18 in 2019.

Is Chef Luke Dale Roberts scaling down his Restaurant Group? Salsify at the Roundhouse no longer part of the Group!

#   Mosaic at The Orient is the saddest closing, very unlikely to be due to the Lockdown. An Eat Out Top 10 restaurant for most of its existence, yet never given the number one slot, Chef Chantel Dartnall and her restaurant received better international recognition than local!  She appears to be investing in herself, taking time off at a local coastal retreat, and to spend time in Paris, to learn French and to work at a restaurant there. At the Eat Out Awards in 2019 Chef Chantel announced that she would no longer participate in the Eat Out Awards, wishing to make space on the Awards list for younger chefs and their restaurants. Many saw a different message in this announcement, given that she was not receiving the recognition she deserved locally. She was followed by Chef Luke Dale Roberts a few weeks later, in making the same announcement. Restaurant Mosaic closed down outside Pretoria at the end of March. It was ranked 9th in 2019, an insult to the restaurant  and its chef.

Top 16 women Chefs recognised by Michelin for International Women’s Day, Farewell to only Top SA Woman Chef! !

#.  La Tête also closed down, on Bree Street, on 6 February. It was ranked 17th in 2019.

 

The remaining Top 20 restaurants, in order of their 2019 ranking from number 1, are:  La Colombe, The Test Kitchen, Wolfgat, FYN, La Petite Colombe, Eike, Salsify at The Roundhouse, Chefs Warehouse at Beau Constantia, Camphors at Vergelegen, Overture, LivingRoom at Summerhill Estate, Chefs Warehouse at Maison, Greenhouse at The Cellars-Hohenhort, Le Coin Français, Tjing Tjing Momiji, and Rust en Vrede.

 

The interview about the changing restaurant scene in the past 13 months highlighted the following:

#   The restaurant industry has been doing well in the past two months, when the regulation regarding the sale of alcohol in restaurants was normalized, and the Curfew start time moved to midnight. Restaurants are reporting excellent trade, especially on weekends.

#   A total of 100 restaurants have closed down in Cape Town and the Winelands. Chef Luke Dale Roberts has lost two restaurants in his stable, only retaining The Test Kitchen and The Pot Luck Club.

#   More than 70 restaurants have opened, Chef Liam Tomlin having opened three in this period.

#.  A handful of restaurants announced their permanent closure, but managed to reopen again, including Clarke’s, Nelson’s Eye, and Perseverance Tavern.

#.  Franschhoek has been particularly hard hit by the Lockdown, losing Foliage a week ago, and Entrée and Fork recently. Yet restaurateur and Chef Darren Badenhorst has opened two new restaurants,  and has taken over the running of Tuk Tuk, in addition to his two existing restaurants.

#.  The ultimate fine dining restaurant has opened in our county, Restaurant KLEIN JAN at Tswalu Private Game Reserve, owned by Chef Jan-Hendrik van der Westhuizen, who also owns one Michelin Star JAN restaurant in Nice. The new restaurant is likely to fly right into the number one spot when Eat Out reintroduces its Awards.

Chef Jan-Hendrik van der Westhuizen finally opens his Restaurant KLEIN JAN in the Kalahari, most expensive restaurant in SA!

#. Capetonians can more easily access our city’s fine dining restaurants. It still takes three months to book at Wolfgat, and it took six months to get into The Test Kitchen. The latter restaurant now has availability for all dates in May. Most top restaurants now offer Reduced Tasting Menus, fewer courses offered making them more affordable.

I am grateful to have had the opportunity for an amended German version of this story to be published in the Newsletter of the Süd-Africa Magazin.  https://www.sued-afrika.de/artikel/newsletter-11-kapstadt-gastroszene-im-wandel. And for the magazine using a photograph of Utopia Cape Town restaurant.

 

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

 

More Restaurants closing, some temporarily, due to new Adjusted Level 3 Lockdown: January 2021

 

Just when news about restaurants closing down during Lockdown had almost ground to a halt, eight restaurants in Cape Town in the past week have announced their closure, some temporary, due to the new Adjusted Level 3 Lockdown which commenced on 29 December 2020.  The Curfew starting at 21h00, Restaurants having to close at 20h00, and alcohol sales not being allowed, combined with diners’ fear of the greater spreadability of the mutated Corona Virus, is affecting restaurant turnovers harshly.

Despite the Lockdown regulations affecting restaurants so badly in the past nine months, a total of 66 new restaurants have opened in Cape Town and the Winelands during Lockdown. Top chefs are opening new restaurants, including Chefs Peter Tempelhoff and Liam Tomlin. Continue reading →

Another internationally recognised Top 10 Restaurant to close its doors: Restaurant Mosaic at The Orient!

 

It was a shock to see a Facebook post by Chef Chantel Dartnall of award-winning Restaurant Mosaic at The Orient, announcing that she is closing her restaurant on 28 March 2021, after 15 years of operating it outside Pretoria. Not only has the restaurant been on the Eat Out Top 10 List for many of these years, but Chef Chantel’s restaurant is probably the most highly internationally recognized South African restaurant.

Last month The Restaurant at Waterkloof closed its doors in Somerset West, another Eat Out Top 10 restaurant.

Continue reading →

More than 60 Restaurants in Cape Town/Winelands have opened since start of Lockdown, Closures grind to a halt! December 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 61 new restaurants.

The latest Lockdown Restaurant Closure list stands at 83 Restaurants in Cape Town and the Winelands, an increase of only one Restaurant Closure in the past month. Sadly the greatest casualty of Covid and the Lockdown is the recent closure of The Restaurant at Waterkloof.  Clarke’s, The Shortmarket Club, Koffi Terapi,  Ocean Blue, and Dahlia on Regent announced their permanent closure earlier in Lockdown, but have since reopened.

Top chefs are opening new restaurants, including Chefs Peter Tempelhoff and Liam Tomlin. 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 restaurant openings, some restaurants have relocated, and some have changed their offering.

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

Restaurant Openings (Since the start of 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

Restaurant Review: Firefly Café in Camps Bay is a unique neighbourhood refreshment station, starting to fly!

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

#   Floozies has opened on Kloof Street.

#  Fork has opened in Franschhoek

#   Entrée has opened in Franschhoek

#   Flower Café has opened in Woodstock.

#   Jooma has opened in Sea Point

#   Starbucks opens in Camps Bay on 15 December

#   Starbucks has opened at Canal Walk

#   Starbucks has opened at Cavendish Square

#   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. (Photograph)

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 has opened 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 has opened 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 has opened in Stellenbosch

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

#   The Shortmarket Club has reopened as The Shortmarket Grill.

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

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

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

#   Ernie Els Wines Restaurant has opened in Stellenbosch

#   Kleine Zalze Restaurant has opened, with Chef Nic van Wyk

#   Drum has opened in the Black Horse Centre in Stellenbosch

#   Old Town Italy has opened in the V& A Waterfront

#   Old Town Italy has opened in Durbanville

#  Lime Tree Café has opened a Deli.

#  Chef Judi Fourie is opening Fideli’s on Parliament Street, where Kleinsky’s used to be.

#  La Petite Maison has opened in Langebaan.

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

Chef Peter Tempelhoff goes beyond Fyn to launch beyond Restaurant at Buitenverwachting!

#   Chef Kevin Grobler has opened The Restaurant at Grande Roche in Paarl.

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

#  Beach House has opened on Victoria Road in Camps Bay, where Sunset Sessions used to be.

#   My Sugar has opened in Cavendish Square and in Canal Walk.

#   Schoon has opened at Kloof Street Village

#   KOFI has opened at Kloof Street Village

#   Nü has opened at Kloof Street Village

#   Lexi’s Healthy Eatery Vegan restaurant is opening on Regent Road in Sea Point.

#   ëlgr has opened on Kloof Street, where Janse & Co operated previously.  Probably the restaurant with the most difficult name in Cape Town.

#  The Botanicum Restaurant has opened at Morgenster

#   Crème de la Crème has opened in Camps Bay.

#   Makers Landing has opened in the Cruise Terminal in the Waterfront, a collection of small food operators.

Makers Landing Cape Food craft market opens in the Waterfront today, celebrates SA food diversity!

Restaurant Closures (temporary ?) since start of Adjusted Level 3 Lockdown on 29 December

Bones in Woodstock

Nelson’s Eye in Gardens

Chefs Warehouse & Canteen in Bree Street

Grub & Vine on Bree Street

La Mouette in Sea Point

Greenhouse at Cellars-Hohenhort

The Wild Fig, Observatory

Rick’s Café Americain on Kloof Street

 

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 closed on 22 November

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

#  The Slick Restaurant Group’s Balducci’s and Belthazar Restaurants have closed down in the Waterfront.

V&A Waterfront stalwart Balducci’s and Belthazar Restaurants close down, latest Covid Lockdown casualties!

 

 

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. He is working with his former Janse & Co team at Oxalis.
  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 has moved to the space of Le Petite Colombe at Le Quartier Francais in Franschhoek.
  12. Le Petite Colombe has opened at Leeu Estates.
  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

 

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

Note: My Blog is being showered with ads by Google, as are most other web-related articles. Please be assured that I have no control over this at all, and that I receive no revenue for this unauthorised usage of my Blog as its advertising platform.