It was by chance that I heard about The Newt in Somerset opening in the UK last year, a property which Babylonstoren owners Koos Bekker and Karen Roos bought in 2013 as Hadspen House, renaming the renovated estate, and turning it into a property similar to Babylonstoren outside Franschhoek. Continue reading →
The only new restaurants opening this month are Epice, in Franschhoek, headed by Chef Charné Sampson, belonging to The La Colombe Group, and to be located in the former Marigold restaurant, as well as The Four Square Club, opened as a lunch restaurant by Chef Chris Erasmus at Môreson. Chef Peter Tempelhoff announced the opening of a new ‘funky’ restaurant in Cape Town on Kfm last week.
Other recent restaurant openings are Exhibit A of Chefs Rikku O’Donnchü and Warwick King on Bree Street in Cape Town, La Chêne was opened by Chef Darren Badenhorst at Leeu Estates in Franschhoek, and Cowboys & Cooks has opened in De Waterkant. Continue reading →
The poor economic conditions in our country currently is manifesting in the very few new restaurants opening for the new summer season, most such new openings usually taking place in September. Where many new restaurants are opening, they are changing the name and concept of existing ones, rather than being brand new, or adding other restaurants in a restaurant group’s portfolio.
Two exciting top-end restaurant openings are those of Exhibit A (owned by highly acclaimed Chef Rikku O’Donnchü and Chef Warwick King, who left Gåte restaurant earlier this year), opening in the city centre on 1 November; and of La Chêne at Leeu Estates in Franschhoek. Interesting is that a number of new restaurants have opened on Kloof Street, our former Cape Town Restaurant Street before Bree Street took over, Continue reading →
I saw an article by Post & Courier recently, randomly as I do not follow this publication, and was attracted to its topic, being the impact of restaurant reviews and their power to close a restaurant down. Being our country’s harshest restaurant reviewer, this got me thinking about why the top chefs in our country, including Giorgio Nava, Bertus Basson, Peter Tempelhoff, Liam Tomlin, and Scott Kirton & Co are so sensitive to constructive criticism by banning (or attempting to) me from their restaurants, yet new (to our country) chef Wunderkind Rikku O’Donnchü of Gåte Restaurant welcomes it so! Continue reading →