{"id":62314,"date":"2014-10-06T15:56:52","date_gmt":"2014-10-06T13:56:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whalecottage.com\/blog\/?p=62314"},"modified":"2014-10-07T23:10:25","modified_gmt":"2014-10-07T21:10:25","slug":"2015-eat-out-top-20-announced-surprise-inclusions-and-exclusions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/cape-town\/2015-eat-out-top-20-announced-surprise-inclusions-and-exclusions\/","title":{"rendered":"2014 Eat Out Mercedes-Benz Top 20 Restaurants announced: surprise inclusions and exclusions!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Waterkloof<\/a>Eat Out<\/strong> has just announced its Top 20 list, communicated very oddly (and inconveniently) by individual Tweet to each of the Top 20 restaurants. \u00a0As can be expected, there are some surprise additions and omissions on the list. \u00a0Stellenbosch and Cape Town are in direct competition, with six Top 20 Finalist Restaurants each. \u00a0The 2014 Eat Out<\/strong> Mercedes-Benz Top 10 Restaurant Awards will be presented on Sunday 16 November.<\/p>\n

New entrants<\/strong> to the list are La Mouette, The Restaurant at Newton Johnson, The Pot Luck Club, and The White House at Dear Me. \u00a0The latter restaurant’s addition to the list is a surprise, given that it is only open twice a week, on Thursday and Friday evenings. \u00a0Eat Out<\/strong> judge Andy Fenner supplying the restaurant from his down-in-the-dungeon Frankie Fenner Meat Merchants\u00a0‘butchery<\/em>‘ on Church Street makes this nomination a conflict of interest!<\/p>\n

Returnees<\/strong> to the list, after being eliminated last year, are Mosaic at The Orient and Terroir.<\/p>\n

Omissions<\/strong> from the list, surprisingly, are Burrata (Best Italian restaurant last year), Indochine (very good score in Top 20 last year), Azure at The Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa, Equus at Cavalli, The Restaurant at Grande Provence, Springfontein Eats, \u00a0and for many, The Foodbarn.<\/p>\n

* \u00a0 Ineligibilty<\/strong> due to chef changes are Delaire Graff Restaurant, Camphors at Vergelegen, Mondiall, Pierneef\u00a0\u00e0 La Motte, Hartford House, and Babylonstoren, as well as La Colombe, due to its venue change and long closure as a result.<\/p>\n

Last month we asked if Eat Out<\/strong> had enough Top 20 Chefs to fill its list<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, given that six previous Top 20 restaurants have had chef changes in the past few months.<\/p>\n

The Eat Out<\/strong> Top 20 Restaurant list is as follows:<\/p>\n

Stellenbosch<\/strong>: \u00a0Tokara, Jardine at Jordan, Overture, Rust en Vrede, Makaron, and Terroir.<\/p>\n

Cape Town:<\/strong> \u00a0 The Greenhouse, La Mouette, Planet Restaurant, The Pot Luck Club, The Test Kitchen, and The White Room<\/p>\n

Franschhoek<\/strong>: \u00a0 The Tasting Room, The Kitchen at Maison, Bread & Wine<\/p>\n

Johannesburg<\/strong>: \u00a0 five hundred, DW Eleven-13<\/p>\n

Pretoria<\/strong>: \u00a0 Mosaic at The Orient<\/p>\n

Hermanus<\/strong>: \u00a0 The Restaurant at Newton Johnson (the first Top 20 Restaurant in Hermanus!)<\/p>\n

Somerset West<\/strong>: \u00a0The Restaurant at Waterkloof (photograph above of beef and langoustine tartare, served for lunch yesterday)<\/p>\n

Interesting is that the Eat Out<\/strong> judges agreed with us that Mondiall was not eligible for inclusion, given Chef Oliver Cattermole’s recent departure. \u00a0One wonders how many restaurants have been included to fill holes on the Top 20 list, as more and more chefs became ineligible for inclusion, given the many chef departures this year. \u00a0Bread & Wine and The White Room certainly look like list fillers! \u00a0 The hardest challenge for Donnelly this year will be whether she can show her admiration and adoration for Luke Dale-Roberts in giving him Top 10 for both of his restaurants!<\/p>\n

In its blogpost to announce the Top 20 Restaurant shortlist late this afternoon, Eat Ou<\/strong>t announced a new additional ‘Best Of’<\/em> Award, being that of ‘Best Everyday Eatery<\/em>‘, in addition to Best Steakhouse, Best Asian, Best Italian, Best Country-Style, and the Boschendal Style Award. Grolsch is sponsoring the Best Service Award, San Pellegrino the Chef of the Year award, and Nederburg The Rising Star accolade.<\/p>\n

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio:\u00a0www.whalecottage.com<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0 Tel (021) 433-2100. \u00a0Twitter:@WhaleCottage Facebook: \u00a0<\/strong>click here<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Eat Out has just announced its Top 20 list, communicated very oddly (and inconveniently) by individual Tweet to each of the Top 20 restaurants. \u00a0As can be expected, there are some surprise additions and omissions on the list. \u00a0Stellenbosch and Cape Town are in direct competition, with six Top 20 Finalist Restaurants each. \u00a0The 2014 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[3,124,1918,266,14,75,20,3057,31,21,293],"tags":[4505,28131,8239,28136,182,36,9534,17150,32366,32378,10812,16336,6825,138,28132,17762,32369,4356,554,32377,5246,3076,99,4630,14082,21472,20791,28137,33,28133,6611,3510,34,4549,32398,22867,32376,447,1513,2690,13839,14495,2297,28135,7242,28130,1362,7518,8860,28134,59,19273,32373],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t