The best places to eat out

Cape Town-based restaurants took home four out of the five three-star awards at the 2022 Eat Out Awards Chef of the Year. This recognition is given to restaurants throughout the country that exemplify what it takes to maintain the well-oiled machine to be a top-class restaurant. 

Focusing on six strict criteria – décor, ambience, service, wine list, ingredients used and quality of the food – the judges make their final selection. 

A common thread throughout the Western Cape’s top restaurants is using the best locally sourced ingredients. It’s not just smart business, but a gesture of respect. 

Western Cape

Pier V&A Waterfront

Pier restaurant showcases seafood through a sense of gratitude, says John Norris-Rogers, Pier’s head chef who also took home the 2022 Eat Out Awards Chef of the Year. 

The Eat Out judges commented: “Pier delivers fine-dining food on a grand scale against a spectacular backdrop”. The restaurant’s breathtaking views wrap around the restaurant from the famous V&A Waterfront to Table Mountain. 

Pier is part of the LA Colombe Group, which is unsurprising given the meticulous attention to detail and luxurious experience that its restaurants have perfected. 

Piers “Chefs Experience” is an 11-course experience that spans both surf and turf. The dishes are minimal, graceful and inspired, while using simple ingredients in a way one would not expect, such as “nitrogen poached kalamansi” and “crayfish, pork jowl, spiced coconut”.

The ambience is relaxed, the decor is minimal and clean, and the menu is full of hidden treasures. 

Wolfgat

Wolfgat is in one of the Western Cape’s more unassuming settings – the small coastal town of Paternoster. It is easy for a fine dining restaurant to lean on its location in luxurious locations and sought-after settings. But Wolfgat uses its humble location to its advantage. 

The foraged flavours and rustic vibes are what sets Wolfgat apart from its fellow three-star Eat Out Awards winners. 

“A combination of impeccable dishes matched with down-to-earth service [sets Wolfgat apart],” says Eat Out’s judging panel. 

Wolfgat’s chef, Kobus van der Merwe, incorporates local foods from land and sea – coined Strandveld cuisine – including lamb, venison and sustainable seafood across seven courses. 

The restaurant’s sustainability pursuit does not only lie in its locally foraged ingredients, but its measured, small-scale service. 

Wolfgat only serves 20 tables per sitting, keeping operations small and sustainable. 

Seasonal veldkos is featured, enhanced by wild herbs, seaweeds from the local rock pools and pickings from the garden.

Salsify at the Roundhouse 

Sandwiched between the Twelve Apostles and the Atlantic ocean is Salsify at The Roundhouse in Camps Bay. Salsify’s secret sauce lies in their consciousness of their carbon footprint and locality, sourcing the best ingredients they can from the closest sources possible, says Salsify’s chef, Ryan Cole. 

The award-winning restaurant’s philosophy is “inspired by nature; driven by the seasons”. Salsify’s (pronounced sal-sea-fee) 10-course Chef’s Menu is a trip full of local ingredients and unexpected flavour combinations. 

We all have that one flavour combination that we know sounds weird, but is actually a hit. 

A very special feature on the menu is the “Cold Poached Abalone with Egg Yolk Dressing and White Sturgeon Caviar”. 

Abalone is the highly sought-after seafood that people cannot possess or trade in South Africa without a permit under strict regulations, making Salsify one of the country’s only purveyors of the luxurious seafood. 

Not only is Salsify’s use of local ingredients and sustainable practices worthy of the three-Star Eat Out Award, but the delivery of their wine pairings won the sommelier at Salsify, Victor Okolo the Eat Out Cellar Wine Service Award. 

Eat Out’s judges highlighted  Salsify’s perfection in its “combination of impeccable dishes matched with down-to-earth service”.

Gauteng

Although the Western Cape led the list of winners at this year’s Eat Out Awards, Gauteng came a close second. The winners list of one- and two-star restaurants is surprisingly filled with restaurants opened in the past year. We can assume the lockdown restrictions inspired these award-winning Gauteng restaurants.  

Ukko  

What could be mistaken as overnight success, is a team driven by a man with extensive experience in the food industry. 

Ukko is the creation of seasoned restaurateur Mun Manal, who has been in the restaurant business for over 22 years. Ukko opened its doors to customers in November 2021 when many restaurants had closed down due to the pandemic. 

The stylish Mediterranean tapas and sushi spot quickly became a favourite among Joburg foodies. Ukko was announced as a top one-star restaurant at the 2022 Eat Out Woolworths Restaurant Awards. 

An exceptional achievement for a new restaurant in Johannesburg in a list that is dominated by Western Cape restaurants. 

This stylish restaurant situated in the upmarket Nicolway Shopping Centre in Bryanston and comes with a wine and cocktail bar and promises to “transport” you to a Mediterranean holiday with perfectly balanced tapas-style dishes. 

Les Créatifs  

This upmarket restaurant is also located in Bryanston, Johannesburg. At the helm of Les Créatifs is award-winning chef, Wandile Mabaso. Mabaso, a classically French cuisine trained chef with global experience. 

Les Créatifs promises to take you on a gastronomic journey, bringing together fine-dining paired with a world-class wine list. A booking at this restaurant is a prized possession, as it is often booked out weeks in advance. It may have to do with its hosting of international celebrities such as Kelly Rowland, Gabrielle Union-Wade and husband Dwayne, who have dined there while visiting South Africa. 

Mabaso has also cooked for Beyonce and Jay-Z when they were here to perform at Global Citizen in 2018. Les Créatifs was also among the one-star rated restaurants at the Eat Out Awards. Mabaso mentioned that he changes the dishes every two or three weeks, which allows the menu to stay fresh and creative. 

Marble 

The Marble Group recently announced that it will be opening in Cape Town at the V&A Waterfront in November next year. 

This exciting advancement may be partly due to the instant success of their live-fire restaurant in the food hub of Rosebank, Johannesburg. 

“Marble is a celebration of quintessential South African fare. It embodies South Africa’s love of cooking with fire, a quality that makes our food culture different from the rest of the world,” says, David Higgs, partner and chef at Marble Restaurant. 

Since its opening,Marble has been awarded the Eat Out Style Award in 2016 and has been nominated in the top 20 restaurants in 2017 and 2018, and now, just when you thought they were out of the running, they were named a one-star restaurant by the prestigious awards. 

Forti Grill & Bar  

Only one of two restaurants in Pretoria that made the list, Forti Grill & Bar is situated at the top of Square Casino in Menlyn, Pretoria. 

The restaurant boasts panoramic views of eastern Pretoria like no other. Forti Grill & Bar serves fine-dining food with an Italian flair. The restaurant also has an extensive wine list with an emphasis on hospitality.

Internationally acclaimed chef and owner Fortunato Mazzone (popularly known as Forti) has carefully curated the menu with each dish inspired by his Italian heritage. 

It has won two awards at the 2022 Eat Out Restaurant Awards in November – one star and a Service Excellence Award. 

The Test Kitchen Carbon  

Another one of Luke Dale Roberts’ formidable restaurants, The Test Kitchen Carbon, opened along with The Short Market Club in Rosebank – the two restaurants are a couple of steps away from each other. 

The Test Kitchen Carbon and The Test Kitchen Fledgelings in Woodstock, also owned by Roberts, were both winners at the Eat Out Awards. The Test Kitchen Carbon was one of only two restaurants in Johannesburg awarded a two–star rating – a magnificent result for only one year of service. 

The restaurant delights patrons with an innovative foodie experience paired with flagship wines or a variety of fragrant teas in an intimate and inviting setting. 

Culinary Table   

Described as “honest garden-to-table food from scratch,” this family-owned restaurant headed by Chef Daniela Gutstadt is located in Lanseria, on the outskirts of Johannesburg. 

One of a handful of female-led award-winning restaurants in Johannesburg, this unique restaurant grows its own herbs in its organic kitchen garden, has a food market with a full-service butchery and artisanal bakery, along with the restaurant and wine cellar. 

Culinary Table distinguishes itself through its commitment to sustainable restauranteering. This award-winning visionary establishment was named a one-star restaurant at this year’s Eat Out Awards.  

Restaurant of 2022

It was an evening of glamour, scrumptious six-course meals and celebration at this year’s Woolworths Eat Out Awards as the best restaurants in the country gathered together to find out if they’d be awarded a fork of their own. 

Undoubtedly Johannesburg and Cape Town have the largest number of restaurants that took home one-star, two-star and three-star awards, with Cape Town taking the lead. 

But in a surprising turn of events, this year’s Eat Out Awards Restaurant of the Year went to a KwaZulu-Natal-based restaurant.

The LivingRoom at Summerhill Guest Estate in Pinetown managed to steal the hearts of the judges through its sustainability, delicious food and approach to giving back to the community. 

However, what’s surprising is that the eatery is the only KwaZulu-Natal restaurant awarded this year. 

In 2021, the restaurant was awarded a two-star rating, along with other restaurants including the Chef’s Table in Umhlanga, which was the best restaurant in Durban for 2021. Unfortunately it didn’t feature at this year’s award ceremony. 

Author of Veggielicious, Chef Mokgadi Itsweng, one of the expert judges at this year’s Eat Out Awards, said that what helps to put restaurants that offer unique dining experiences in the spotlight are the people who contribute to the Eat Out App by adding their reviews. 

“Eat Out is not just about the judges, it’s about the community of people who enjoy dining and let us know what their favourite places to eat are. There were so many more restaurants we would have loved to cover this year but couldn’t because of time. With LivingRoom winning, it showed us that there are so many more interesting places out there that we are yet to discover. This is something we would definitely like to take forward into next year’s awards,” says Itsweng.

The head chef at LivingRoom is Johannes Richter who believes in using simple ingredients inspired by Indian and African cuisines that represent some of the popular tastes in Durban. 

Using produce predominantly grown in the region, such as amadumbe, sorghum, msombo, umdoni and umgwenya, most ingredients are indigenous to the province. The restaurant sources locally and features  a welcoming dining area that makes you feel as if you’re eating in  someone’s lounge. 

It’s the story behind the food that makes this place a unique dining eatery – a story of sustainability, taste and timing. 

Richter previously spoke to the Mail & Guardian about his dining philosophy, which is centred around family and the concept of home. This  is fitting, as the chef runs the restaurant with his wife Johanna. 

“With the sustainability aspect, vegetables play the biggest role; you can greenwash beef as much as you like but one kilogram will still have [used up] thousands of litres of water and [produced] carbon dioxide emissions,” Richter says. 

How the star rating works:

The Woolworths Eat Out Awards work on a rating system, with the criteria based on factors including decor, ambience, service, wine list, ingredients and quality of food. Roughly 300 restaurants are then selected to be reviewed. From that number it’s narrowed down to more around 80 restaurants that are visited by a team of expert judges led by Eat Out director and chief judge, Abigail Donnelly.    

An online score rating system is used consisting of categories including menu composition (15 points), presentation (10 points), taste and technique(30 points), beverages (20 points), service (20 points) and ambience (5 points). 

There are a total of ten factors that are considered and rated out of 100 and a one-star, two-star or three-star award is given to successful candidates. 

To qualify for a one-star award the restaurants need to receive a score of between 70 to 80 points, for two stars 80 to 90 points and the coveted three-star award is given to those scoring 90 and above, with the restaurant of the year being given to the highest scorer.