Article updated on August 1, 2025
Text & Photographs: Claire Lessiau & Marcella van Alphen

The excellent the food scene of the Mother City has been consistently ranking high on the lists of world’s best restaurants. If South Africa attracts for its safari game reserves, beautiful Cape Town and the very well-marketed Garden Route, make sure to not miss out on these gems when you are in town…

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COY

We once advised fine-dining lovers to stay away of Cape Town’s bustling V&A Waterfront. That changed with the arrival of Pier and The Waterside. And now, with the opening of Coy, the V&A is not just back on the culinary map—it has simply become a must!

Set slightly apart from the tourist-heavy quays, Coy offers a moment of stillness with breath-taking views of Table Mountain and the marina’s turquoise waters. Seated beneath wide-open sliding doors, diners can watch catamarans glide by as seals play below, all while embarking on an extraordinary gastronomic journey led by Chef Ryan Cole, chef of the famous Salsify.

As we sit down and take in the contemporary interior of the unique venue, instead of the two-course lunch or we opt for the full Coy Experience, a thoughtfully curated seven-course exploration of South African ingredients and flavours, with a choice between three cold starters, hot starters, and mains to personalise the gastronomic voyage.

We begin with bold amuse-bouche of a fried red lentil stick topped with chutney and smoked Stanford cheese, and a crunchy maize chip with red pepper tabil, shiitake, and tahini foam—a striking introduction, especially when paired with Paul René’s brut rosé MCC from the Robertson Valley.

The bread course draws us deep into KwaZulu-Natal. Coy’s sourdough is made from fermented amadumbe (African potato), aged for 15 days. Slightly sweet with an earthy note, it is served with bokkom-infused kefir butter and black onion salt.

Chef Ryan Cole’s focus on local products to compose his exquisite culinary masterpieces calls for a wine pairing also highlighting the South African terroir. With over 500 producing wine cellars and over 2,000 wine farms in South Africa, every label is hand- picked by the sommelier—some bottles exclusive to Coy—with a focus on boutique producers.

The seafood dishes are standouts, and so is their variety and cooking techniques. Yellowtail sashimi comes dressed with coconut shavings, daikon, and a sweet tamarind-sugarcane sauce, matched beautifully with a nuanced 2022 House of Hier Chenin Blanc. Just perfectly wooded, the full-bodied wine with sweet notes of peach and honey enhances the dish. The sustainably fished hake arrives on a prawn salsa and a sweet leek cream, topped with trout roe. The Paardenberg-grown Foundry Roussanne 2022 adds a mineral, floral lift that enhances both the hake and the roe. The braaied kingklip with mussel salsa and peri peri velouté is bold and coastal, while askoek, a Cape Malay ash-baked cake, adds a rustic touch. Ryan seamlessly highlights the different influences various cultures have had on South Africa’s cuisine.

Carnivores are not forgotten with a diverse offering from game to the best of the free-range cattle. The kudu venison, charred outside and raw within, is served with sour fig dressing and green olive tapenade, paired with the structured 2023 Botanica “Big Flower” rosé—a rare Petit Verdot-based rosé that is bold enough to stand up against the intense flavour of the game. The ox tongue melts over a black rice pilaf with ras el hanout emulsion, chili angel hair, and pomegranate, perfectly complemented by the Grenache Noir 2022 by David & Nadia from the Swartland region, one of the 8 official wine regions of South Africa. The sommelier pours a glass of deep red Sholto 2020 Bordeaux blend from Mitre’s Edge as he explains the story of the family-run winery in which winemaker Nola Nichols crafted this special bottle to pay tribute to her father to accompany the Karoo lamb dish. Its sides—milipap vanilla, butternut purée, and spinach outer—are a sophisticated version of the local poor man’s diet.

Dessert begins with playful nostalgia of the childhood tea time with their mothers of many South Africans: when coming back from school “tea with ma time” is a tea cup filled with strawberry diplomat, lemon cheese ice cream, Ceylon tea foam, and raspberry shavings, served alongside syrupy koeksisters.

Just when we think it is over, there is one more final bouquet: burnt banana with raspberry gel, 64 percent Madagascan chocolate—one of the rare ingredients at Coy not locally-sourced,—subtly decorated with some elderflower are all intensified by Paul Wallace’s 2016 Noble Late Harvest “The Nix,” with its velvety apricot notes.

We savour the last sips of this Sauvignon Blanc dessert wine overlooking the marina and Table Mountain to conclude a perfectly balanced and thorough culinary journey through land and sea, and the cultures and wealth of ingredients of varied South Africa. Coy may be rather new in Cape Town, but it already feels timeless and bursts with South African pride, flavour, and innovation.

FYN [2021 best restaurant of Africa!]

Passed the concierge, the stylish elevator takes us up to the fifth floor of the Speaker’s Corner building in the heart of the Cape Town City Bowl. Three small letters on the dark wall: FYN. Play on word echoing fynbos, the floral kingdom of Table Mountain National Park that pops through the majestic floor-to-ceiling windows, and understatement of the experience we are about to live…

After marvelling at the sunset over Lion’s Head over a glass of champagne in the sleek dining room where 6,000 poplar-wood discs are strung on ropes for an enjoyable acoustics and a warm decor, our first course sticks out, literally: visually stunning canapés on porcupine quills. The minced guinea fowl in yakitori style that we dip in a rich yolk and tare dressing is a marvel. On the side, a rich ostrich egg chawanmushi (read Japanese custard), topped off by a teaspoon of exquisite caviar.

The menu is a wonderful and travel tale in style. Guinea fowl, springbok, abalone, ostrich, Saldanha bay oyster and yakitori, tonkatsu, tsukune, daikon… South African ingredients meet Japanese inspiration in unexpected combinations. The wine list is elegant and carefully selected by co-owner, general manager and wine magician Jennifer Hugé (her résumé comprises almost 20 years at La Colombe, a fine dining institution in Cape Town, as sommelier and manager). She can get her hands on some elixirs crafted by some of the best winemakers in South Africa – and beyond with an excellent selection of French wines, maybe from her roots even if South Africa has been her home for more than 20 years. Studying the menu, we notice that the wine pairing is an amazing selection of exclusive gems wonderfully and originally matched with the sublime dishes created by chef Peter Tempelhoff and his team in the open kitchen of FYN. If the theme remains, his polished menu changes constantly, and Peter manages to prepare high-wire dishes that are quite healthy and rather low in carbs and fat, yet very satisfying and full of umami. A dream come true!

We scoop up a surprising and astonishing mushroom crème brûlée with the signature Hokkaido milk bun, a rich brioche-style bread that pairs wonderfully with a perfectly aged 2011 Mooiplaas Chenin Blanc from the nearby Stellenbosch region. The yellowfin tuna sashimi beautifully plated as a flower decorated with delicate elderflowers is paired sublimely with a Cape Point Reserve Sauvignon Blanc… 2013! Refined and green, 10% of Semillon does the trick and allows the Sauvignon Blanc to age to perfection as Jennifer points out.

The ballet of dishes is only starting, turning the evening in a kaiseki-style feast. On an elegant tray, a dashi poached langoustine – no need to say: simply perfectly poached for the most delicate texture –on an exotic mango & bamboo-based vinaigrette stands by a rare to find abalone and some maki-style chokka’s with a refined and delicious truffle and ink mayonnaise. The clean taste, with a little spicy kick and a hint of citrus of a ‘Chi’ Riesling 2021 from Elgin, South Africa enhances these delicate and sophisticated dishes.

Hard to believe we are just reaching the main courses. The stage is taken by some local stars: the kingklip, a local South African white fish, followed by a tender springbok in a tasty kelp jus, and even pap, the corn-based staple food of the continent is dressed stylishly for the occasion. The festival of wines does not discontinue, each with its specific colour, flavours and savours, such as a Sons of Sugarland Barbera 2021or a rare Rijk’s Pinotage and Syrah blend.

In the open kitchen, the final touches to the last treat of this evening are put together skilfully: a Madagascan chocolate with coffee flavours and sweet potato crisps served with a spiced cherry sorbet, and a glass of a sweet Tierhoek ‘Straw Wine’.

As we are reflecting on the evening, sipping a special sake recommended by Jennifer, it feels like we have just attended a magic show perfectly orchestrated by an excellent team, from the kitchen to the cellar and room. It was way more than FYN!

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Yatai [CBD, Bree St.]

Just downstairs of the Japanese Peruvian fusion restaurant Nikkei, an intimate and sophisticated venue invites diners to explore Japanese street food turned into a true gastronomic experience. The seats at the open kitchen where diners can watch the chefs creating the most beautiful dishes may be a recall of the fast-disappearing yatai [Japanese street food stalls], and typical ramen bars. However, at Cape Town’s Yatai innovative cooking techniques, a trendy setting, and equally impressive menu has taken Japanese street food to the highest level.

If the hearty home-made ramen bowls can be a full meal in themselves, tonight we are indulging in a full culinary experience with the sophisticated Kyoto set menu through which a selection of sharing dishes are served over three courses to share.

We get the mixologist busy while the brigade is preparing our tasting menu. The tequila based Mekishiko is topped off with a sparkling sake to recall Japan—and announces the excellent selection of sake from the drink menu. The extravagant wodka-based Kyoto Kiri with watermelon, lime, shiso and a watermelon yoghurt foam is served in a smoky boat and makes an impression, visually and to the palate.

As our waitress presents the amuse-bouche of mushroom chawanmushi topped by a delicate miso sphere that explodes in our mouth with all its flavours, it becomes obvious that “Yatai ramen bar” as it is called is the understatement of Cape Town!

The excellent tempura oyster with its slight kick and crunchiness of the tempura works well with the taste of smoked soy, hint of shiso, and refreshing splash of sudachi, the Japanese green citrus fruit.

A Cape bream tartare topped by a crispy rice paper covered in nori dust—algae that grows locally—is brought to the table, along with an elegant West Coast lobster carpaccio sprinkled in yuzu vinaigrette and fermented chilies. The noble and delicate local ingredients are constantly highlighted, and never overpowered by the spices.

The Wagyu katsu sando, a sandwich of Wagyu ribeye offers a hearty bite with the characteristic katsu curry adding some spiciness without extinguishing the tender wagyu meat that sits between two slices of toasted sweet Japanese Milk Bread that melts in the mouth.

For the next round the elegant sake we chose accompanies the miso glazed eggplant with sesame seeds and bonito flakes as well as the well-filled hearty prawn dumplings. No Japanese street food experience is complete without a chicken tsukune: it comes with an irresistible sweet soy glaze and egg yolk.

To end the Japanese feast, a rich soy-sauce based ramen is served in a savoury and tangy brown broth with truffle and smoked wagyu beef offering a complex array of flavours. The medium-size serving is ideal to feel good after such a feast, and may even allow you to try out a dessert such as the match tiramisu to end on a sweet note.

Salsify

Chef Ryan Cole is accustomed to working at award-winning restaurants. Years in London, working at the Michelin-starred The Square and at Cape Town’s acclaimed The Test Kitchen along star chef Luke Dale-Roberts, he is now dedicated to Salsify (pronounce “salsifee”) they have co-owned since 2018.

The venue is a hidden gem, hosted in the national heritage roundhouse, one of Cape Town’s oldest buildings. It is easy to understand why the Dutch East India Company, the VOC, chose this location to establish a guarding post in 1786: the views on Camps Bay and Table Mountain’s Twelve Apostles are commanding, especially at sunset!

The muse of Salsify comes through history almost a century later though. While Lord Charles Somerset, the governor of the British Cape Colony turned the roundhouse into his hunting lodge, his personal physician, Dr. James Barry, was in fact a woman who had lived all of her adulthood as a man in order to become a surgeon (eventually raising to the second-highest medical office in the British Army!). Some imbroglios emerged when the two started an affair as homosexuality was also illegal… The unexpected and bold graffities by Louis de Villiers, welcoming diners fall into place as they pay tribute to Somerset and Dr. Barry, aka Margaret Bulkley. The Lady Salsify statue with its masculine head and female body is a tribute to this strong woman whose real gender was only discovered post-mortem. The artwork is a pertinent introduction to the cuisine, also characterised by contrast and tribute: Chef Ryan Cole heads a young and dynamic team where noble, seasonal and locally-supplied ingredients take a modern twist in the classical dining room. “I cook what I enjoy in a rather minimalistic way”, Ryan explains as he chats to us while we are enjoying pre-dinner bubbles with a view. His cuisine does not really fall into a category: the mises en bouche range from local snoek fish to Thai-inspired yellowtail, Cape Malay-flavoured tacos and tartare-style canapés.

Beyond the wine list that gives the best share to South African wines, wine pairings highlight the 8-course chef’s menu. The boutique wine pairing showcases up and coming domestic winemakers while the gem series wine pairing focuses on specialty and aged South African classics. The latter constantly evolves as the cherry-picked old bottles are not many… As a consequence, the menu is also ever-changing, celebrating the seasons and also highlighting these superb wines.

The smoked beef tartare with miso egg yolk topped by a porcini mousse is paired with a 2013 Elgin Radford Dale Pinot Noir that is just perfect to savour: delicate, silky and elegant. A perfect tribute to Burgundy, the millennium-old land of Pinot Noir!

Also aged to its peak, an 11-year-old vintage Chardonnay by Rupert and Rothschild highlights the seared tuna in its ponzu reduction and furikake.

Our waiter Simba orchestrates the tempo to leave us some time to enjoy all of these flavours and savours while Table Mountain takes a warm hue in the last sun rays. He comes back with yet another type of glass precisely chosen to enhance a 2009 Ken Forrester ‘FMC’ Chenin Blanc to go along a pan-roasted hake on an apricot, potato and curry leaf emulsion, fished in the nearby False Bay by Ryan Cole’s brother, head of a small commercial fishery.

Beautifully plated dishes, artworks themselves keep being brought to our table: langoustine, wild rosemary cured lamb, a perfectly cooked pan-seared springbok loin, paired with a 2014 Bordeaux-style MR de Compostella by Mvemve Raats.

To conclude, a 2018 Klein Constantia “Vin de Constance” nectar accompanies the dessert, a nectarine clafoutis with sheep’s milk ice-cream.

As we are sipping the last drops of this extraordinary Muscat de Frontignan, we contemplate Camps Bay in the darkness and the majestic silhouette of Table Mountain under the stars. The Capetonian food scene has evolved so much! Ryan Cole’s words echo: “These are very exciting times in Cape Town, with this community of chefs inspiring each other”, and we cannot wait to see what Ryan has cooking in the near future…

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The Chefs Warehouse at Beau Constantia

The sophisticated and exquisite tapas of chef Liam Tomlin leading The Chefs Warehouse have become a must-taste for any foodie visiting the Mother City. Headed by the young and super talented chef Ivor Jones (ranked second best chef 2020 by SA Finest), the Beau Constantia location on the namesake vineyard is the Capetonian venue.

With the dish-for-two-sharing concept that characterizes the Chefs Warehouse, Ivor Jones and his team have been subliming the organic, ethically-sourced and seasonal ingredients carefully selected in neighbouring farms, often with a subtle Asian twist, dear to Ivor.

A first experience at The Chefs Warehouse Beau Constantia is mind-blowing. It is a real feast for the palate of course, but also for the nose and eyes. “I have had the privilege to eat in many Michelin-star restaurants all over the world, and this the best food I have ever had” describes Heather, a dear friend, globetrotter and food connoisseur, with stars in her eyes as we are sipping the last drop of the Stella Beau Constantia wine that topped off an incredible meal. The same stars Ivor has in his eyes when he describes his dishes and talks passionately about his ingredients.

As we keep coming back, we have grown accustomed to excellence. The service is always tip-top; the view on the vineyards and False Bay in the distance, panoramic; the modern style of the dining room with its open kitchen, stylish yet relaxed; and the dishes are always beautifully plated in carefully chosen ceramics, with a perfect balance of flavours. Delicious! What keeps amazing us though, is Ivor’s creativity. Coming up with new dishes is his responsibility. He is simply inspired by flavours as he puts it. To us, it feels like magic! The menu is changed frequently often a dish at a time. With 8 tapas served in four rounds, plus a few desserts (don’t skip on the lavender and honey crème with honeycomb: it is so acclaimed by regulars that Ivor had to promise to always keep it on the menu!), it is quite an achievement to keep surprising his guests over and over again…

The Waterside by La Colombe

If the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront is one of the most touristy areas of Cape Town it is often better to simply avoid for any types of meal, things are now different thanks to The Waterside restaurant by La Colombe. The minimalistic venue on the harbour is headed by chef Roxy Mudie after years working at the award-winning fine dining establishment La Colombe on the Silvermist Estate in Constantia.

The Waterside is more casual, yet the food is definitely fine-dining as our bread course and mises en bouche announce it. A tower of wooden dishes gets dismantled to display treats to the eyes: in the centre, a warm milk bun surrounded by a chicken liver parfait joyfully decorated with rhubarb, salsa verde and a colourful palette of small flowers; a spiral of roasted garlic topped off by smoked pine nuts; and a bite of beef tartare resembling an artwork. The texture and the warmth of the milk bun are comforting when we break it by hand to scoop up generous amounts of the appetizer to share.

Voting against the vegetarian option, we order a different dish for each of the following four courses to experience together as many flavours as possible.

Dishes are brought to the table and described as poems. The crayfish salad with Cape Malay flavours is served with a complex Haarlem To Hope white blend of Chenin Blanc, Semillon, Muscat de Frontignan and Alexandrie from Stellenbosch that also goes fantastically with another artwork: the salmon in the signature Thai broth which Roxy created for La Colombe. Amazing, and as such one of the signature flavours that is consistently on the ever-changing menu!

The classic surf-and-turf is served in an original way mixing a melting-in-the-mouth pork belly and delicate scallops. To add crunchiness and wetness, Chef Mudie had prepared some local corn in four different ways, each more unexpected than the other. Paired with a Pinot Noir from the Hemel and Aarde Valley, the Burgundy of South Africa, the overall is simply to die for.

We are taking in the harbour vibes on the terrasse in the middle of the South African summer: catamarans sail back to their docks, to the sound of music while seals swim in circles. The quietness of The Waterside amidst the busy V&A Waterfront makes it extremely enjoyable. To cleanse our palates and as a refreshment, our waiter Ishe brings a lychee and lemongrass sorbet with passion fruit, before we continue on to the main courses: an oceanic course of line fish, mussels and squid along some black forest ham to honour the prime seafront location we are at, and a grass-fed beef to pay tribute to the South African meat culture served with a red Bordeaux-style blend for the match.

Satisfied, and simply to please our sweet tooth, we conclude this smart casual fine dining experience with a mango and milk chocolate dessert. Actually, the dessert may be only an excuse to sip a Stellenbosch Sauvignon Blanc and Rousanne blend dessert wine. A real treat! Complemented by yet a final treat of colourful handmade chocolates, kindly presented to us along coffees for a wonderful lunch experience and to make the moment last a bit longer along the waterside of the picturesque Victoria Basin.

Merchant bar and grill [CBD, Bree St.]

Merchant honours the roots of Cape Town, the city where locally grown products were brought to resupply the ships of the VOC. Today, Chef David Schneider cherry-picks only South African products to curate his elegant menu. With his passion for meat, Dave cures excellent charcuterie in the cold room which greets patrons with a dazzling array of house-made cold-cuts, preserves, pickled vegetables, artichokes, kombuchas, vinegars… in the elegant upstairs venue. Even the impressive cheese selection comes exclusively from South Africa, supplied from dairy farms selected for their excellence.

With such an entrance, it is hardly possible to not order the charcuterie board—an absolute showstopper! The selection varies based on the curing level of the cuts, and today, pancetta, bresaola, and coppa are highlighted by a remoulade of pickled vegetables. A crunchy chicharron, a biltong elevated to the next level thanks to the koji fungus it is cured with adding a hint of umami, and a perfect duck liver parfait (pun intended) to spread on a toasted generous slice of sourdough bread complete the sharing board.

With the diverse terroirs that the Western Cape—the province around Cape Town—has to offer, from the sun-drenched vineyards of the Robertson Valley to the cooler climates of the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, it is easy to propose a wine list that is exclusively South African (but for a champagne). Paired with the nicely wooded Fiach Chardonnay for the white wine lovers or Fiach Pinot Noir for those who prefer a red, this cold-cuts to share are a perfect introduction to a meal that balances tradition and innovation.

The heirloom tomato to “celebrate the season” as Chef Dave states it himself comes either fresh or braised on a basil olive oil, and with a hint of mint in a dollop of light sour cream. All the flavours of the garden pop in a refreshing way.

Not necessarily the dish we would have ordered, but the enthusiastic recommendation did not disappoint with probably the best pasta carbonara we have ever tasted (despite extensive research in Italy)! Instead of the usual pancetta, Chef David uses Guanciale, a cured pork cheek that lends an even deeper flavour to the dish. Combined with a six-month-aged Klein Rivier Gruberg cheese–a South African take on Parmesan with a Gruyère twist–this carbonara with of course fresh homemade spaghettis is both rich and creamy.

The lamb belly is another standout. Tender and juicy, the dish is served with a delicate pomme anna potato, which is layered with lamb fat, creating a perfect balance of richness and texture. Paired with the Holden Manz ‘Visionaire’ 2018 – a bold blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from Franschhoek – the dish offers a harmonious union of bold flavours.

With Dave’s background, it is hard to not jump on the beef for the mains! The dry-aged sirloin is impeccably highlighted, and a variety of colourful vegetable side dishes are perfect to pick from the menu to balance the premium cut. Also a surprise, the tuna exceeds all expectations. It is not any tuna steak, but the tuna belly—what the Japanese refer to as the very sought-after otoro—that is cooked to perfection, and which buttery texture is cut by the hint of acidity of the braised cherry tomatoes. Globe artichokes and capers complete the excellent dish.

Beyond the food, the setting of Merchant is elegant; the atmosphere, smart; the service, ultra-professional: all ingredients are perfectly dosed to highlight the best products of South Africa in a traditional yet innovative menu crafted by one of the top chefs of the country.

Insider’s tips:

• If you are a cheese-lover, Merchant is THE place to pick your dairies in the cold room and taste the best of South African cheeses.

Travel tips:

• Obviously, any of these restaurants books up fast, so bookings are essential, and the earlier the better!
• To best enjoy Cape Town, stay at The Kensington Place and walk to the trendy Kloof Street restaurants.

• Check out our interactive map for more in the area (black pins lead to an article):

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