The country's best restaurants were honoured at the 2019 Eat Out Mercedes-Benz Restaurant Awards, which was held at GrandWest in Cape Town last night, 17 November 2019. The Western Cape's restaurants cleaned up - taking most of the top honours including the number-one spot, which went to La Colombe.
No. 1 Restaurant of the Year La Colombe
The winning restaurants were determined by the scores of a panel of anonymous judges – headed up by chief judge Margot Janse – who dined around the country unannounced and scored the restaurants against the rigorous judging criteria in line with international standards.
Last year, The Restaurant at Waterkloof halted The Test Kitchen’s six-year streak when they walked away as Restaurant of the Year, however, this year, it’s La Colombe. The Test Kitchen remains at number two for a second year and The Restaurant at Waterkloof is now at number three.
No.2 The Test Kitchen
Check out the rest of the top 10 restaurants:
1. La Colombe, Constantia, Cape Town
2. The Test Kitchen, Woodstock, Cape Town
3. The Restaurant at Waterkloof, Somerset West, Cape Town
4. Wolfgat, Paternoster
5. FYN Restaurant, City Bowl, Cape Town
6. La Petite Colombe, Franschhoek
7. Eike, Stellenbosch
8. Salsify, Camps Bay, Cape Town
9. Restaurant Mosaic at The Orient, Elandsfontein, Pretoria
10. Chefs Warehouse at Beau Constantia, Constantia, Cape Town
No. 9 Restuarant Mosaic at the Orient - Johanna Mathekga, Anna Stofberg, Chantel Dartnall, Sarina Brits, Surpris Nkabinde
These are the restaurants ranked 11 to 20:
11. Camphors at Vergelegen, Somerset West, Cape Town
12. Overture, Stellenbosch
13. LivingRoom at Summerhill Estate, Cowies Hill, Durban
14. Chefs Warehouse at Maison, Franschhoek
15. Greenhouse at The Cellars-Hohenort, Constantia, Cape Town
16. Le Coin Français, Franschhoek
17. La Tête, City Bowl, Cape Town
18. The Shortmarket Club, City Bowl, Cape Town
19. Tjing Tjing Momiji, City Bowl, Cape Town
20. Rust en Vrede, Stellenbosch
Ania Odyniecka of S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna, Bertus Basson Eat Out S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna Chef of the Year, Vanessa Nel of S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna
All the winners
In addition to the announcement of the Top 10, restaurants and individuals also received special awards:
- Eat Out S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna Chef of the Year: Bertus Basson, Eike and Overture
- Eat Out Retail Capital New Restaurant of the Year: Jewell’s Restaurant, Paarl
- Eat Out Nederburg Rising Star: Katlego Mlambo, The Marabi Club
- Eat Out Graham Beck Chefs’ Chef: Ivor Jones, Chefs Warehouse Beau Constantia
- Eat Out Woolworths Sustainability Award: Camphors at Vergelegen
- Eat Out Nespresso Innovation Award: The Test Kitchen
- Eat Out Service Excellence: The Test Kitchen
- Eat Out Wine Service Award: Joseph Dhafana, La Colombe
- Eat Out John Psillos Award for Outstanding Contribution to Service: Jennifer Hugé
- Eat Out Bridget McCarney Game Changer Award: SA POC at the Table
- Eat Out Irna van Zyl Food Media Icon: Dorah Sitole
- Eat Out Lannice Snyman Lifetime Achievement Award: Annette Kesler
- Eat Out Style Award: FYN Restaurant
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