Summer is here! It’s the perfect time to be out and about. Here are some great local hotspots you can visit whether you’re keen for a quick drink, a fun night out with your friends, a fine-dining experience or just a lovely Saturday brunch outing. 

Western Cape

Perfect for: Fine dining 

FYN Restaurant 

Dining at FYN Restaurant in Cape Town’s city centre is a culinary experience like no other. This food marvel was recently ranked at number 37 on the World Top 50 list of restaurants. The restaurant uses Japanese cooking techniques to prepare South African indigenous fynbos ingredients. FYN was opened in 2018 by chef Peter Tempelhoff and his partners Jennifer Hugé and Ashley Moss and has been on the radar ever since. The menu consists of five-course kaiseki-style menus for lunch and dinner. Those with specific dietary requirements are considered as well, with plant-based and pescatarian menus on offer. The dinner menu is more in demand, but if you go for lunch, you are rewarded with beautiful views of Lion’s Head and Table Mountain. FYN Restaurant offers food and service any foodie should be excited about. 

 

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Perfect for: A delicious brunch spot 

Pyjamas + Jam 

Pyjamas and Jam is a fantastic hidden gem in Somerset-West in the Helderberg valley (about 50 km from Cape Town). If you are looking for a laid-back, scrumptious brunch on a Saturday morning, this is your spot.  

This charming and trendy eatery offers hearty food, good music, great coffee, eclectic décor, treasured antiques and a buzzing vibe – the perfect combination for any escape from busy city life. The menu includes breakfast, lunch and drinks, and good news – breakfast is served till 16:00, so no need to rush out of bed for the delicious poached egg green toast or chicken livers and mosbolletjies. 

 

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Gauteng

Perfect for: A chic lunch outing 

GRK by Ethos 

Do you have a craving for Greek street food? Look no further – GRK by Ethos in Sandton will hit the spot. The Greek eatery opened in July and has been a local favourite, featuring Greek showstoppers like vaflaki and gyro. The gyro is made from a selection of thinly sliced meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie and served wrapped in pita bread. With a selection of meats ranging from chicken to lamb, and four different types of imported Greek pita bread – carob, corn, choriatiki and wholegrain – there is a gyro for everyone! This relaxed space is well worth the outing for both the food and the chic setting. 

 

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Perfect for: Drinks and dinner with friends 

Ukkō Restaurant 

Ukkō restaurant situated in Bryanston, Sandton is one of Jozi’s chicest hot spots right now. The Mediterranean–Asian restaurant specialises in tapas and small plates, ideal for sharing, and is the perfect meeting place for young professionals looking for a fun dinner and drinks over the weekend. Ukkō’s signature sushi is a menu highlight, especially the Ukkō roll with salmon, chives, avo and chilli. The décor and the buzzing vibe are any avid Instagrammer’s dream, so get dressed in your weekend’s best and enjoy a night out with your friends while you eat, sip, and snap the beautiful dishes and colourful cocktails. 

 

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Durban 

Perfect for: A coffee date 

Bard & Minstrel (Umhlanga) 

In the picturesque coastal town of Umhlanga in Durban, you’ll find this French brasserie-inspired café. Bard & Minstrel is ideal for a quiet coffee date, a catch-up with a friend or after-work drinks. The café serves small dishes and is the perfect spot to blow off some steam with friends as they serve the finest quality cocktails and Champagne. A great addition to the café is access to their contemporary library of Assouline coffee table books. Enjoy light meals such as the salmon tartare and a variety of delicious and eclectic sandwiches. 

 

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The post Local hot spots to keep on your radar appeared first on MyKitchen.

‘The people have once again spoken, placing their votes for where they most enjoy dining regularly,’ said Selvin Govender, Marketing Director of Mercedes-Benz Cars. Don’t miss out and check out the full list of winners from this year’s Eat Out Mercedes-Benz Best Everyday Eateries Awards!

WESTERN CAPE

Best Asian-inspired eatery

Winner – SHIO 
Highly commended – Active Sushi on Hudson Street

Best Bistro

Winner – Avontuur Estate
Highly commended – Skotnes

Best Burger Eatery

Highly commended – Jerry’s Burger Bar in Blouberg

Best Coffee Shop

Winner – Pajamas & Jam Eatery
Highly commended – Boston Coffee

Best Country-Style Eatery

Winner – Ons Huisie
Highly commended – Karoo Art Hotel

Best Indian-Inspired Eatery

Winner – Indian Chapter with Prim Reddy 
Highly commended – Marigold

Best Italian-Inspired Eatery

Winner – Giulio’s
Highly commended – A Tavola

 Best Seafood Eatery

Winner – Kyoto Garden Sushi

 Eat Out Tramontina Best Steakhouse                                                    

Winner – Rare Grill

KWAZULU-NATAL

Best Bistro

Winner – 9th Ave Bistro 

Best Coffee Shop

Highly commended – Terbodore Coffee Roasters in KZN Midlands

GAUTENG

Best Bistro

Winner – Farro
Highly commended – The Green Peppercorn

Best Coffee Shop

Winner – Afro-Boer
Highly commended – La Coco C

Best Italian-Inspired

Winner – Saint Restaurant
Highly commended – Gemelli

Best Asian-Inspired

Winner – Momo Soko
Highly commended – The Great Eastern Food Bar

Eat Out Tramontina Best Steakhouse                                                    

Winner – Wood & Fire 
Highly commended – The Local Grill in Parktown North

Best Tapas
Winner – Urbanologi

The post The full winner’s list from The 2018 Eat Out Mercedes-Benz Best Everyday Eateries Awards appeared first on MyKitchen.

Celebrate South Africa’s finest restaurants with the Mercedes-Benz Eat Out Restaurant Awards. Foodies from around the country will vote for their favourites to honour the best and most prestigious restaurants in an elaborate awards ceremony in Cape Town.

By Taryn Wilson

This year’s event takes place on 18 November at GrandWest Grand Arena in Cape Town where the winners will be announced. ‘Honouring the extraordinary talent in South Africa is what Eat Out is all about,’ says New Media MD Aileen Lamb. ‘This awards ceremony is where we get to celebrate our world-class chefs and the magnificent work being done in the food industry as a whole. Our partnership with Mercedes-Benz, which is also dedicated to recognising excellence and innovation, makes our journey together even more inspiring.’

This year attendees can expect to be welcomed into the Grand Arena with Graham Beck MCC and canapés, and later will be treated to a multiple-course lunch prepared by the country’s top chefs. Afterwards, guests will be able to mingle and enjoy a celebratory party.

The event will kick off with 30 nominees of the best restaurants in South Africa, which will then be counted down until the final top 10 are revealed. Winners will be chosen by a panel of anonymous judges, along with judging convenor Margot Janse.

Aside from 10 top restaurants in South Africa, the Eat Out Mercedes-Benz Restaurant Awards will also be recognising the Eat Out Retail Capital New Restaurant of the Year, the Eat Out S. Pellegrino & Acqua Panna Chef of the Year, the Eat Out Nederburg Rising Star, Eat Out Graham Beck Chefs’ Chef Award, the Eat Out Diners Club Service Excellence Award, the Eat Out Wine Service Award, the Eat Out John Psillos Award for Outstanding Contribution to Service, the Eat Out Lannice Snyman Lifetime Achievement Award, the Eat Out Woolworths Sustainability Award, and the Eat Out Style Award.

For the fifth year, Mercedes-Benz South Africa is sponsoring the awards event, with the head chef of the Restaurant of the Year Award being honoured with a luxury Mercedes-Benz for the time of their title. ‘As a brand, we’re always striving to find the very best, and we’re thrilled to recognise local chefs and restaurants around South Africa whose culinary delights exceed expectations year after year,’ says Marketing Director of Mercedes-Benz Cars Selvin Govender.

Tickets are limited and can be purchased for R1 595 per person online here at Quicket.

For more information, visit eatout.co.za.

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Get ready to vote, because it’s time for the Eat Out Mercedes-Benz Best Everyday Eateries Awards 2018! Choose your favourite restaurant from a range of categories to see their star-rating go up and who knows? You could make them a winner!

By Taryn Wilson

Eat Out is one of South Africa’s leading food brands, giving avid food lovers all they need to know when it comes to enjoying South African cuisine. You can have your say in the Eat Out Awards by downloading their new Eat Out App or heading to the website, eatout.co.za, to rate the best food places that you’ve visited in the last year!

The categories for this year are:

Best Burger Eatery
Best Bistro Eatery
Best Asian Eatery
Best Coffee Shop
Best Indian Eatery
Best Italian Eatery
Best Seafood Eatery
Best Steakhouse
Best Tapas Eatery
Best Mexican Eatery
Best Food Truck
Best Country-style Eatery

‘It’s always exhilarating to see the community coming together – the restaurants encouraging their happy patrons to review, and the passionate fans taking the time to tell us about their food heroes. Rating and reviewing is quicker and easier on our new app, so we’re looking forward to hearing from even more food lovers across SA,’ says Eat Out editor Linda Scarborough. If you’re still not convinced, Eat Out has pledged to donate a meal to a hungry child through Rise Against Hunger SA for every rating done through the App and website.

The event is sponsored by Mercedes-Benz for the fourth year running to celebrate local eateries and create fun events for everyone to enjoy. ‘At Mercedes-Ben,z we prize top performance in any sphere. Awards like the Best Everyday Eateries allow us to celebrate more casual restaurants that impress where it counts – with their loyal customers,’ says Mercedes-Benz Cars Marketing Director Selvin Govender.

Voters can only choose eateries registered on the Eat Out Review list, but if there’s a restaurant you want to add, you can go to www.eatout.co.za/venue-register/ to register them, or contact info@eatout.co.za to have their details added. Make sure you vote soon, as the closing date is this Friday, the 31st of August.

Continue to vote and stay tuned for more information on the Eat Out events, where the winners will be announced on 16 October in Johannesburg and 18 October in Cape Town!

The post Vote for YOUR favourite restaurant in this year’s Eat Out Awards appeared first on MyKitchen.

Where’s there’s ash there’s fire. We take an inside look at Cape Town’s newest culinary offering, the smouldering ASH restaurant.

By Erin Starr Katzeff

The people of Cape Town love food. This city is practically foodie heaven. The walk along the bustling streets of the CBD, past the sights and scents of restaurants, bars and eateries, is enough to make even the most discerning food lover’s mouth water. Amidst the latest additions to the city’s food scene, there is one particularly alluring newcomer that stands out. The provocatively titled ASH restaurant, is something different.

ASH is the brainchild of Chef Ash Heeger in partnership with Frankie Fenner Meat Merchants and Publik Wine Bar. Heeger has played chef in some of the most sought after kitchens, The Test Kitchen, La Columbe and Dinner by Heston (yes, we mean Blumenthal) in London, all make a cool  appearance on his resumé. The concise menu is single-minded in its approach; this food is all about big, bold flavours. Most of the meat and seafood menu items are cooked over an open flame, giving the dishes – and the restuarant’s name – an added gravitas.

The ambience is moody and dark with a welcome hint of hedonism. The open kitchen, in full view of the diners, provides the evening’s entertainment, with Chef Ash and an ensemble cast dicing, charring, smoking and searing an array of ingredients beneath the kitchen lights. There is a sweeping emphasis on top-to-tail eating, most notably in the pig head scrumpet; a plate of bite sized porky morsels served with schezaun-spiced apple and quince sauce. With the meat being provided by the ethically-conscious and pedantically quality-driven Frankie Fenner Meat Merchants, the meat selection could sway the heart of your most self-righteous vegetarian friend. The slow-cooked lamb, served with rosemary oil, smoked onions, pickled lemon and spring broad beans, beckons from the menu. The Italian lemon meringue or the milk stout ice cream sandwich  is reason enough for a cheat day.

Book a table and let us know what you think.

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Cape Town’s recently opened Shortmarket Club took home the award for Best New Restaurant at this year’s inaugural Conde Nast Gourmet awards, held at the Cape’s historic Klein Constantia wine estate. The judging panel included culinary experts Bernadette Le Roux, Neil Roake, Leigh Robertson, and Susan Greig.

By Mikaela Kagan

Shortmarket Club’s proud owners Luke and Sandalene Dale-Roberts, as well as Wesley Randles and Simon Widdison, have devoted their time to adding yet another spectacular venue to Cape Town’s food scene. Between Sandalene’s beautiful interiors and Luke and Wesley’s meticulous attention to detail and quality, The Shortmarket Club offers an excellent dining experience where patrons can expect nothing but the highest standards.

The menu includes old school classics such as egg and soldiers, and Scotch eggs for breakfast, plus a host of contemporary culinary creations. Sandeline has furnished the members-club-style space with local designs and art, together with stained-glass windows and black-and-white patterned floors.

The foursome are understandably overjoyed with the public’s fantastic response to their latest achievement, but are even more thrilled to witness others enjoy the experience.

THE DETAILS

When: Monday to Saturday, 8 AM to 11 PM
Where: 88 Shortmarket St, Cape Town City Centre
Reservations: Walk-ins
Website: shortmarketclub.co.za 

FOLLOW THEM

Instagram: @theshortmarketclub

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