Event information
The Eat Out Woolworths Restaurant Awards is back celebrating the best local restaurants and chefs. Taking place at the GrandWest Grand Arena on 19 November, the annual gala event is a culinary highlight where the food served reflects South Africa’s dynamic and ever-evolving dining scene.
This year, Chefs Jackie Cameron, Eleanor Coetzee, Ronel de Jager, Megin Meikle, Motheba Makhetha, Charné Sampson and Carla Schulze showcase their innovation, creativity, expertise and sheer talent at the 2023 Eat Out Woolworths Restaurant Awards.
It’s an annual event hosted by Eat Out and the experienced judging panel is headed up by chief judge Abigail Donnelly, award-winning food writer, critic and recipe author, chef Karen Dudley and food activist and cookbook author Mokgadi Itsweng. They are joined by Woolworths product development head, Marisa Munroe, the remarkable sommelier, wine judge and founder of Mosi Wines and Spirits Josef Dhafana and writer, publisher, editor and broadcast personality Herman Lensing.
The menu for the Eat Out Woolworths Restaurant Awards draws inspiration from the rustic textures and flavours of earthy grains. Each meticulously crafted course is a testament to the extraordinary quality of the ingredients, many of which will be supplied by the headline sponsor, Woolworths.
The Eat Out Woolworths Restaurant Awards gala evening sees the announcement of South Africa’s top restaurants, as per its star rating system. One star will be awarded to those restaurants who scored 70 – 80, two stars to those scoring 80 – 90 and three stars to those scoring 90+, with Restaurant of the Year awarded to the establishment with the highest score.
The star nominees for Cape Town and surrounds are:
- ARKESTE by Richard Carstens (Franschhoek)
- Belly of the Beast (City Bowl, Cape Town)
- beyond (Constantia, Cape Town)
- Cavalli Restaurant (Somerset West)
- Chefs Warehouse at Maison (Franschhoek)
- Chefs Warehouse Beau Constantia (Constantia, Cape Town)
- CHORUS (Somerset West)
- Creation Wines Tasting Room (Hemel en Aarde, Hermanus)
- Dusk (Stellenbosch)
- Eike (Stellenbosch)
- ëlgr (City Bowl, Cape Town)
- Epice (Franschhoek)
- FABER at Avondale (Paarl)
- Farro (Botrivier)
- Foxcroft (Constantia, Cape Town)
- FYN (City Bowl, Cape Town)
- Le coin Français (Franschhoek)
- La Colombe (Constantia, Cape Town)
- La Petite Colombe (Franschhoek)
- Madre Stanford (Stanford)
- Ouzeri (Cape Town)
- PIER (Cape Town)
- Post & Pepper (Stellenbosch)
- Protégé (Franschhoek)
- Rust en Vrede (Stellenbosch)
- Rykaart’s (Stellenbosch)
- Salon (Woodstock, Cape Town)
- Salsify at The Roundhouse (Camps Bay, Cape Town)
- Spek & Bone (Stellenbosch)
- Table at De Meye (Stellenbosch)
- The Jordan Restaurant with Marthinus Ferreira (Stellenbosch)
- The Melting Pot (Elgin)
- The Orangerie Restaurant at Le Lude Wine Estate (Franschhoek)
- The Pot Luck Club Cape Town
- The Red Room by Chefs Warehouse (Cape Town)
- The Test Kitchen Fledgelings (Cape Town)
- The Waterside Restaurant (Cape Town)
- Upper Union (Cape Town)
The Special Awards to be announced are the Eat Out Woolworths Restaurant of the Year, Eat Out Woolworths Financial Services Chef of the Year, Eat Out Woolworths Wine Service Award, Eat Out Highland Park Rising Star Award, Eat Out Woolworths Financial Services Service Excellence Award, Eat Out Valpré Lannice Snyman Lifetime Achievement Award, Eat Out Woolworths Sustainability Award, Eat Out Lexus Style Award, Eat Out Best Destination Restaurant and Eat Out Retail Capital Best New Restaurant Award.
The Eat Out Chefs’ Chef Award is back in 2023 and is sponsored by BIRKENSTOCK. This award is bestowed upon a chef by their peers and imparts the respect and recognition that the individual is viewed with within the industry.
New Special Award announcements to look forward to are the Eat Out Cacao Barry Dessert Award, Eat Out Patron Mixology Award and Eat Out Woolworths Trailblazer Award.
