The winners of the 2023 Eat Out Woolworths Restaurant Awards
A burst of confetti at Cape Town’s GrandWest Grand Arena on Sunday 19 November concluded the much-anticipated 2023 Eat Out Woolworths Restaurant Awards ceremony.
If you want to take a break from the kitchen over the summer holidays, we have you covered! Last night, our sister brand, Eat Out, revealed the top-rated restaurants in the country at the 2023 Eat Out Woolworths Restaurant Awards. Over 800 guests gathered at Cape Town’s GrandWest Grand Arena to celebrate culinary excellence.
Embracing the star-rating system introduced in 2022, South Africa’s top restaurants were awarded with 3, 2 or 1 stars following a meticulous judging process led by chief judge Abigail Donnelly. The criteria spanned the entire spectrum of the dining experience – from decor and ambience to service, the wine list and the quality of the ingredients – with restaurants needing to score between 70 and 79 out of 100 to win 1 star, between 80 and 89 to win 2 stars, and over 90 to win 3 stars.
Abigail says: “This year’s winners have demonstrated a seamless combination of consistency and quality, coupled with a commitment to progression and experimentation. We have seen the young and upcoming shine and the established legends generously imparting their wisdom, fostering a wonderful spirit of mentorship within the community.
“The celebrated establishments tonight have fearlessly articulated their visions, captivating guests with exciting ingredients, unique spaces, exquisite service and a sincere love of their craft.”
Here are the top-rated restaurants in South Africa according to the 2023 Eat Out Woolworths Restaurant Awards:
1-star restaurants
- Acid Food & Wine Bar (Randburg, Johannesburg)
- Cavalli Restaurant (Somerset West)
- Chefs Warehouse at Maison (Franschhoek)
- CHORUS (Somerset West)
- Creation Wines Tasting Room (Hemel-en-Aarde Valley)
- Eike (Stellenbosch)
- FABER at Avondale (Paarl)
- Farro (Botrivier)
- Fermier (Pretoria)
- Le coin Français (Franschhoek)
- Les Créatifs Restaurant (Bryanston, Johannesburg)
- Madre Stanford (Stanford)
- Orangerie at Le Lude (Franschhoek)
- Ouzeri (City Bowl, Cape Town)
- Post & Pepper (Stellenbosch)
- Protégé (Franschhoek)
- Proud Mary (Rosebank, Johannesburg)
- Rykaart’s (Stellenbosch)
- Séjour (Houghton Estate, Johannesburg)
- The Chefs’ Table (Umhlanga, eThekwini)
- The Melting Pot (Elgin)
- The Red Room by Chefs Warehouse (City Bowl, Cape Town)
- The Table at De Meye (Stellenbosch)
- The Test Kitchen Fledgelings (Woodstock Cape Town)
- The Waterside Restaurant (V&A Waterfront, Cape Town)
- Upper Union (City Bowl, Cape Town)
- Zioux (Sandton, Johannesburg)
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2-star restaurants
- Belly of the Beast (City Bowl, Cape Town)
- beyond (Constantia, Cape Town)
- ëlgr (City Bowl, Cape Town)
- Epice (Franschhoek)
- Foxcroft (Constantia, Cape Town)
- Meraki by Charlie Lakin (Hillcrest, eThekwini)
- Nevermind (Cape St Francis)
- PIER (V&A Waterfront, Cape Town)
- Restaurant Klein JAN (Tswalu)
- Rust en Vrede (Stellenbosch)
- Salon (Woodstock, Cape Town)
- Spek & Bone (Stellenbosch)
- The Jordan Restaurant with Marthinus Ferreira (Stellenbosch)
- The LivingRoom at Summerhill Estate (Pinetown, eThekwini)
- The Pot Luck Club Cape Town (Woodstock, Cape Town)
- The Pot Luck Club Johannesburg (Randburg, Johannesburg)
- Wolfgat (Paternoster)
3-star restaurants
- ARKESTE by Richard Carstens (Franschhoek)
- Chefs Warehouse Beau Constantia (Constantia, Cape Town)
- Dusk (Stellenbosch)
- FYN (City Bowl, Cape Town
- La Colombe (Constantia, Cape Town)
- La Petite Colombe (Franschhoek)
- Salsify at The Roundhouse (Camps Bay, Cape Town)
Eat Out brand custodian Aileen Lamb says: “Fifty-one restaurants were in that elite group of starred restaurants this year, an increase from last year’s 42 and testament to our restaurant industry continuing to evolve and ascend to new heights. What a privilege it was to eat out in 2023! Thank you to Abigail and her judging panel – Joseph Dhafana, Marisa Munroe, Mokgadi Itsweng, Herman Lensing and Karen Dudley – for their dedication to highlighting the best of the best and pushing the industry forward.”
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In addition to the starred restaurants, 14 special awards were handed out to individual restaurants, chefs and food personalities at the 2023 Eat Out Woolworths Restaurant Awards.
La Colombe in Constantia was awarded Eat Out Woolworths Restaurant of the Year, having attained the highest score of any restaurant in the country.
The Eat Out Woolworths Financial Services Chef of the Year award went to Ryan Cole, the head chef and co-owner of Salsify at The Roundhouse in Camps Bay.
Ryan’s peers agreed, awarding him the Eat Out Birkenstock Chef’s Chef of the Year Award. All the star winners from 2022 were invited to vote, and this accolade not only acknowledges Ryan’s culinary achievements but also underscores his role as a source of inspiration and leadership within the restaurant community.
The Eat Out Valpré Rising Star Award went to Anwar Abdullatief of The Happy Uncles in Salt River.
The remaining special award winners were:
- Eat Out Woolworths Sustainability Award: The LivingRoom at Summerhill Estate (Pinetown, eThekwini)
- Eat Out Woolworths Financial Services Service Excellence Award: Meraki by Charlie Lakin (Hillcrest, eThekwini)
- Eat Out Woolworths Wine Service Award: Bafana Zondo, Dusk (Stellenbosch)
- Eat Out Lexus Style Award: Restaurant Klein JAN (Tswalu)
- Eat Out Retail Capital Best New Restaurant Award: Boma on Bree (City Bowl, Cape Town)
- Eat Out Cacao Barry Dessert Award: Motheba Makhetha, The Jordan Restaurant (Stellenbosch)
- Eat Out Patrón Mixology Award: La Petite Colombe (Franschhoek)
- Eat Out Lexus Best Destination Award: Wolfgat (Paternoster)
- Eat Out Woolworths Trailblazer Award: Siba Mtongana, SIBA – The Restaurant (V&A Waterfront, Cape Town)
- Eat Out Highland Park Lannice Snyman Lifetime Achievement Award: Germain Lehodey – South Africa’s first accredited sommelier
And there you have it – the best of the best restaurants to dine at this summer! Let us know which of the 2023 Eat Out Woolworths Restaurant Awards winners you’ll be visiting in the comments below.