Smart plates in the cape

London, New York and Sydney may be the bastions of haute cuisine, but as a complete package of food, wine and service, a week of eating at a handful of top restaurants within a 70km radius of Cape Town represents more outstanding value. It used to be true that local chefs lagged behind in innovation, but South African restaurants have upped standards to such an extent that their overseas peers include the Cape on their ‘to eat at’ list. Smarter South African venues now offer innovative tasting menus with appropriate local wine pairings, and service is elegantly friendly without being stiff. The likes of Michel Roux Junior, Ramsay’s right-hand chef Angela Hartnett, Gary Rhodes and Ferran Adrià have all been fed and impressed in recent years.

Excerpt from the June issue of epicure.