What you can eat for R2,000 at South Africa’s best restaurants

Conde Nast Traveller’s World’s Best Restaurant Awards recently announced the best places to eat across the globe.

Although no South African restaurant made the exclusive top 50 ranking, the extended top 100 listing includes three Cape Town dining spot.

This includes La Colombe, ranked 55th, FYN at 82nd and Salsify at the Roundhouse, which placed 88th worldwide.

The rankings provide an annual snapshot of opinions and experiences of 1,100 international restaurant industry experts, and are a globally recognised gastronomic reference point.

What constitutes the best is left to the gourmands’ judgment. Although there is no pre-determined checklist of criteria, there are strict voting rules.

A restaurant does not have to meet any criterion or sell a particular product. That said, it does need to have been open for a certain number of years.

The World’s best restaurant in 2025 was Maido, a Japanese-Peruvian fusion restaurant based in Lima, followed by Spain’s Asador Etxebarri and Mexico’s Quintonil.

South Africa’s top-performing restaurants focus on modern, classical cooking with a particular focus on indigenous ingredients.

South Africans wanting to eat at these establishments can expect to carry a hefty bill. However, given the prestige and the multiple courses, the experience may be worth it.

BusinessTech looked at the most expensive meals at these world-class restaurants, bearing in mind that fine dining is an experience that comes with a steep cost.

La Colombe – #55

Retaining its crown as the best restaurant in South Africa is the Constantia-based La Colombe, with its “globally inspired” menu delivered by Executive Chef James Gaag.

For La Colombe, we focused on its Dinner Menu, which works out to R2,195 per person, not including wine or the 13.5% mandatory service charge.

The 10-course Dinner Menu contains the following:

• Forest Mushrooms, Celeriac, Brioche
• Sourdough, Jerusalem Artichoke, Truffle
• Tuna ‘La Colombe’
• Namibian Crab, Gamefish, Nahm Jim
• Pork Belly, Scallop, Sweetcorn, Kimchi
• Blood Orange
• Coal-Fired Lamb, Sunchoke, Dombolo
• Cheese & Honey
• Rose, Raspberry, Pistachio
• Petit Four Chest

Images of the La Colombe

FYN – #82

According to the World’s 50 Best, Japanese-South African fusion restaurant FYN is the second-best in the country.

The restaurant is regularly recognised as one of the best in South Africa, which BusinessTechcan attest to after visiting in 2023.

Like La Colombe, Fyn’s most expensive menu is Lunch/Dinner Menu Experience, which will set you back R2,175 per person, not including the 13.5% service charge and R1,795 wine pairing, and includes:

• Burnt mushroom custard, mosbolletjie
• Yellowfin tuna, aged local cheese, Cape rough skin lemon / Cape Malay pickled yellowtail, pomegranate, coconut / Lambert’s Bay abalone, miso wakame, dune spinach
• Heirloom tomato carpaccio, Karoo wagyu, kombu salsa, shiso
• West Coast rock lobster, chawanmushi, dashi leeks
• Seared chokka, sesame sauce, Madagascan Baerii caviar
• Laingsburg lamb, kuri squash, braised kabocha, African mint gremolata, pumpkin seed
• Atlantic Ridge kingklip, kapokbos tempura, coastal plants, daikon dashi
• Bok Box – Choice of African game, pine nut, roasted fig, new season porcini, prenia leaf, ghoenavy & khakibos sauce
• Amasi & rose pelargonium sorbet, strawberry & green tea jelly, mochi veil
• Wagashi

Images of FYN

Salsify at the Roundhouse – #88

Another to make the global top 100 is Salsify at the Roundhouse—its debut in the global rankings.

Despite not cracking the World’s Best 50, it did receive the accolade of best restaurant in South Africa at the recent Eat Out Woolworths awards.

“It is a restaurant that balances the history of its unique setting, acknowledging and critiquing its past while celebrating its immediate environment through hyper-local foraging,” said the Eat Out judges. 

The modern, classical restaurant in the affluent Camps Bay, and its most expensive option is its dinner menu, costing R1,890 per person, excluding the R1,750 wine pairing or R2,990 gem wine pairing.

Under the leadership of executive chef and co-owner Ryan Cole, the 10-course menu features the following:

• Coal Roasted Oyster • Spekboom & Ginger, or Smoked Parsnip • Chicken Skin Tart
• Salt-Baked Beetroot • Truffle Walnut Pesto with Pickled Guava • Cashew Nut Cream
• Autumn Impressions
• Beef Sweetbread • Salsify & Samp • Marzipan Jus
• Pan Fried Linefish • Mussel • Roasted Fennel • Sunflower Emulsion 
• Steamed Pork Jowl • Sultana • Pork Skin Crumb
• Karoo Lamb Rib & Lion • Waterblommetjie • Wild Garlic Dressing
• Pandan Cake • Chamomile Tea Mousse • Thai Lime & Pineapple
• Salsify Chocolate Bar • Bains 18y.o Ice Cream or a Selection Of Local Cheeses

Images of Salsify