These are the 10 best restaurants in South Africa – including a new number one

Eat Out has released its list of winners for the 2018 Mercedes-Benz Restaurant Awards.

The restaurants were determined by the scores of a panel of anonymous judges – convened by chef Margot Janse – who dined around the country.

With input from the Eat Out community, the judges draw up a list of candidates for nomination.

Each restaurant has to adhere to the following guidelines:

• The establishment must have been open with the same highest-ranking chef since November 2017.
• Changes in décor, closure for winter or other breaks, and staffing changes, other than of the highest-ranking chef, over this time period do not disqualify a restaurant.
• Consistency and excellence must shine through every aspect of the experience.
• The owners and chef should demonstrate total passion for the business.
• They should also be dedicated to uplifting the industry.
• The sourcing of quality produce should be a priority.

Notably, Cape Town’s ‘The Test Kitchen’ has officially been topped as the best restaurant in South Africa – a position it has held since 2012.

The new number one is ‘The Restaurant at Waterkloof’, which moved two places up from number three in the top 10 last year.

As in previous years, the Western Cape dominates this year’s list with nine of the top 10 located in the province.

The lone exception is Pretoria’s Restaurant Mosaic at The Orient in seventh position.

The winners in ranked order are as follows:

The Restaurant at Waterkloof (Somerset West)

The Test Kitchen (Woodstock, Cape Town)

La Colombe (Constantia, Cape Town)

Wolfgat (Paternoster, West Coast)

La Petite Colombe (Franschhoek)

Greenhouse at Cellars-Hohenort (Constantia, Cape Town)

Restaurant Mosaic at The Orient (Elandsfontein, Pretoria)

Camphors at Vergelegen (Somerset West)

Jardine Restaurant (Stellenbosch)

Chefs Warehouse at Beau Constantia (Constantia, Cape Town)

All images sourced from Eat Out.

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