How much it costs to eat at South Africa’s best restaurant – and its best dish

Cape Town’s The Test Kitchen has once again been named as the best restaurant in South Africa by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants panel.

The restaurant was ranked as the 44th in the world fro 2019, and was also named as Africa’s best overall restaurant – moving up six places from its 50th place position in 2018.

The Test Kitchen has previously received plaudits as the first fine dining restaurant to open in Cape Town’s gentrified Woodstock – kicking off an artistic boom.

It has also considered an exclusive venue with table allocation subject to the capacity of the bookings on the day and at the sole discretion of management.

Bookings are currently open for July, August and September 2019, while bookings for the last three months of the year will be open from 1 September.

Cost

The menu price for ‘The Light Room’ at The Test Kitchen starts at R2,050.

This cost increases with your choice of drink pairing, including:

• Tea pairing – R2,450
• Gourmand Wine Pairing – R2,800
• Iconic Wine Pairing – R3,200

A discretionary service charge of 12% will be added to all tables menu subject to change.

Patrons are also required to put down a deposit of R600 to secure their reservations, payable within 24 hours of making the provisional booking.

A refund for any cancellation or modification made by the guest no later than 24 hours prior to your booking.

In the case of a late cancellation or no notification by the guest or a no show , an additional fee of R1450, per person will be charged to your bill on the night.

Late notification by the guest pertaining to modifications regarding the number of guests will be charged a fee of R1450 per cancelled seating . At the sole discretion of management

The dish you can’t miss

The Test Kitchen primarily serves inventive interpretations of popular global dishes with a South African twist.

However, the ‘Billionaire Shortbread’ is a standout according to food critics,  with the dish acting a savoury take on the classic millionaire shortbread recipe.

“The different layers consist of a porcini shortbread base topped with a truffle jelly that is sandwiched together with a rich and smooth duck liver parfait,” said The Test Kitchen’s team to the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.

“We spread a thin layer of 99% dark chocolate on top, and once it is set, we finish the billionaire off with a 24ct gold leaf.”

The billionaire is the first course at The Test Kitchen, while the final course is a millionaire shortbread.

Read: These 2 South African restaurants are among the best in the world