The 2010 edition of the printed guide is now imminent. As a taste of things to come, here is the new list of three star restaurants, the highest accolade in the guide.
Remember that, in Rossouw’s, it is not only the “fine dining” establishments that are in contention for three stars, but any establishment that shines in its price point and offers a truly special food experience – and it is word “experience” that’s key, for all great restaurants offer more than just good grub, it’s the all-round feeling of pleasure that’s created by a lovely space, warm hospitality, good service and crackerjack food. Track record is also important: three star restaurants should consistently deliver on their promise.
One star is awarded for food that is above average in its price category; two stars for highly recommended establishments that offer great food and a super experience. A number of excellent restaurants are in contention for three stars but did not quite hit the mark – these are two star places that are noted as “bubbling under” – and they are:
In the Cape: Belthazar (V&A Waterfront), Cafe Dijon (Stellenbosch), The Greenhouse (Constantia), The Roundhouse (Camps Bay), The Tasting Room (Franschhoek), Terroir (Stellenbosch).
In Gauteng: The Attic (Parkhurst), Cafe del Soul (Olivedale), Mosaic (Elandsfontein), Narina Trogon (Braamfontein), Sai Thai (Cyrildene).
Three Star recipients are:
Three Stars, Cape:
Aubergine (Gardens)
Bizerca (City)
Jardine (City)
Joostenberg Bistro (Stellenbosch)
La Colombe (Constantia)
Overture (Stellenbosch)
Reuben’s (Franschhoek)
Rust en Vrede (Stellenbosch)
Three Stars, Garden Route:
Ile de Pain (Knysna)
Mariana’s (Stanford)
Zachary’s (Knysna)
Three Stars, Gauteng:
The Butcher Shop & Grill (Sandton)
Ritrovo (Pretoria)
Thomas Maxwell Bistro (Sandton)
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15 Comments
Just out of interest…..
How are you going to explain away The Tasting Room not getting 3 stars when in all likelyhood it will finish highest up the List withregards the World’s Top 50?
I’d be interested to know exactly how many times each of these restaurants are in fact “inspected”?
Heck, I’d be impressed if all the restaurants in your guide have been inspected just once in a 1 year cycle?
By the way, noticed there are no new 3 star Vegetarian Restaurants?
Very upsetting.
For your interest, and others: all restaurants that are in contention for two or three stars are revisited at least once a year. In the case of those up for three stars, they get even more attention than that. I also take into consideration the hundreds of customer reviews I get, but final comment and score is mine. The Tasting Room’s move from three stars in 2009 to two in 2010 was not a decision easily made, but it was certainly not influenced by what other reviews/guides/Top 50′s say.
Are YOU satisfied with the required number of visit’s to such-and-such a restaurant?
Is “at least once”….enough?
What if that “Once” was in December 2008 and the guide is now released in November 2009?
The place may have burnt down for all we know?
Can you confirm or not that on occassion’s the text(actual write up) on some places has remained EXACTLY the same from one year to the next? Thereby giving the impression to the first time buyer of the guide that “The Place” was reviewed recently and is accurate…….but in fact completely inaccurate?
Please sweet Mary, tell us that you are not going down the Zagat guide route?
We’ll end up with people like Mr.Pimple telling us that Fiona’s Lettuce Factory is the best place in the country!
thanks in advance.
Bob, as you well know, restaurants are a moving target, and every guide comes out with changes already having taken place. For example, Ginja has moved, and Bouillabaisse Cape Town has closed – but it all happened after copy was finalised and at printers. That is why I also do so much of my reviewing on this site, as quality is also changeable. In an ideal world, all the restaurants are reviewed on the day after the guide hits the shelves. And it is precisely because I am not going the Zagat route that calendar challenges are high.
I think going once to a restaurant should be enough! If a restaurant does not impress on a night, the chances of one going back are unlikely. A three star restaurant should be able to deliver whenever one goes.
….how is a guide to determine if a restaurant is consistant with only 1 visit?
Fantastic to see Cafe del Soul up there. Being from Cape Town I only get to go there maybe twice a year but always thoroughly enjoy it.
Also interesting to note Magica Roma has dropped from 3 stars and quite surprised Hartford House is not mentioned if only in the “bubbling under” category.
Great list and agree with 80 percent of it – I havent visited the other 20 percent yet! Looking forward to this year guide.
Well done with the guide. It will be impossible to get a objective and 100% current list. And I find it fascinating how you are blamed for reporting inaccuarate according to other people’s opinions. What is important for me is that it is a guide and I am sure 90% of the times I will feel well guided if I use your star allocations to determine where I want to go and eat. And the beauty is that i sometime will experience a place as better than what you suggested (Magica Roma) and sometimes worse (Reubens). What your guide does proof to me is that reataurants change, customers change, trends change, opinions of food critics change, and there is always a new and exciting place opening. There are star restaurants in all the allocations, even those that do not even get a star and there are 2 and 3 star places that know they will have to perform and impress if they want to stay there. And more importantly that the difference between a 2 and 3 star is only the perception and opinion of a brave food critic who is willing to make his favourite list, knowing he will be criticised. Maybe it is time for all the critics of food critics to hand in their lists so that we can have endless discussions to get to a final list. Or let’s ask 3 star restauarants to list their top 10. Imagine the impossible!
As a budding critic I agree with Jasper. Food is objective and people need to appreciate that any accolade list is an opinion. Readers’ opinions might differ but the fact that heated debates get sparked over food highlights how awesome it is. Indifference is reserved for more boring subject matter.
JP, I’m pretty happy with your list but felt The Foodbarn might deserve a 2 star rating. I feel Franck is finding some of his old magic again and the new decor is a huge improvement. Another obvious point is the dominance of The Cape restaurants over Gauteng which I think is totally accurate. The emergence of world-class wine farm restaurants is also exciting. All in all, congratulations. You’re never going to please everyone but you’ve done bloody well to capture the restaurant scene I reckon.
Glad to see my perennial favourite Bizerca Bistro is up there.
Jamie, many thanks – just to say that The Foodbarn does in fact get two stars in the 2010 guide. All will naturally be revealed when it hits the shelves – which should be next week.
I have to agree with Casper. Restaurant ratings (eating out in general) are subjective. Therefore there will always be disagreement, and it is an almost impossible task to give a rating of any restaurant that everyone would agree to. I admire JPR for having the courage to publish his opinions on such an emotive topic.
On most occasions I find his ratings to be perfectly accurate enough; sufficiently so to do what they are intended to do – guide me in choosing a restaurant. As with all advice, you as the individual have the choice to act on it or not.
Hi JP
Once again, a very confusing mix of 3 star establishments- leaving some excellent places out (roundhouse, greenhouse, LQF) and donning some very poor ones with 3 stars (Zachary’s, Butcher Shop…). Just goes to show that a one man show can never be as accurate as a panel of judges or inspectors. Perhaps you should invest in a team of anonymous inspectors instead of doing it yourself- as everyone knows your face and give you the best; seat, service, meal… Perhaps your guide would be a little more credible. A place like Zachary’s should not even be 2 stars and what’s with all the Bistros; if you are trying to do a South African Michelin Guide (which is quite obvious), how can a place where you eat burgers and pies be 3 stars? Baffling.
John, thanks for writing – I would like to respond to a few issues that you raise, to correct some misinformation as well as to explain my methodology. I do in fact have a team of anonymous inspectors, and it is far from a “one man show”. To arrive at the three stars, I discuss the potential candidates with my inspectors, though the final selection is mine. All three of those that you name as having been left out are “bubbling under” my latest three star list – clearly very nearly in that category, but I felt I needed to track consistency for a little longer. As to your bafflement over bistros, it has always been the model of the guide to rate places within their price category, to avoid only celebrating the expensive restaurants – which many people rarely get to. As to the establishments that you’d personally consider three star, you’ll hopefully appreciate I may also find some baffling picks listed; that’s the nature of the palate.
your entire pricing theory is becoming a major issue.
supply and demand often and do dictate pricing.
Overture is of better value than, say, Ruebens….but one you would consider “fine dining” and the other “bistro”…not that this example is an example of supply and demand, but you get my drift,right?
for some reason, “Credibility” appears to be an issue with your guide(as well as others).
I think it goes further than paying for your own meal, it’s your anonymous “panel” of assistants maybe?
don’t ask me why, nobody knows of 1 michelin inspector but that is still considered the Holy Grail.
all very strange.
I’d suggest you call the 10 best restaurants…..the 10 best restaurants. Who cares how much they charge?
I’ve just got back to UK after 2 weeks eating around the Cape; mainly Franschhoek, Garden Route and Cape Town. I’ll post a few reviews on individual places separately but just wanted to give you a summary. First, perhaps stating the obvious, you folk are so lucky to have such an abundance of well run restaurants at all levels with service way above the global norm, talented Chefs anf some good quality ingredients ( although if anything, this may be the weak spot)
Recognising that the Roussouws guide aims to judge restaurants at all levels against the standards they set for themselves, rather than against an absolute standard ( a la Michelin), I think the star ratings were a remarkably accurate guide. I’d just have a few quibbles. Zachary’s aims for the top of the tree. The cooking was accomplished, the menu pretty innovative but ultimately the flavours a touch disappointing. With such such a pretentious service style ( sending the sommelier to take an order for an aperitif isn’t really necessary is it?) there was a lot that could go wrong and quite a bit did. So I’d say 2 stars rather than 3.
Ile de Pain is a good cafe but not so out of the ordinary as to deserve 3 stars. Although the Burger was exceptional.
In the gastronomic desert that is the Knysna Quays, Cruise Cafe deserves great praise and a star. The tables under the canopy overlooking the jetty are among the best restaurant views in the Cape, the service was friendly, informal and efficient by beautiful staff and the food simple, fresh, and attractively presented. We went back 3 times.
In Franschhook , The owner/chef and his wife at Bouillabaisse are no longer in the kitchen or front of house and the standard has dropped considerably since last year. Similarly Bread and Wine struck me as resting on its laurels a bit. The flavours are still fresh but some of the dished ( e.g. the poached lamb I had, just did not look attractive dishes and the out door dining area felt a bit musty. the cast iron tables could have done with pressure cleaning. Mon Plaisir, our first time there, was certainly authentically French but the quirkiness of the service, referred to in your guide, was not really up to it and the food no more than average.
On the positive side, Le Bon Vivant was a delight. Greatly improved on last year and with some really memorable dishes well executed, to go with the pleasantly laid back ( not sloppy) service. I’d give it 2 stars. Also, Grand Provence largely succeeded in hitting the hights that it aspired to. The whole design of the estate and the restaurant is outstanding and the menu more than lived up to the slightly pretensious concept. Worth 3 stars?
Lastly a word of praise for Mont Rochelle, not Mange Tout ( which is good fine dining for pensioners) nor the Country Kitchen, which is fine for a mid-day snack, but the Bar menu in the Hotel. The best Salad I have ever eaten and looking at other diners plates, the rest of it looked equally good.
Keep up the good work and I hope you get a UK distributor for the guide by next year.