The 10 most expensive restaurants in Cape Town

Few Cape Town restaurants turn dinner into quite as much of a production as La Colombe. The full Chef’s Menu runs from celeriac with wild mushroom and truffle, through a sequence of ocean snacks, the restaurant’s signature tuna dish, quail with langoustine, coal-fired lamb, and the finale of 'Childhood memories of frozen yoghurt'.

A discretionary 13.5 per cent service charge is added to the bill too. But there is some good news: the shorter weekday lunch menus offer a less expensive way in.

Go all out: La Colombe offers a trio of wine pairing options, from the Boutique pairing (R1895) or the Heritage (R4195) right through to the Iconic pairing that will set you back a cool R12 495. Add in the food and discretionary service charge and you’ll be tapping your card for R17 127 per person.

PIER matches its La Colombe sibling, rand for rand, but here the focus shifts towards the sea. John Norris-Rogers’ Chef’s Menu begins with an oyster, Cap Classique and apple, before moving through plates such as smoked mussel tart, octopus beignet, yellowfin tuna, pork belly with langoustine, and springbok with Jerusalem artichoke.

As at La Colombe, the restaurant offers more affordable seasonal lunch menus worth looking out for. A discretionary 13.5 per cent service charge applies.

Go all out: As with all restaurants in the La Colombe group, wine pairings are exceptional… and an easy way to up the spend. At PIER, the Classic (R1995 per person) and Fine & Rare (R3895) may be tempting, but if you’re swiping a corporate card, it’s the Iconic pairing you’ll want to order; R9795 per person.

Since 2009, Nobu at One&Only Cape Town has been a landmark destination, and its Classic Omakase remains among Cape Town’s most expensive chef-led menus. Expect a multi-course progression centred on the restaurant’s Japanese-Peruvian style.

And the omakase is really only the beginning.

Go all out: Still hungry? How about adding a portion of Japanese Kobe beef… it’s yours for an eye-watering R5060 for 150g.

This landmark restaurant in the inner city sees chef-patron Peter Tempelhoff work his magic with a menu of Afro-Japanese cuisine. The current Experience Menu at FYN moves from Cape Point tuna and kelp with abalone to springbok and ostrich, KZN langoustine and Karoo lamb.

FYN is a few rands cheaper than La Colombe and PIER for food alone, but a wine pairing can substantially increase the bill.

Go all out: There are three wine-pairing options at FYN: the Experience Pairing at R1690, South African Terroir at R2790, and the Cellar and Rarities Pairing at R6590. If you opt for the R2475 Experience menu with the R6590 Cellar and Rarities pairing, you’re in for a bill of R9065 per person, before tip. 

Perched high above Camps Bay in the historic Roundhouse, Salsify’s current 10-course menu features a procession of local ingredients, including kingklip with confit oyster, fire-roasted octopus with langoustine, and lamb rib and loin, before finishing with dessert or cheese. It is already comfortably among Cape Town’s most expensive tasting menus, but wine pairings can easily double the bill.

Go all out: There’s a fine cellar at Salsify, with a choice of pairings to help you explore it. The Collector’s pairing adds R2020, while the Signature Wine Pairing will cost you R5190.

Now happily settled into its new home atop Constantia Nek, Foxcroft is one of the most accessible members of the La Colombe group of restaurants, even if its full tasting menu won’t leave much change from two grand. The Chef’s Menu at Foxcroft opens with bread and small plates, then moves on to dishes such as Namibian crab and tuna ceviche.

Counting your pennies? The Chef’s Menu costs R1495 at lunch, and there are more affordable lunchtime menu options at R995 too. A 13.5 per cent service charge applies.

Go all out: To match Glen Foxcroft Williams’ innovative menu, there are Classic (R1495) and Iconic (R4495) wine-pairing options to choose from.

The more relaxed sibling to PIER still delivers a full tasting-menu experience, with chef Roxy Mudie combining polished technique with local ingredients and a front-row V&A Waterfront setting. The Waterside tasting menu serves up a nine-course affair, with dishes on bespoke crockery ranging from prawn dim sum to lamb and celeriac.

Go all out: Up the experience with wine pairing: R1395 for the Classic pairing, or R2995 for the selection of Iconic wines.

Chefs Warehouse Beau Constantia combines one of the city’s most spectacular dining-room views with the globe-trotting cooking of chef-partner Ivor Jones. The current six-course menu offers a succession of choices, from a Central Thai salad of linefish and prawn or crying tiger tuna to smoked beef tartare, South Coast crab curry waffle, pumpkin risotto and cumin lamb.

Go all out: Add the R200 West Coast Saldanha Bay oyster supplement and finish with the Cheese of Origin course for an extra R180. Wine pairing costs an additional R950 at dinner for paired wines with all six courses.

Set right on the water at the V&A Waterfront, COY is chef Ryan Cole’s more relaxed sibling to Salsify, but the cooking is no less ambitious. The seven-course COY Experience draws heavily on African ingredients and flavours, with the menu moving through dishes such as fermented amadumbe sourdough, beef tartare or linefish sashimi, linefish with tomato smoor, beef fillet or mielie samp, and burnt banana crème.

Go all out: Add the R1290 wine pairing and the full experience comes to R2880 per person before service. There’s also a wellness pairing for non-drinkers.

Part of Peter Tempelhoff’s FYN restaurant group, beyond is relatively restrained by the standards of this list, with the six-course Gastronomic Menu priced at a more accessible R1435. For that, you can expect smoked gamefish crudo, Cape fish, ostrich and pork belly, with a strong emphasis on local produce and South African flavour references.

Go all out: The six-course wine pairing adds R1225 to the menu price.