Diversions
Our Top Eats 2020
Jan
What makes a restaurant great? What is it about an establishment that makes us excited enough to tell everyone we know that they must eat there? Perhaps it’s the service, or maybe the impeccable food. Maybe it’s known for its high price tag, or it offers an evening unlike any other, or maybe you just spent formative years eating a certain sandwich after-hours, and desperately want someone else to validate a practice you once held dear.
Regardless of the qualifications, there are some restaurants you simply have to experience. The nature of a bucket list is that it consists of to-be-checked items you either want to do, or you want to do again; it doesn’t discriminate between aspirational, unaffected, and obvious. Is our system for inclusion sound? Mostly! We’re not proclaiming these best in class (though some certainly are) — yes, the food, but not just the food — so spectacular in its singularity that it’s worthy of telling others to seek out before they kick the bucket.
Ultimately, this is about passion. Good luck. See you on the other side.
Chinatown
20 Gleneagles Road, Greenside, Johannesburg
We love Chinese food. No, wait, we love good Chinese food. Fresh, flavourful and delicious. Not over sweet, starchy and unrecognisable. At Chinetown you get just that, really, really good Chinese food. We usually start with the pork potsickers and they are delicious and light and just salty enough. Leading in to our favourites, the Kung Poa Chicken, Crispy Beef or the Sichuan Beef. Either of these are absolutely delicious. We usually have it with noodle and these are the noods you want your crush to send you because they are so gooood! The White Rabbit Ice Cream is a wonderful addition and ending your meal with an unfortunate cookie just makes this place special.
Blondie Bar
20 Gleneagles Road, Greenside, Johannesburg
Yes, Blondie Bar and Chinatown are on the same premisses but they are by no means similar. You come here for the pie but you stay for the gees. The pizza here is so good it makes you forget that your sitting in a parking lot behind a vape shop, and if that doesn’t make sense just go there. Preferably on a Saturday night when the randomness of the patronage gives Blondie Bar a very unique energy. Or it might just be the 2 for 1 brandy special. But I digress, the pizza. The Pizza. Oh sweet baby Yoda, the pizza! It’s deep dish, cheesy, crunchy, spicy, hot, meaty, cheesy (yes I said it twice) honest to God goodness. They only have four kinds, Margherita, Pepperoni, Meat Balls and Marinara. These slices are square but they do not act like that. We couldn’t pick a favourite so, just try them all.
Café Billi Bi
Address: Shop G23A, Stoneridge Centre, Greenstone Park, Johannesburg
Café Billi Bi is best known for its cosy café cuisine, offering a well-crafted menu for breakfast and lunch. The menu is superb, offering well thought-out and unique dishes. Order off the specials board or main menu. The BBQ pulled pork, 2 poached eggs and rosti off the breakfast specials board and the protein power breakfast comprising 2 poached eggs, 100g fillet steak and half an avo were both beautifully presented and equally delicious. The menu also caters for multiple dietary requirements. Café Billi Bi is also well-known for its cakes – not only are they gorgeous and displayed perfectly to draw one’s sweet tooth to their attention, they also taste as good as they look!
The Grind Coffee Company
Address: Cnr Whiteley Road and, The High St, Melrose, Johannesburg
The feeling when you get a heart on top of your latte or cappuccino, you smile, your eyes light up and you get that warm feeling because you know, this cup of coffee, is exactly what you need. The menu is overwhelmingly vegetarian but, not in your face and even if you do not walk on the green side of dining, the food is delicious. The oven baked Melanzane alla Parmigiana and the Chicken Burrito Bowl is especially delicious. But the main reason you come here is for the coffee and damn, is it good.
Jason Bakery
Address: 83 Main Rd, Green Point, Cape Town
Jason Bakery are known for their traditionally-made breads and baked goods, produced using only the best local ingredients. All of their products are handmade by their in-house bakers, every day, using local stoneground flour, local desert salt and filtered water. Their Bree street sourdough is made using Jason’s 14-year-old levain starter (named Henry), while the rye breads are made with their 12-year-old rye starter, Jessica. All of their breads are given the luxury of a long fermentation period. This fermentation, combined with Jason’s knowledge and experience, is what sets Jason breads apart from others. And then there is the Doughssant. A hybrid between a doughnut and a croissant. They cut croissant dough in a doughnut shape and deep fry it, before filling and topping with a unique flavour every week. And they have never repeated a flavour since it’s inception in 2013!
Jarryds
Address: 90 Regent Rd, Sea Point, Cape Town
At Jarryds they believe in balance, it’s a place where quality meets passions and they like to think that it shows. Wholly committed to sourcing and supporting locally produced and seasonal produce, JARRYDS focuses on highlighting the beautiful nature of each and every single ingredient they serve. Their providers deliver fresh from the market every single day, and the free range eggs are the freshest in town. They believe in Fair Trade coffee and their blend is co-roasted exclusively for them. The carefully and lovingly crafted blend contains some of the worlds best and most exclusive coffees roasted to perfection. The milk is from a local farm called FairCape, which helps to create a rich, balanced and flavourful cup. The artisan bread is baked in collaboration with their partner Bentley’s Bread Co. using only natural, unbleached local stone ground flour.
SinTax
Address: Corner of Bolton & Jan Smuts Roads, Rosebank, Johannesburg
If you can find it, you can drink there. Sin+Tax offers a world-class cocktail experience without the pretension: an inclusive, exclusive cocktail encounter in the City of Gold. Never compromising on quality, we ensure your ‘experience’ with us is just that. Upping the ante for South Africa’s cocktail scene by pushing the boundaries of innovation and imagination, Sin+Tax is the only bar on the African continent to make it into the World’s 50 Best Bars’ top 100 in 2019. Also, they probably have the best Old Fashioned in the country.
Lonely Hearts Club
Address: 9 7th St, Melville, Johannesburg
While most of Johannesburg’s suburbs have undergone independent revamps that have taken them from sleepy to vibey, Melville has always been an area you can rely on for a good time. There are, however, more restaurants taking their food seriously, and Lonely Hearts is one such spot. The concept is simple, a tapas bar, with interesting cocktails and a convivial vibe. The menu is divided up into vegetarian, seafood, poultry and meaty dishes, and is rounded off with dessert. It’s clear the that the focus here is the cocktails, which include classic Negronis, Martinis and French 75s, as well as some inventive concoctions like the Hey Jude, with orange juice, Caperitif, gin and bubbly. But go there for the Old Fashioned.
Man’oushe
Address: Andringa Street, Stellenbosch
When you walk in you are welcomed by enthusiastic staff that is so educated on the menu, that they are able to ease your apprehension in trying something new. We encourage you to go with an open mind and a willingness to try absolutely anything. The food journey is an adventure in its own completely and you really won’t be disappointed in the slightest. And obviously the Man’oushe, which is a traditional Lebanese bread sandwich with a white sauce and an array of toppings of your choice. But it’s not just about the food though, don’t misjudge its quaintness for it’s ability to create a vibe, because it’s so unbelievably festive – Picture a spread total mouth watering bursts of scrumptious food on the table, Lebanese music bellowing from the speakers and people just chatting away, smiling and genuinely enjoying every minute of it.
Fynboshoek Cheese Farm
Address: 107 Storms River, Tsitsikamma
Master cheesemaker Alje van Deemter uses fresh-harvested produce from the kitchen garden to accompany cheese that’s lovingly made using age-old methods. Award-winning goat’s and cow’s milk cheeses are presented in their simplest and most natural forms for guests to appreciate and savour. The feast starts with delicate mature cheddar profiteroles served warm, drizzled in olive oil and strewn with rosemary tips. This is followed by the signature Caprese salad with melt-in-your-mouth mozzarella and fleshy tomatoes bursting with flavour. The main event is the cheese platter, showcasing a variety of cheeses from smoked provolone, a number of cheddars and goat’s cheeses, to honey-drizzled ricotta – a dessert in itself. The cheese platter is garnished with fresh herbs from the garden and served with a freshly baked herb-infused bread, the perfect accompaniment to Alje’s cheeses. End the meal with a crêpe or rustic pecan tart served with home-made ice cream and Bialetti coffee.
Paul’s Homemade Ice Cream
Address: 23 10th St, Parkhurst, Randburg
For those who don’t know, Paul is a real guy. He grew up in Johannesburg, and started his ice cream journey after receiving an ice cream maker on his 21st birthday. He started making a litre a day, with early experiments of Nutella-swirled milk chocolate and Oreo cookie chunks. Hand-whisking the custard base, he would make a huge mess in his parents’ kitchen, getting egg whites and sugar everywhere. Paul’s ice cream became available in small cafés and shops in Johannesburg. He then partnered with friend Josh Amoils to help run the growing business. Today, Paul’s Homemade Ice Cream is stocked in over a hundred stores, and scoops are available at 12 retail stores nationwide.
Circus Circus Beach Café
Address: Shop 1, Snell Parade, Bay of Plenty, Durban
This beachfront café has gorgeous sea views and, if you’re lucky, you’ll get a table literally in the sand. Kick start the day with some great gourmet options and later fill up on burgers, toasted sandwiches and wraps. The yard stick of any restaurant claiming to be any good at what they do is their Egg’s Benedict and Circus Circus does not disappoint. In our opinion the best in Durban. The coffee is exceptional and the service is great. But in all honesty, sitting this close to the beach, you don’t mind waiting a bit for anything.