The top names for Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal were revealed at a cocktail event at the Mercedes-Benz Bedfordview showroom in Johannesburg on Tuesday, and the winners from the Western Cape and Eastern Cape were announced at a function at the Mercedes-Benz Century City showroom in Cape Town on Thursday.
The results of these new awards have been determined by user reviews and ratings on www.eatout.co.za over the year period from 1 October 2014 to 30 September 2015. They differ from the annual
Eat Out Mercedes-Benz Restaurant Awards, which are focused on fine dining restaurants which will be held on Sunday, 15 November at Mistico Equestrian Estate near Paarl.
Anelde Greeff, editor in chief of Eat Out, says; “The Eat Out community has always been incredibly vocal about their restaurant experiences. Finally, with this new set of awards, we can recognise the fans’ favourite everyday eateries in each province and share them with South Africa. We also hope the awards will encourage more people to visit www.eatout.co.za and tell us about their eating out experiences.”
“While thousands of online reviews have been posted, a winner has not been awarded for every category in each province due to our strict criteria. We hope that user participation will grow in the years to come so we can continue to hear about, and highlight the great eateries across South Africa,” says Greeff.
When posting restaurant reviews, users award star ratings from one (poor) to five (excellent) for food and drinks, ambience, and service. The restaurants with the highest star ratings in their category and province over the full year were given top honours. Eat Out also celebrates the eateries that were crowd favourites but didn’t quite meet all the criteria to win with ‘highly commended’ certificates.
Claudia Walters of Mercedes-Benz South Africa says; “We are excited to be part of this new set of accolades and to see these trendy eateries that have been recognised by local patrons.”
The 2015 Eat Out Mercedes-Benz Everyday Eateries winners and highly commended restaurants per province are as follows:
Gauteng:
- Best African Eatery: Winner – La Terrasse Rooftop Café and Deli, Pretoria;
- Best Asian Eatery: Highly commended – The Great Eastern Food Bar, Johannesburg (Melville);
- Best Bistro: Winner – Boston Bistro, Pretoria; highly commended – Licorish Bistro, Johannesburg;
- Best Burger Eatery: Highly commended – Beefcakes in Illovo, Johannesburg;
- Best Coffee Shop: Highly commended – Afro-boer, Pretoria;
- Best Indian Eatery: Highly commended – Geet Indian Restaurant, Pretoria;
- Best Italian Eatery: Winner – Café del Sol in Olivedale, Johannesburg; highly commended – Ritrovo, Pretoria; and
- Best Steakhouse: Winner – The Local Grill in Parktown North, Johannesburg; highly commended – Wombles Steakhouse, Johannesburg.
KwaZulu-Natal:
- Best Asian Eatery: Winner – Nam Jai Sushi & Thai Restaurant, Durban;
- Best Bistro: Winner – Boiler Room Café, Durban;
- Best Country-Style Eatery: Winner – Oaklands Country Manor, near Van Reenen; and
- Best Indian Eatery: Highly commended – Jeera Restaurant at Suncoast Towers Hotel, Durban.
Western Cape:
- Best African Eatery: Highly commended – Addis in Cape Ethiopian Restaurant, Cape Town;
- Best Asian Eatery: Winner – Tjing Tjing Torii, Cape Town; highly commended – Active Sushi in Hudson Street, Cape Town;
- Best Bistro: Winner – Karoux, McGregor; highly commended – Joostenberg Bistro, Stellenbosch;
- Best Burger Eatery: Winner – Inside & You're Out, Cape Town; highly commended – Jerry's Burger Bar in Gardens, Cape Town;
- Best Coffee Shop: Winner – Tribe 112, Cape Town; highly commended – Truth Coffee on Buitenkant Street, Cape Town;
- Best Country-Style Eatery: Winner – Fresh at Paul Cluver, Elgin; highly commended – The Table at De Meye, Stellenbosch; and
- Best Indian Eatery: Highly commended – Maharajah South Indian Restaurant.
Cape Town:
- Best Italian Eatery: Winner – Il Leone Mastrantonio, Cape Town; highly commended – Massimo’s, Cape Town;
- Best Seafood Eatery: Winner – The Deckhouse Crab Shack and BBQ, Cape Town; highly commended – Kalky’s, Cape Town; and
- Best Steakhouse: Winner – Pirates Steakhouse and Pub (Plumstead), Cape Town; highly commended – The Eatery Wood Fired Grill in Claremont, Cape Town.
Eastern Cape:
- Best Asian Eatery: Highly commended – Fushin Sushi and Eastern Cuisine, Port Elizabeth; and
- Best Bistro: Highly commended – Bridge Street Brewery, Port Elizabeth.
Mpumalanga
- Best Coffee Shop: Highly commended – The Food Fundi, Nelspruit.
The review-based criteria for the Best Everyday Eateries encourages diners to help raise their favourite restaurants to fame while also supporting Stop Hunger Now SA. For each review posted on www.eatout.co.za, Eat Out pledges a meal to Stop Hunger Now SA. Since the launch of this partnership in November 2014, over 3000 meals have been pledged.