2020 American Express Dining Awards Gauteng and surrounding regions winners announced
The Gauteng and surrounding regions winners of the 2020 American Express Dining Awards were recently announced at Olives and Plates at Embassy Towers in Sandhurst, Johannesburg.
Top restaurants in the country’s northern, central and eastern provinces were recognised and awarded not only for their creative and innovative menus but also for the quality of the total dining experience they offer discerning diners.
Chris Wood, Annerie van der Merwe, Moses Magwasa
The American Express Dining Awards programme, which was relaunched earlier this year, has been the premier showcase of South Africa’s culinary scene for 21 years, and now features an expanded range of categories, similar to those of the World Restaurant Awards, and a panel of new judges.
The panel – consisting of foodie/journalist Steve Steinfeld; Greg Maloka, MD of Kaya FM and an avid foodie and wino; and Clive Aaron, a seasoned chef and front-of-house aficionado – compiled this year’s awards list.
Steve Steinfeld
The 12 top restaurant winners in the northern, central and eastern region are:
- Abingdon Wine Estate, Lions River, KwaZulu-Natal
- Culinary Table Restaurant, Lanseria, Johannesburg, Gauteng
- Epicure, Sandton, Johannesburg, Gauteng
- Grei at the Saxon, Sandhurst, Johannesburg, Gauteng
- Marble, Rosebank, Johannesburg, Gauteng
- NCW, Melville, Johannesburg, Gauteng
- Qunu at the Saxon, Sandhurst, Johannesburg, Gauteng
- Restaurant Mosaic at the Orient, Elandsfontein, Pretoria, Gauteng
- Saint, Sandton, Johannesburg, Gauteng
- Silver Orange, Hartbeespoort, Johannesburg, Gauteng
- The Chef’s Table, Umhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal
- De Oude Kraal, Bloemfontein, Free State
Restaurants in the region also scooped five of the 10 category awards:
- American Express Member’s Choice: Saint
- Wine: Restaurant Mosaic at the Orient
- Best-kept Secret: Abingdon Wine Estate
- Pure SA: Marble
- Pioneer Chef: David Higgs at Marble
The awards ceremony for the southern and western regions will be held in Cape Town on 21 October, after which both the region’s winners and the winner of the American Express Restaurant of the Year Award for 2019 will be announced.
