Eat Out announces SA's top-10 restaurants

The winners of the Eat Out DStv Food Network Restaurant Awards were recently announced at a ceremony held at The Westin, Cape Town. Restaurants are judged on stringent criteria, taking into consideration their food, service, ambience and other aspects of the eating out experience.

26 Nov 2012

• Chef of the year: Margot Janse

This year's nominees had to impress two judges: Eat Out's editor Abigail Donnelly and international judge Bruce Palling. Recommendations from Eat Out's national panel of professional restaurant reviewers as well as its online audience of 126 000 monthly users were also taken into account by the judges.

Margot Janse of The Tasting Room in Franschhoek took top honours with the Chef of the Year award, while The Test Kitchen received the Restaurant of the Year award.

2012's winners were:

• Chef of the Year: Margot Janse
• Restaurant of the Year: The Test Kitchen

Top 10 Restaurants

1. The Test Kitchen
2. The Tasting Room
3. Jordan Restaurant
4. Overture
5. Rust en Vrede
6. DW Eleven-13
7. La Colombe
8. The Greenhouse
9. Terroir
10. Hartford House

Service Excellence Award
• Rust en Vrede

Lannice Snyman Lifetime Achievement Award (in association with Paarl Media)
• Alicia Wilkinson

Best Asian Restaurant
• Saigon

Best Italian Restaurant
• Café Del Sol

Best Steakhouse
• Carne SA

Best Country-style Restaurant
• Fresh at Paul Cluver

Best Bistro
• 9th Avenue Bistro

Boschendal Style Award (in association with Visi)
• Green House at Babylonstoren

Taste Eat Out Bursary
• Damien Stemmet

To find out more, go to www.eatout.co.za

For a full list of the winners, go to www.eatout.co.za/News/Category/General/2562/The-winners-of-the-2012-Eat-Out-DStv-Food-Network-Restaurant-Awards and our Facebook page www.facebook.com/EatOutMag for photographs of the gala dinner. Follow us @Eat_Out on Twitter and search #eatoutawards for commentary from the night.