The past two years have brought countless challenges for the restaurant industry. The pandemic forced restaurant operators across the globe to think on their feet as shutdown orders brought dine-in business to a standstill.
Restaurants had to reinvent themselves countless times to survive. They had to rapidly pivot to off-premises orders, adjust their menus and staffing and gather local communities for support.
In South Africa we have weathered the fourth wave of Covid-19 without further lockdown restrictions being imposed, the curfew was finally lifted to a collective sigh of relief and a variety of new restaurants, from fine-dining and premium establishments to everyday eateries, are opening their doors.
With the restaurant industry bubbling with a cautious sense of optimism as 2022 gets under way, three of South Africa’s top chefs, namely Scot Kirton, David Higgs and Darren Badenhorst, sat down with the S. Pellegrino and Acqua Panna team to share their outlook for 2022 and how they see the South African restaurant industry emerging from the upheaval of the past two years.
La Colombe group bring fine-dining life to a heritage building at the Waterfront
The La Colombe group showed the ultimate in optimism by opening not one but two new restaurants, Pier and The Waterside, at the V&A Waterfront in December 2021. Kirton said they had been in discussions with the V&A for a number of years, but until now they never had a site they thought would do their brand justice.
“We always believed there was a big demand for a more refined dining experience at the Waterfront and when the opportunity presented itself, we grabbed it,” he said.
Of having the confidence to make this move at this time, Kirton said they had to stay positive and believe that recovery was around the corner.
“As a restaurant group we have been very well supported through the lockdowns and believed that even if there were no tourists around, we would find a way of keeping these two restaurants afloat until normality returned. Guests are loving the theatrical part of Pier as well as all the handcrafted crockery and incredible views. And downstairs at The Waterside, the less formal approach, concentrating on flavour and giving the guest choices, has made this a spot, which the locals are really enjoying,” he said.
Of the Cape Town restaurant scene in general, Kirton said: “Certain parts of the industry have started to recover well. We are seeing a lot more restaurant openings and fewer closures. Things are looking positive.”
Marble Group expand their offering with a champagne bar and speciality grocery store
The Joburg restaurant scene has always been less dependent on tourism than Cape Town and is already getting its vibe back, said Higgs of Marble Group.
“Our curfew has been lifted. This is a massive relief for South Africa. We like to go out late and don’t want to be told when to leave. I think that was probably one of the most difficult things to manage. It was tough to get to 9pm or 10pm, then having to tell people in your restaurant to leave. It just didn’t make any sense in my head.
“The Covid-19-related curfews and liquor bans played the biggest role in dampening people’s spirits. But as soon as those curfews were lifted, even slightly, and we were able to serve liquor, the mood changed. There has always been a vibe about this city, but now we are definitely back into the swing of things,” he said.
Mid-November turned out to be good timing for the opening of Zioux, the youngest luxury sibling of Marble and Saint.
“Zioux is a place that touches all the senses – incredible music, the interiors are well thought out and curated for escapism. Which is what we think everybody is looking for at this time. It’s a bit of luxury, it’s aspirational, and the food and drinks are vibrant, fresh, and with great flavours. While excellent food goes without saying, mostly small plates touching on Mexican and Peruvian flavours,” said Higgs.
The picturesque town of Franschhoek in the Winelands comes back to life
Franschhoek with its traditional focus on gourmet tourism and international visitors was extremely hard hit by the travel bans throughout the various lockdowns, but things are on the up according to Badenhorst, who is the chef-proprietor of Le coin Franҫais, Le chêne, Ōku, Tuk Tuk Microbrewery, and Yama Sushi Emporium.
“We have had a very good season so far with a wide variety of clientele, both local and from abroad. We often depend on the international crowd in towns like Franschhoek, so the local ’tourists’ have been a welcome addition. I am hoping this trend of local getaways will offset our normally very quiet winter,” he said.
Of surviving the pandemic, Badenhorst said he thinks keeping consistent opening schedules was a big help.
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