It was Western Cape restaurants that shone the brightest at the 2017 Eat Out Mercedes-Benz Restaurant Awards on Sunday, 19 November at GrandWest, Cape Town.
The winning restaurants were determined by the scores of a panel of judges, led by Eat Out editor and head judge Abigail Donnelly, who dined around the country anonymously.
Aside from Abigail Donnelly, the identities of the judges have not been revealed.
This year more restaurants were recognised for their star quality, with a countdown from 20 before the much-anticipated Top 10 restaurants were revealed.
The Test Kitchen was once again confirmed as the country’s top restaurant when it was awarded the Restaurant of the Year title for the sixth consecutive year.
Notably, Restaurant Mosaic is the only Gauteng restaurant in the Top 10.
Luke Dale Roberts and The Test Kitchen team on stage - pic supplied
Eat Out Accolades:
The 2017 Eat Out S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna Chef of the Year is Liam Tomlin.
The Eat Out Service Excellence Award went to Restaurant Mosaic at The Orient
Moses Magwaza, sommelier at Restaurant Mosaic at The Orient, was named the Eat Out Wine Service Award winner.
The elegance of Fermier in Pretoria was recognised with the Eat Out Style Award
La Petite Colombe in Franschhoek was the recipient of the Eat Out Retail Capital New Restaurant of the Year Award.
Morné Wessels of La Petite Colombe received the Eat Out John Psillos Award for Outstanding Contribution to Service.
All the winners celebrated at the 2017 Eat Out Mercedes-Benz Restaurant Awards are:
Eat Out S. Pellegrino & Acqua Panna Chef of the Year: Liam Tomlin
Eat Out Restaurant of the Year: The Test Kitchen
Top 10 Restaurants:
1. The Test Kitchen
2. Restaurant Mosaic at The Orient
3. The Restaurant at Waterkloof
4. Chefs Warehouse at Beau Constantia
5. Greenhouse at The Cellars-Hohenort
6. Camphors at Vergelegen
7. La Colombe
8. The Shortmarket Club
9. Overture
10. The Pot Luck Club
Restaurants ranked from 11–20
11. Jardine Restaurant
12. Foliage
13. Wolfgat
14. Jordan Restaurant
15. Fermier Restaurant
16. Thali
17. DW Eleven-13
18. Hartford House
19. Luke Dale-Roberts X The Saxon
20. La Tête
Eat Out Service Excellence Award: Restaurant Mosaic at The Orient
Eat Out Rising Star: Kayla-Ann Osborn of The Chefs Table
Eat Out Retail Capital New Restaurant of the Year Award: La Petite Colombe
Eat Out Graham Beck Chefs’ Chef Award: Kobus van der Merwe of Wolfgat
Eat Out Wine Service Award: Moses Magwaza
Eat Out Lannice Snyman Lifetime Achievement Award: Letitia Prinsloo
Eat Out Style Award: Fermier Restaurant
Eat Out John Psillos Award for Outstanding Contribution to Service: Morné Wessels of La Petite Colombe
Eat Out Woolworths Sustainability Award: Camphors at Vergelegen
Woolworths TASTE Eat Out Bursary winner: Bryan Mlotshwa