chefs warehouse & canteen

amazing innovative food! great service, great vibe (looking out onto the crowds of first thursday). we arrived 16:30 to secure great spot outside - had some wine, vietnamese oysters to start and then tapas for 2 (fav dishes being the tuna tartare, pork belly, butternut risotto). definitely coming back!

worst service i've experienced in a long time. staff seem unable to deal with busy lunch hour and seem to take offense to questions regarding the menu items.

on my last two trips to cape town i never made it around to chefs warehouse mainly because they don't take reservations and it was always full when i went. this time i was there 3 minutes early before the opening time of 4:30. i was little annoyed to have to go next door to no reservations over something like 3 minutes. yes the kitchen might not have been ready but i could have sat outside and waited. i think my annoyance is more over the fact that if you not going to be ready at 4:30 don't have an opening time of 4:30. the kitchen closes at 8pm and by 6pm all the seating is taken up so do get there early.

we sat outside which is of course the best place to sit when the weather is good. there are two long tables with bar stools and you are seated across from each other.

the menu consists of eight tapa dishes for r650 to be shared between two people. this is not really a place to visit if you have dietary requirements. two of the dishes had beef/pork which they made something else for us but wasn't that great.

tuna tartare with siracha mayonnaise, salmon roe and potato chips. this was a nice dish, the potato chips was something different but the flavours tasted like very other tuna dish i have ever eaten.

kingklip with cape malay dressing & creme fraiche. i didn't like this dish, the flavours were fine but the kingklip was prepared as ceviche and super chewy.

deep fried squid with soba noodles, miso mayonnaise & mentsuyu dressing. a yummy dish. my preference isn't this style of deep fried as it doesn't really taste like calamari.

cauliflower risotto with crispy capers. a very delicious risotto dish with plenty of flavour.

onion tartlet with onion soubise, wilted spinach, pine nuts and sour onion purée. the flavours in this was amazing. loved the dish.

pan fried hake with peas, pea purée and potato fondant. a well executed hake dish with simple flavours.

the other two dishes on the menu which we didn't try was the beef brisket with the polenta & pork fillet with cous cous, dukka, butternut purée and cured red onions.

we instead had mushrooms on polenta which was not great. the vegetables in rice paper served with dipping sauce was a fresh dish.

overall i would have preferred if the menu was viewable online or if you could choose from a variety of tapas. quite a few of the dishes had a burnt onion element almost indian influence to the dishes.

the food was just okay for me with the vegetarian dishes standing out but not on a wow level. after eating the most amazingly flavourful food at the test kitchen & la colombe the flavour profile of this food was just not for me. the dishes were however all beautifully presented and the ingredients were great quality. it was a r1000 meal which i don't think i would care to repeat. the food didn't really leave us satisfied and we went of to another restaurant a few hours later to get a flavour fix of food.

happiness is enjoying great food with friends and wine of course. i was lucky enough to enjoy my first chefs warehouse experience with some of my top 12 masterchef crew, it was great seeing them all and it was great tasting and discussing the tapas menu. 

the food is incredible , ian spent time in the kitchen so we had our own chef review at the table. understanding liam's passion for food and flavours only made the meal even more enjoyable. 

its a must see and taste restaurant in cpt and i cant believe i waited this long to go. 

cant wait to return

one of my best meals this year. the menu is a 8 dish set menu to share tapas style. 3 fish, 3 meat and 2 veg. my partner and i don't eat meat and the staff were very accommodating and changed the menu to suit our needs. usually these places give you tiny portions and you leave hungry but all dishes were substantial. my mouth felt like it went on a taste explosion around the world - the light, clean flavours of asia in the fish courses: salmon sashimi, seared tuna and cob tartar, lightly dusted melt in your mouth squid with orange and fennel. next was the lemon & mascarpone risotto and indian spiced potato roti. i will admit i'm not a potato fan and was not looking forward to the roti but it ended up being one of my stand outs of the night! everything had so much flavour and just the right amount of seasoning. usually i have to add more salt and pepper but didn't even miss the absence of seasoning on our table. really worth a visit oh and have the lemon posset for dessert, as full as you are you wont regret it

lovely experience! the food, the service, the hospitality were all amazing. if you want to experience different foods then this is definitely the place. oysters, bread with cheese and the tapas are all refreshingly tasty. definitely recommended of you are in the neighborhood.

lovely experience, good service and super accommodating to our dietary requirements. but, i wouldn’t say it’s one of the best fine dining experiences i’ve had. the food or combinations didn’t really blow me away. it was good though.

really good food experience. all the “courses” that we had were original and great combinations....and very tasty.
our welcome could’ve been a bit better

oh my what an amazing restaurant
the bar was great and the bar tenders were totally engaging
the food is just spectacular
every mouthful a new explosive burst of flavour
the creme brûlée is the best i have ever had
such a worthwhile evening out

absolutely devine! will definitely be coming back again.

only thing to note is that you won’t be paying on average r420 for 2 but it’s definitely worth every cent.

one of the best meals we have ever had, at a very reasonable price. would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a great tapas meal in a great setting.

oysters are the most amazing crazy tastes i have ever had, i loved the kingklip dish. wine list is well priced and good selection. the no reservations bar under the restaurant was an incredible experience. i thought i would never give 5 out of 5 however this really deserves it.

an amazing lunch experience! impeccable service. dining alone i got a choice of 4 tapas. i chose the kingklip sashimi, crispy calamari, mushroom risotto and the beef brisket with polenta bites and butternut purée. my favourite was the risotto! better than any risotto dish i've ever had (and i've been to italy!). the kingklip sashimi was a close second. the flavours just worked so well and it was very refreshing on the palate. portions are deceiving. they look tiny, but i'm way beyond the point of being stuffed! for what you get, i really don't think this is expensive. will definitely return.

update: returned for lunch, opting for similar dishes to what i had before - yellow fish sashimi with peruvian pink peppercorns, pickled onions and coconut milk. although lovely, i much preferred the flavour profile of the kingklip sashimi. next was the infamous risotto done with basil pesto oil and sundried tomatoes. gorgeous! the next dish was inspired by thali - liam’s restaurant in gardens - the tandoori chicken on paratha. very yummy morsels - but felt it to be not within the ‘theme’ of the dishes served here. last up was the panfried silver fish which was beyond amazing!

this place remains a favourite of mine.

super trendy place, with a weird little bar to sit in if you arrive early.

the food was great. beautifully presented and absolutely delicious.

the service was friendly, but i thought it was way too fast. the service was too fast. we spent exactly an hour there, from start to finish. i know they have sittings, but it felt as though our waiter was trying to turn our table as fast as possible. plates were taken away before they were completely finished and the next course was out as soon as the previous was finished. after our meal we still had some wine(about a glass each) as it is crazy to drink a whole bottle in under an hour, and the waiter brought our bill before we were done without us asking. making us feel like we need to go. it was very uncomfortable and really was not a great experience.

amazing place. it is a must visit. i like the fact that they take no bookings. service is great. food is amazing. if you feel like treating yourself last minute, this is the perfect place. they have a good variety of wines. if you have any dietary requirements, they are willing to help. must visit!