the test kitchen

dear test kitchen,

you. blew. my. mind. and. my. testbuds. i can't remember much after the 7th glass ofwinebut i suppose that's why there is a group photo at the end. proof! i therefore award thee a 6 star - ******.

after waiting 2 months for my reservation, i finally made it to the test kitchen. this is a tough one to rate. overall i would say it was a good experience. was it the best restaurant i've ever been to? no. was the food worth the price? ehhh...maybe. i still haven't made up my mind on that one. i opted for the 5 course menu with thewinepairing @ r770. i know i rave about myoga, but the restaurant offers an 8 course menu for 500 something....much better deal. personally i thought myoga was better too. but being as i am rating test kitchen, i will stick to that. =) food was good,winewas good --- my advice, only go if you can truly afford such a pricey meal. it's cool to say i've eaten at the best place in africa, but it's also cool to buy 2 meals for the price of one. ::cough cough:: myoga.

absolutely delicious food and presentation with wonderful service.  a real treat!  my favourite part of this dining experience was being able to watch a row of chefs turning out their delectable dishes right in front of you.  we went for the 8 coursewinepairing menu - each dish a surprise plate filled with amazing flavours.

the test kitchen is the best restaurant in south africa, it has no competition 👌🏽! food presentation is tops - from the dark room to the light!! the service is outstanding. meal pairing withwineor tea lovers with tea, is recommended.

let me start this off by saying that if i could give them 20/10 i would. i booked this as a treat for my partner on his birthday and wow just wow. the service was incredible, when we seated the waiter immediately asked what allergies we have, as someone who is deathly allergic to fish,this was a huge deal and it certainly set the tone for the rest of the meal. we opted for the 5 course tasting menu with thewinepairing- i can't fault it, the food was delicious and thewinewas gorgeous with the meal. the waiters were knowledgeable and polite. treat yourself to this one. its worth it.

nothing comes close to this culinary experience. tastes delicious and amazing - do include thewinepairing. it's worth it!
each taste is a gastronomic experience. chef luke is a creative genius. this is one of the best restaurants in the world. i will be back for more!

i am sure i am going to be ridiculed after leaving this review as i seem to be swimming against the mainstream here.  but am i going to say it was excellent if it was not, no.  what do i say about one of the best restaurants in the world? i was disappointed.  the dark room is not really a dark room, more like a badly lit room.  i did not enjoy the fact that there was a ‘timer’ on in the dark room and that we only got 45 minutes to rush down all the dishes and 3 cocktails.  the waiters seemed to be in a panic to make sure that everyone is done in the specified 45 minutes.  a lot of the dishes in the ‘dark room’ did not wow me, in fact there were items in the description of the dishes which i could not even taste to be honest.  i found the whole evening quite boring.  when our 45 minutes were up we proceeded to the other side of the restaurant which also décor wise did not wow me.  my first question to the waiter was to suggest awinethat we could have and he had no idea what to say.  he also spoke so very very soft that we could barely hear him half of the time.  i also feel that he could explain the ingredients and making of the dishes better.  again, none of the dishes except for the sweetbreads wowed me.  the sweetbreads were delicious and the bread they gave the table was also very nice.  the one ‘chef’ or helper had a few cuts on his fingers because i could see the plasters which in itself are fine, but he kept on playing with the plaster in between plating meals which was a bit off putting.  another chef kept on wiping his forehead with his hand and then continues to plate dishes which were also off putting, if you make a choice for customers to see how food is prepared you just can’t have things like this happening.  i won’t be back, i will save my cents and go to la colombe instead. i would give them a 3.5 but that option is no longer available and a 4 is just too much.

at r 6,000 for two withwinepairng our dinner last night was a massive disappointment. despite the first class presentation, each course (including the dessert) was dominated by a one dimensional smokey cloying richness that masked the taste of the ingredients, and the flavours lacked the balance and depth that you would expect from a restaurant with this reputation.  in addition the harsh lighting of the open plan kitchen that spills over into the dining area is not conducive to creating the atmosphere that you would expect from a restaurant  voted in the top 100 in the world. our verdict : all form but no substance and definitely not michelin star material.

the test kitchen, rated the #1 place to eat in cape town, #61 on the san pellegrino top 100 restaurants in the world list (2013 and #63 in 2017 at the time of this article update), and ranks #2 on my list of top 100's behind alinea in chicago, and tetsuya's in sydney, australia. situated in a newly refurbished late 19th century biscuit mill complex adjacent to other restaurants, and shops, the test kitchen, opening in 2010 led the way for neighborhood rejuvenation and collaboration in the arts, festivals, and helps reintroduce the culture of cape town that had been long forgotten. now the area thrives with markets,wineboutiques, and modern art festivals making the biscuit mill and the test kitchen a vibrant hotspot for locals and internationals alike. this is a food andwineconnoisseur's dream spot to spend an afternoon. in 2016 they renovated and re-opened with its dark/light room concept.

the test kitchen is not a restaurant, it is a an experience. it is an experience that should not, nay, cannot be done too often. this is not a matter of affordability - it does not matter how often one can go. for it would surely overwhelm the senses and lead to all sort of malaise!
i've been to a gourmet restaurant or two in my time and this place tops them all. every aspect of the experience is crafted to the finest detail, attention is paid to everything. everything. and to top it all off, it's not even stiff. the atmosphere is as relaxed as any restaurant in cape town. you've made your booking 2 months in advance, you've paid to be there, you are a welcome and much appreciated guest.
we were a party of four and opted not to do the wine-pairing as these can sometimes be a bit overbearing or unsatisfying if one is particular about one's choice of wine. instead we picked two bottles off their ridiculously impressive sa-centricwinelist, one of which was given at a generous discount due to a staff error!
there is not much else to be said. this is a bucket list item. do it.

good experience but i am not a big fan of those kind of restaurants.

the food is good and you ends up to be quite full even if portions are really small.

what i really don't like is the mix of flavors, you ends up mixing too many different things, almost impossible to really appreciate the food.

same feeling for thewinetasting

but this is really personal

firstly to get the opportunity to eat at the test kitchen you have to consider yourself lucky as there is only a dinner service available for 40 diners. i love the new online booking system which i think is more fair. there is no preferential system, bookings for a three month period go live online. i think it would be easier to get a booking for larger tables as i noticed very few two seaters at the restaurant. the restaurant is small so i don't think u need to sit at the chefs table to see what they are doing.

the menu is set and the option of tea pairing and two differentwinepairings. i liked that the water was complimentary.

dinner started of with snacks in the dark room. it's a very small room so a bit overwhelming at first with the amount of people already in there and the service staff.

there is only one menu priced at r1600 which i think is reasonable given that it is 19 courses, with complimentary water and two complimentary cocktails. it's cheaper than the other fine dining places where you can expect to pay r1200 for anywhere between 6-10 courses. tea pairing costs another r400. i tried this at the saxon and didn't like it. the gourmandwinepairing which we opted for cost r650 and the iconicwinepairing cost r950. i thought thewinepairing expensive given that it's r650 for five pairings.

we got to have two complimentary cocktails each where the selection was the test kitchen g&t, sweet, salty, bitter and sour. we had one of each of the last four. the cocktails were quite strong, i wouldn't say they wowed me, i have preferred some of the cocktails i have tasted at the plc. i do like the idea and think it's a nice touch.

the dark room is dark with very cool music and a smoky smell. it definitely transported me back to london. i really loved it. we had 10 snacks in the dark room.

the test kitchens billionaires shortbread with foie gras was delicious.

slangetjies were this light crackers flavoured with curry leaf.

salted stone pine nuts are not something i can say much on.

local liquorice cured waygu biltong was the best biltong the fiancé has had.

pico green vegetables with ssamjang dip and marmite on toast. the dip with marmite on toast crumbs was so yum.

pork scratching, pint of guinness, celeriac salt and vinegar. i had the veg version of this with some crackers and it was so good. the fiancé thought the veg version was better since it was lighter. a really moreish and fun dish.

cheddar cheese ploughman, ttk branston pickle should be eaten in one bite and is a rich creamy cheesy deliciousness

peking quail sandwich was exactly how quail should be cooked. the only place where i have eaten quail and i loved it.

smoked lamb, barley and toasted ginger wafer, xo dressing. another perfectly cooked dish. the lamb almost melts in your mouth and the xo dressing was delicious.

shiso granite, sake jelly, yuzu compressed cucumber was a welcome palate cleanser. not my favourite granite flavours but it did the job.

i was already feeling full after the dark room but we still had another ten courses to go in the light room!

the light room is a more formal dining setup. the ambience was very busy and bustling, i much prefer a more laid back romantic fine dining experience. it was also very loud so we couldn't really hear what our server was saying who also spoke very fast.

we started with the bread and butter course with three different types of bread a kingklip dip and salted butter. the bread was so delicious i ate them all. i especially loved the one with onion in it.

12 hour smoked trout tartare with homemade cream, lemon verbena oil and dill oil had a good balance of flavours

ttk niçoise salad was a yummy tuna dish

char grilled scallop with cauliflower and cheese and back garlic salsa was the fiance's favourite dish of the evening. the scallop was perfectly cooked and the sweetness was balance with the rest of the dish and not overpowered.

lamb sweetbreads, liquorice liver jus, lime gel and preserved lemon and pinenut gremolata was another delicious and perfectly cooked flavorsome lamb dish.

pan seared duck breast with sour cherry clafoutis, duck liver stuffing and our cherry jus was perfection.

lamb minestrone, potato parmesan dumpling, lamb and tomato extraction was comfort food take to the next level. this had me licking the plate clean.

bread milk and honey served as a plate cleanser. probably my least favourite dish as i didn't like the quince flavour.

strawberry rose icecream, coconut meringue, minted strawberry sherbet, rhubarb and burnt vanilla butter, lemon bush and cinzano snow. a light ending to a perfect meal. i did expect dessert to be more wow or more sweet but that might have been a bit much given the amount of food we had just eaten.

to end of we had ttk millionaires shortbread with chocolate petit fours.

i was happy to see a 12% gratuity automatically added to the bill as i am so sick of people who are stingy tippers.

i loved the test kitchen experience and i am glad i got to try it. it's not a restaurant that i would try again soon as the price is a lot (2.5k a person) and also it's more food than i would usually like to eat. but it's definitely worth an experience at least once. everything we ate was faultless and delicious.

also don't get me wrong i think the price is duly justified as you would pay more at an international restaurant for the same experience, it's just not something you can do often.

this was possibly the best dining experience of my life.

jacqui and i made reservations over 3 months ago for a birthday lunch at the test kitchen. we opted for the lunch tasting menu withwinepairing. the restaurant was warm and inviting.

all of the dishes were packed with bold flavors and interesting textures. my stand out dishes were the scallop with bacon and pine nut & caper salsa as well as the gorgeous golden sunflower seed dish with honeycomb, brown butter and chamomile.

i honestly cannot wait for my next visit!

we live in johannesburg and i planned my husband's surprise 30th in cape town (in june) around a birthday lunch at the test kitchen. i made the booking 4 months in advance and only managed to secure a lunch because they were fully booked for supper till the end of july!

we were definitely not disappointed. everything from thewinepairing to the service was outstanding. 

we had the best seats in the house, on the bar next to the kitchen. the chefs were so skilled and their manners were immaculate. we got to see luke dale roberts in action in the kitchen as well, which made it all the more special. 

the food was brilliant! the flavours from each dish ranged from subtle to explosive. each flavour combination was well thought out and executed. definitely worth the trip to cape town and will definitely be going back when we can!!

ahhhh it was everything i had anticipated it to be and more... 

i had been dying t to go to test kitchen for years and finally got the opportunity to go for our one month wedding anniversary, please note i booked this evening 6 month's prior to our wedding :) 

wow wow wow, the food was so full of flavour, flavours everywhere, flavours i didn't even know existed, my taste buds were in 7th heaven.

the decor was different and perfect for the vibe and atmosphere this type of restaurant wants you to experience. 

we went the full monty and did the set menu withwinepairing, yeah when the 1st dish arrives you get that 'mcdonald's pit stop on your way home" thought but by the time you get half way through the courses you have the "am i going to make it through all these dishes" thought and by the time the last pudding dish arrives you have had a more that satisfying amount to eat.

the waiters were amazing, very friendly, efficient and everyone helped everyone, it wasn't your typical allocated waiter per table.

of course this place is a little pricey and something i would like to do hopefully maybe once every other year, depending on my financial officer but shosi it was worth the wait and worth the money!