American Express Platinum Fine Dining Awards

My first visit to the One & Only hotel was to attend the American Express Platinum Fine Dining Awards. I had a quick peek at Maze and Nobu on either side of the grand bar and lounge. Nobu definitely looked more appealing, hopefully I get a chance to eat there sometime soon.

The awards were quite interesting. We were given a short presentation on the work that Amex in South Africa does to promote the country overseas. Then the awards were handed out. While this was going on, we enjoyed some gourmet snacks and tried to act noncholant about the wine which was actually quite fantastic.

The wine was sponsored by L’Avenir wines. The cap classique we started with was lovely and I believe it’s a recent addition to their range of wines. Everyone was raving about the chenin, but I had the pinotage which might be the best pinotage I think I have ever had. Will definitely be looking into acquiring some of that.

The selection criteria for the fine dining awards include cuisine, service (including menu & wine knowledge), wine list, decor and ambiance as well as overall excellency and consistency. The restaurants are regularly reevaluated and previous awards are not automatically renewed. Basically, these are the top dining establishments and this is verified by the fact that many of the restaurants on the list receive other awards too, eg. World Top 50 or Eat Out top 10.

Bear in mind though, that all of the restaurants must accept Amex and there are several top restaurants that don’t and so are not included on the list. I didn’t realise this straight away and so was surprised when certain restaurants weren’t mentioned.

Here is the list of restaurants who are American Express fine dining partners in the Western Cape:

Renewals:

Aubergine, 021 465-4909
Belthazar Restaurant & Wine Bar, 021 421-3753
Buitenverwachting, 021 794-3522
Bukhara, 021 424-0000
Catharina’s, 021 713-2222
Caveau (Newlands), 021 685-5140
Constantia Uitsig, 021 794-4480
Emily’s, 021 421-1133
Food Barn, 021 789-1390
Ginja, 021 426-2368
Greenhouse, The, 021 794-2137
Haiku, 021 424-7000
Jardine, 021 424-5640
La Colombe, 021 794-2390
Myoga, 021 657-4545
Savoy Cabbage, 021 424-2626
96 Winery Road, 021 842-2020
Boschendal, 021 870-4274   021 870-4270
Bosman’s, 021 863-5100
Bread & Wine, 021 876-3692  021 876-2151 Lin
Fraai Uitzicht, 1798 023 626-6156
French Connection Bistro, 021 876-4056
Haute Cabrière Cellar Restaurant, 021 876-3688
Mimosa Lodge, 023 614-2351
Overture @ Hidden Valley, 021 880-2721
Reubens, 021 876-3772
Seafood at The Marine, 028 313-8317
Tasting Room at Le Quartier Français, 021 876-2151

New Awards:

Grande Provence, 021 876-8600
Bizerca Bistro, 021 418-0001
Gold, 082 414-9663
Pavilion, The, 028 313-8317
Rust en Vrede, 021 881-3881
Salt, 021 439-6170 439-7258