World's 50 Best Restaurants: Top SA chefs part of the global elite

Daily Maverick

17 hours ago

South Africa has three restaurants in the world top 100, with the top 50 pending. What does it mean to be ranked among the world's best?
Are any South African restaurants in the World's 50 Best Restaurants list in 2025? We don't know yet. But three are in the top 100, and there are no surprises among that trio.
This annual list can be confusing. Though they are called the World's 50 Best Restaurants, they issue rankings for an extra 50. It is the second half, numbered from 51 to 100, that have been issued so far. The higher rankings are to be announced in Turin on 19 June.
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Chef Ryan Cole's Salsify at The Roundhouse in Camps Bay, Cape Town, has broken into the World's 50 Best Restaurants list for the first time with a placing at number 88.
Making the cut the first time is a significant milestone — apart from the joy and benefits of being seen among the world's very best, it also means that you're on their radar. The chances of a repeat performance — possibly with a higher ranking — becomes all the more likely.
Also in the rankings in 2025 — that is, of those restaurants placed from 51st to 100th — are Peter Tempelhoff's FYN, and La Colombe, where executive chef James Gaag has reigned for several years, keeping the eatery in the top global echelons. This is no mean feat.
Both FYN and La Colombe are accustomed to this level of acclaim. But for Salsify and Ryan Cole, reaching the highest global echelon is new.
Now the local industry is on tenterhooks, watching closely to see whether other South African restaurants make the cut — and thereby beat both La Colombe and FYN, and 'newcomer' Salsify.
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Salsify is the current Eat Out restaurant of the year in South Africa.
Are there other South African restaurants that could surprise us by beating FYN, La Colombe and Salsify to a spot in the top 50? If it may seem unlikely, this does not mean it's impossible. Restaurants shift up and down the list every year, sometimes rising or dropping dramatically.
The LivingRoom at Summerhill at Cowie's Hill in Durban is likely to be on the radar of the judges. If it soared into the top 50, past the above trio, it would be an astounding achievement. Other restaurants in the La Colombe stable are also likely to be known to the judges. La Petite Colombe and Pier were both rated three stars in 2025 by the Eat Out Awards judges.
Dusk in Stellenbosch was rated three stars by Eat Out. FYN, La Colombe and Salsify also achieved three Eat Out stars, so the rise of another of this elite group of three-star winners in the global rankings is not beyond the realms of possibility.
Ryan Cole is also highly popular among his peers. A real mensch among local chefs, with a personality and manner that both embraces his own staff and wins the respect of others in the broader industry.
Cole, asked what it feels like to make the grade on the global forum for the first time, said: 'I honestly can't say what it takes. If I look at the list, there is no criteria, you don't have to be in any box. I think you need to be consistently excellent and innovative, creative and keep pushing.
'It's a massive honour to be seen through a global lens. And I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved. It validates years and years of hard work and honing our space and offering. I am proud to have a restaurant in South Africa that has been recognised as one of the 100 best in the world. I feel like our footprint is getting bigger and our position stronger.
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'I think it's a great reminder to the team that their hard work and commitment and dedication is seen. The entire team is buzzing.
'It's a good day!'
The World's 50 Best entry for Salsify reads: 'As far as settings go, you'd have to go some way to top this Camps Bay spot. Tickled by the Atlantic and with Lion's Head for its backdrop, you'll find this cosy, contemporary restaurant within an old 1700s guardhouse — now one of Cape Town's finest dining destinations. A romantic setting with a retro edge, it plays host to an exemplary six-to-10-course menu devised by chefs Ryan Cole and Nina du Toit, driven by a mantra of simplicity and local and foraged produce from land and sea.'
Asked if there's anything he does that is aimed at attracting such awards, Cole replied: 'No. I've always marched to my own drum. I've been lucky to work and be taught by incredible chefs/mentors and I am grounded in the belief [that] the real accolades are a happy, motivated, driven team and a full restaurant.
'Make no mistake, Salsify has been awarded Restaurant of the Year and made it to the top 100 in the world, and these are both MASSIVE achievements and incredible reminders that what we are doing speaks to many, many people. But it's not the only reason we do what we do.'
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At FYN, the smiling, humble demeanour of Peter Tempelhoff is matched by a tenacious work ethic and creativity.
FYN has been placed in the World's 50 Best Restaurants five times now: 82nd (this year), 60th, 72nd, 37th, and 92nd. These are numbers that Ryan Cole might consider with interest, as he is almost sure to have new numbers of his own in years to come.
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On the new list, FYN is described like this: 'Pronounced 'fayn', FYN tells African stories with a Japanese accent on the fifth floor of a 19th-century silk factory in Cape Town. Using fish, poultry and meat from the best local suppliers, chefs Ashley Moss and Peter Tempelhoff serve a tasting menu with dishes such as the signature hazelnut-crusted springbok with salt-baked celeriac, black figs and mountain sage. General manager Jennifer Hugé runs the dining room, underneath which the team also oversees a casual ramen bar called Ramenhead.'
'Anywhere on the 100 Best Restaurants list is quite something,' says Tempelhoff. 'It's an incredible achievement by the team — Ashley Moss, Jennifer Hugé, Paul Bruce-Brand, Bea Malherbe… what talent.'
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How do you stay in the top 100? For Tempelhoff, it's about pleasing regular customers, not judges.
'It's not easy staying on the list while constantly changing menus as much as we do. We've got many incredible regular guests who've been with us from between 40 to 65 visits. If we weren't as accommodating, fluid and dynamic with our menu changes we'd never have kept them coming back. We can't stand still or have dishes on the menu for too long as we get bored, and are scared our guests will too.
'This game is all about keeping up with or getting ahead of the culinary Joneses in terms of innovation and creativity. If you can hold your own and forge ahead with your own style and be constantly innovative, you'll do well and maybe even make that list. It isn't easy but it will make it easier to get acknowledged by World's 50 Best judges.
'This job is always about trying to impress everyone, but knowing you never will. Restaurants aren't around forever, so making the best hay while the sun is shining doesn't seem like a bind, it feels like a duty.'
At La Colombe, James Gaag is familiar with global success. In 2022 La Colombe was placed 56th in the world, 94th in 2023, 49th in 2024, and this year 55th.
'It's always amazing to be recognised on a world platform,' Gaag says. 'It's very special to me and the entire team and affirms that we are moving the restaurant in the right direction.
'The World's 50 Best voters are totally anonymous and from all around the world, so I think the key is consistency. It's what we strive for every day.'
The World's 50 Best describes La Colombe like this: 'Tucked away in the Silvermist organic wine estate at the top of Constantia Neck, with stunning views over the Constantia Valley towards the sea, South African fine-dining institution La Colombe is the flagship restaurant of Scot Kirton's La Colombe Group, comprising a slew of the country's top restaurants. Consistently winning local and international awards, chef James Gaag and his team create elegant dishes grounded in French technique and accented with Asian flourishes.'
Does he do anything in particular to please their judges?
'I think what's most important is that we cook food that makes me happy,' said Gaag. 'Food that I enjoy and that keeps me and the team motivated and interested. We are always trying to push the boat out and find new and exciting things, be it techniques or ingredients.'
Now the eyes of industry watchers are on 19 June and those top 50 results from Turin. DM