Top restaurants rewarded

There are 17 Joburg restaurants on the prestigious International American Express Platinum Fine Dining Programme for 2012, despite the difficult year restaurants have had.
RESTAURANTS in Johannesburg have a good showing in the 2012 International American Express Platinum Fine Dining Programme, with 17 making it on to the list of 78 premium South African eateries that were awarded.

The Butcher Shop at the Sandton SquareThe Butcher Shop and Grill at Sandton SquareThey are Bellagio (Birnam), Bukhara (Sandton), Butcher Shop and Grill (Sandton), Byzance (Lonehill), La Cucina di Ciro (Randburg), Gramadoelas (Newtown), La Campagnola (Bryanston), Le Canard (Sandton), Mastrantonio (Illovo), Metzuyan (Rosebank), Osteria TreNonni (Randburg), Piccolo Mondo (Sandton), Pigalle (Sandton), Saxon (Sandton), Sel et Poivre (Sandton), Wombles (Parktown) and Yamato (Illovo).

The Joburg leg of the awards took place at the Bentley showroom on 5 September; the Cape Town leg will be on 19 September.

“It is fantastic to know that there are 78 restaurants around the country that meet the exacting standards of the programme, which only includes restaurants that offer a top-notch experience from the moment diners enter a restaurant to the time they leave,” said Tina Venter, the head of card marketing for American Express and Nedbank.

Although the past year was a particularly difficult time for South African restaurants and the hospitality industry as a whole because of the economic climate, a remarkable number of its restaurants still feature in the awards.

Venter noted: “In spite of the tough economy having a negative impact on consumers’ wallets, the palate of the discerning diner seems to be prevailing.”

Apart from the 78 that will be honoured, eight new restaurants have made the grade and three have been recognised for 10 consecutive years. This year’s judging panel comprised well-known restaurant critic, Victor Strugo, and Cape Town’s Tamsin Snyman, assisted by an anonymous squad of experienced assessors.

Strugo mentioned that these awards were more significant and relevant than ever before because of the need for greater recognition of excellence against a backdrop of increasing mediocrity in the country’s restaurant industry.

Cuisine
The selection criteria for inclusion on the programme included quality and creativity of cuisine, service, wine list, décor and ambience, as well as overall excellence and American Express card acceptance.

Piccolo Mndo in BryanstonPiccolo Mondo in SandtonThe sole qualifying commitment on the part of the restaurant is guaranteeing to honour at least one late dinner reservation for up to four people by American Express platinum card members who call before 10.30am on the morning of the reservation date.

At the awards, Strugo paid tribute to Walter Ulz of Linger Longer, that Joburg gastronomic institution, who died on 14 August. Linger Longer, he said, would have received its 14th consecutive listing in the programme this year had it not closed following Ulz’s death.

“This talented chef, genial host and generous human being made Linger Longer the jewel in Johannesburg’s culinary crown,” he said.

“I feel immense sadness that Walter’s wonderful human energy can be so abruptly truncated and that a city with a dwindling culinary culture has been significantly impoverished by the demise of its ‘Grande Dame’ restaurant shortly after it celebrated its golden jubilee.”

This great loss coincided with a time of crises as an unprecedented number of restaurants were disappearing from an insanely overtraded and overheated market in an environment of global uncertainty, Strugo said.

No fewer than 12 of the 2011 American Express Platinum award restaurants had shut their doors in the past year. “That’s the highest attrition rate I’ve seen in almost two decades of restaurant reviewing.”

The American Express Platinum Fine Dining Programme identifies and honours restaurants that are at the top of their game across a wide range of food styles. It also promotes the visibility of the deserving few that strive for excellence.