Our magnificent anniversary trip in South Africa and Namibia was coming to an end, but I didn’t want to waste our last day in Cape Town (our returning flight to the States was in the evening) and decided to check out one last restaurant with my wife Jun for lunch. One restaurant in Cape Town that seems to be a favorite among Reddit users when I looked up for Cape Town dining options before our trip is Belly of the Beast, led by the chef duo of Anouchka Horn and Neil Swart. The restaurant offers tasting menus for lunch and dinner (just one seating time at 12:30 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. respectively; the restaurant warns that being late may result in missing out on dishes) that seem to be changing on almost a daily basis depending on the availability of ingredients. Overall, I was very impressed with Belly of the Beast’s memorable lunch.

Our lunch at Belly of the Beast started with an assortment of small plates. The crispy veal sweetbreads with peri peri mayo (accompanied by gem lettuce) were quite delicious, as was the chicken liver parfait with fig compote and toasted hazelnuts. But the one dish I still can’t stop thinking about to this day was the kudu tataki with caramelized onions and roasted grapes. Jun and I ate all sorts of antelope meats during our time in South Africa and Namibia (from springbok to oryx), but this was the first time we had kudu and I just absolutely loved the magically chewy texture of the tataki! The next savory dishes were all quite excellent, too. The hake with tartar sauce, the restaurant’s version of fish and chips, was more or less perfectly battered with beer batter crisps. Another dish that was one of the best that I’ve had during our trip was duck at Belly of the Beast. Consisting of breast and leg parts, the texture of the duck meat was flawless, and the addition of biryani rice with date chutney, exotic mushrooms and crispy onions was spot-on as well. For main dessert, we had bread and butter pudding with rum and raisin ice cream and ginger granita which was very solid but it might not be for everyone if you don’t like the rum flavor. The final dessert of white chocolate and rice crispy cookie accompanied by strawberry Nesquik foam was also delightful.

Getting a reservation at Belly of the Beast, especially during dinner times, could be challenging so I highly recommend booking as much in advance as possible. Considering the high quality of the dishes, it felt like a major steal to have enjoyed our lunch at 750 rands per person (dinner costs 1,050 rands, still very reasonable). The stylish, minimalistic dining space was another positive aspect of dining at the restaurant, and if you would like to explore the world class wine scenes from South Africa, the wine list at Belly of the Beast would give you a very nice overview. Belly of the Beast deserves all the hype from enthusiastic diners; the kitchen was sitting on all cylinders in terms of creativity and execution, and I would gladly return to the restaurant with Jun next time we visit Cape Town.

KenScale: 8.5/10 (Jun’s Score: 8.5/10)

Address: 110 Harrington Street, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa

Website: https://bellyofthebeast.co.za/

Reservation via Website