Belly of The Beast, Cape Town
Our Rating: ★★★ | ££££ - Incredible food, no menus and open plan intimate kitchen. Just book it! (How we rate restaurants)
Belly of the Beast was one of our favourite dining experiences in Cape Town. Scratch that. One of our favourite dining experiences, full stop.
We love small, intimate restaurants and exceptional food without unnecessary fuss, and Cape Town does this better than almost anywhere else. It is one of the few cities in the world where you can enjoy genuinely world-class dining at prices that still feel reasonable.
The restaurant serves a seasonal tasting menu that changes every month. There are no choices, just a varying number of courses, guided by a simple philosophy: every guest should be gently pushed outside their comfort zone at least once.
The menu is rooted in local produce, taken so seriously that even their Parmesan-style cheese is made locally.
With just 30 covers, the atmosphere is wonderfully intimate. You sit close to the action, watching the entire kitchen operate in front of you like a small theatre.
And after all that, the food is outstanding. Truly. Dinner here costs around 1200 Rand (£55), which feels almost absurd for the level of cooking, thought, and execution on offer. If you are visiting Cape Town and enjoy food even a little, there is really no reason not to eat here.
What We Ate
Since there was no fixed menu and no choice, we were totally at the mercy of the chefs (of which there are 3). The simple menu is displayed on a chalkboard being passed around the restaurant, and each dish is presented by the team with a careful explanation.
We asked if the team could print out the meal for us, and they kindly obliged.
We were served:
Snacks
Saldanha Bay oysters with jalapeno vierge dressing, charred pineapple & spring onion
Cold smoked Saldanha Bay mussels with Peri Peri mayo, tomato vinaigrette, dill pickled onions served with sweet potato crisps.
Breads
Kabous the 2nd roosterkoek & vetkoek.
Sosatie marinated venison tartare with masala pickled onion, cured egg yolk, charred onion mayo and radicchio
Herenbone hummus with apricot harissa oil, crispy onions and fresh cucumbers
Local Fish
Tuna tataki with braai’ed watermelon, sesame ginger mayo, homemade ponzu and togarashi.
(This course was absolutely outstanding, our favourite one!)
Free Range Chicken
Chicken heart, thigh and shiitake mushroom skewer. Cafe au lait sauce served with a dombolo
Palate Cleanser
Cloudy apple sherbert with a Pinotage and roobois fizzy ice tea and fresh apple
Braaivleis
Braai’ed Denver beef steak with spiced lamb sausage, smoked tomato samp risotto, tomato smoor, served with a zucchini, feta and pecan nut salad
Jolly Jammer
Savoury jolly jammer with Dalewood Winelands Blue Camembert, cherry jam and grated Belnori Kilimanjaro
Blintz
Vanilla and cream cheese Blintz with a blueberry sorbet, sweet Dukkah and fresh berries
Petite Four
Triple chocolate cookies with Horlicks and Milo foam
As you can see, the food is plentiful, and the menu includes vegetarian, meat, and fish dishes, with some safer cuts mixed in with cuts that will challenge a lot of people.
Each dish was prepared and presented by the team in an extremely professional manner.
Details
Website: www.bellyofthebeast.co.za
Instagram: @bellyofthebeast_ct
Bookings are necessary
Reservations open on the 1st of each month for the following month at 10 am SAST
Lunch starts at 12:30 (R850 per person)
Dinner starts at 18:45 (R1200 per person)
Map
110 Harrington St, Cape Town City Centre, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa
Menu
The menu changes every month and pricing in 2026 is 1200 Rand for dinner
