An outstanding lunch experience at No. 75 of The World’s 50 Best: Restaurant Fyn (2. December 2023)
Fyn is the second South African restaurant on The World’s 50 Best and currently ranked No. 75. Personally, I must be honest, I found the experience at the La Colombe better than the Fyn, but the Fyn is definitely also up there in terms of overall quality and experience. Funny enough, somehow I ended up being placed at the “Chef Counter Seating”, which gives you a perfect view into the kitchen, so you can watch the chefs preparing your food, which I found lovely.
To get started, I went for the “Tropical Matcha Sours (Roku gin, fresh lime, matcha and pineapple syrup, egg white)” (130 ZAR), which was refreshing and light, so, quite perfect really to get started with lunch.
And once you’ve picked what you want to eat, you’re served some “pickled veggies”, which are to accompany you throughout the meals to act as a palate cleanser.
Given I wanted to immerse into the full experience, I went for the “Experience Menu” (1’975 ZAR), which started with “Neogteric nigiri, aged shoyu | Mozambican crab, seaweed, chives | Lambert’s Bay abalone, koeshi | Tamagoyaki, black caviar”. I absolutely loved the first bite of the Neogteric nigiri with aged shoyu! A perfect start into lunch. And frankly, all other bites were totally enjoyable as well.
Next in line was the “burnt mushroom custard, Hokkaido milk bun”, which was served like this. So, basically, a bun on a little fake trunk. But …
… once you took off the bun and turned around the trunk, you had a brûléed mushroom custard, and it was absolutely exquisite. And so was the milk bun!
The first real course was the “binchotan seared gamefish, tempura dune spinach, pomelo chirizu”, which already looked lovely, but was further finished off with …
… a mixture of a few ingredients making them into a nice and spicy spread to be added to the dish.
It did not only look lovely, but it also tasted delicious.
Next in line was the “cape wagyu, shiso, namasu, fried koji” and I was somewhat sad that only two bites were served and not more. Especially, since the flavour profile of this bite really worked for me.
The “baked kingklip, West Coast mussels, kelp tsukudani, kosho” on the other hand was not as great as the other dishes so far. Sure, the kingklip was nice and the mussels on the side were enjoyable too, however, it fell a bit short compared to other dishes.
What I really enjoyed, though, was the “globe artichoke, buckwheat, sprouting broccoli, vegetable jibuni sauce”. A simple dish, fully vegetarian, but it was so full of flavour, which made it truly delicious and exciting! Loved it!
Then it was time for a personality test – you got to pick your knife! :)
Of course, to deal with the “hazelnut-crusted Outeniqua springbok, celeriac, Elgin apples, Cape mountain sage”. And I must say, after having tried springbok a few times at this point in time, it has really become of my more preferred animals to enjoy. The meat is incredibly tender and very rich in terms of flavour. The simple add-ons to the meat made for a great plate.
Then there was a lot of preparation to be done for your dessert. And that does not only imply mixing these few ingredients there together, but since the dessert station was right in front of me and I was able to watch the whole process from the very beginning, let me tell you, assembling the dessert and all of its components takes a good two hours. It is really impressive what they can create out of thin air (well, and a few high quality ingredients) within a relatively short amount of time.
Finally, it ended up in a “fried chocolate, pear & sakura, matcha ice-cream, lime, Jasmine tea ‘boeber'”. I absolutely enjoyed the left side of the plate and the ice cream with the lime, however, the ‘boeber’ didn’t really go down too well, personally.
Last but not least, it was time to say goodbye, which was alleviated with a “passion fruit chocolate” and …
… “mochy by Mochi Mochi” you could pick …
… so you had a few bites before leaving.
What I absolutely loved about the place is the professionalism of the service, the friendliness of everything, the joviality while keeping up the clear focus of guest and waiter, but on eye-level.
The place is lovely in terms of interior design as well, and frankly, definitely worth visiting when you are in Cape Town itself (as compared to the La Colombe, which is in Constantia, so a 30′ drive).
Again, the amazing bit is really the openness of the kitchen – everything, which doesn’t create a lot of smoke (i.e., meat and fish station) is out in the front for everyone to watch. I admire that – especially, because it adds stress to the chefs.
Personally, I would absolutely visit the Fyn again. Lovely place, great staff, amazing chefs, and good food. In terms of overall concept, though, I preferred the La Colombe and would switch their places on The World’s 50 Best. Oh, and make sure to book months in advance – it’s worth doing so!
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Contact Details:
Restaurant Fyn
5th Floor, Speakers Corner
Parliament Street 37
Cape Town City Centre
8001 Cape Town (ZA)
Tel.: +27 21 286 2733
E-Mail: info@fynrestaurant.com
Homepage: http://www.fynrestaurant.com
About the Author: Sven
I started the blog in October 2009, while living in Milan which I definitely consider to be one of the food capitals of the world. I was in touch with food since my early childhood (as my father is a former chef). Whenever I can, I travel the world to discover new places, to meet people but mostly to try local dishes and to find hidden gems! If you know a place worth going, please drop a line to: info@thediningexperience.org.
Currently, I am a member of the following food-related associations: Chevalier @Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Zurich-Ville; Membre Gourmet Dégustateur @Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs [OMGD]; Gesellschafter @Goldener Fisch and Member @Slowfood Convivium Zurich City. 
