Our readers are nothing if not honest about their feelings. We chose the best reviews of the week to give you some restaurant inspiration in your area.

Remember that you can write your own review now to influence who will win the 2016 Eat Out Mercedes-Benz Best Everyday Eateries in October this year. The best review each month will win R1 000! Also, for every review you write, Eat Out will pledge a meal for a hungry child through Stop Hunger Now SA.

• Pretoria
• Durban
• Cape Town
• Winelands and beyond

Pretoria

Capital Craft Beer Academy (Menlo Park)

Wow! I love everything about this place. Best burgers and beer in town. Great job, everyone involved. – Helena de Wet

The bar at Capital Craft Beer Academy. Photo supplied.

Chefs @ 566 (Garsfontein)

What a lovely place. Food is amazing and such a lekker vibe . Will definitely come back. – Lizaan Vermeulen

Good Stuff Café (Maroelana)

Excellent flavors produced by a superb restaurant. Love this place, love the good food, love the staff and love the owner! – Loma Andrione

Geet (Brooklyn)

We lunched at Geet this afternoon with my company friends. We had such a warm welcome. The owner came to our table and explained her food with so much love. Every dish was so perfectly matched with different flavors, the best Indian food I have eaten in years. – Fazil Sajad

The colourful interior at Jo Mexican. Photo supplied.

Jo Mexican (Garsfontein)

Love the jalapeño poppers; they are amazing . They also have different kinds of tequila as well as craft beer. Great vibe there. Staff always very friendly. – Lizaan Vermeulen

Durban

El Toro (Durban North)

El Toro is the place to be and be seen. Why? Not because they have exquisitely hand carved tables that they serve a whole lotta Mexican magic on. Not because their cocktails are mind-alteringly consistently yum and everything that a cocktail should look like. Not because the waiters and staff are incredibly receiving and friendly. Not because of those fabulous pink chandeliers. Not because of their authentic music that just makes you just wanna salsa on your seat. It’s about all these things and more because they are a vibe. A restaurant that serves up a myriad of Mexican flair that sizzles with fun. Best Mexican restaurant by far! – Venessa Smith

The interior at El Toro. Photo supplied.

Hooters (Umhlanga)

I received a message from Le Husband telling me he is at Hooters, Umhlanga. I was about to call the lawyers to start drawing up the divorce papers when I thought I should check if my feelings were warranted. On Saturday, LH took me to finally try the infamous curly fries and boneless wings. LH decided on a Big Daddy (1 litre mug of beer). Before you start fretting, I drove us home. We decided to share multiple dishes so we could sample a little of everything. We selected four dishes: Tater Tots, Curly Fries with cheese sauce on the side, Boneless Wings in BBQ sauce and Onion Rings. Tater Tots: These bite-sized potatoes were smothered in cheese with bacon bits and topped with sour cream. No wonder the Americans go moggy. Where have they been all my life and why have they never partied in my mouth? These are the best onion rings I have ever had, hands down. The sauces on either side were really good and perfectly complimented the onion rings. Our waitress accidentally swiped our card for R100 more and we didn’t notice. She ran back to our table when she realised and handed us the R100 and explained what had happened. She should be commended for her honesty and not many would have been so honest. – Ty Thomson

Cape Town

Active Sushi (Bree Street)

Epic meal! Epic assistance. Chilling with with boys. Also super impressed with the fact that you can have REAL all-you-can-eat with no sashimi restriction. Yes, please. – Tumi Mothei

The Angus Grill (Tableview)

What a fabulous night out. Steak was the BEST ever. Service exceptional. Views are the best in the Cape. – Adele Werth

Cheyne’s (Hout Bay)

We visited Cheyne’s for the first time on Saturday – what a fab place to go with a group of friends. Despite being a bit squished, with two people having to sit at the head of the table, the food was delicious (if somewhat irregularly served). Standout dishes were the potato dumplings, the tuna tataki ‘pizza’, the ribs and the chocolate fondant. The triple-fried duck-fat chips were a bit of a letdown. The menu is extensive – split into ‘sea’ (seafood), ‘land’ (meat) and ‘earth’ (salads and sides), which makes for some tough decisions. It does mean you could go again and again and get to try new things each time. They have a winter special on at the moment of R200 for four dishes, which is really good value for such delicious food. – Kelly Cloete

Tapas at Cheyne’s. Photo supplied.

La Colombe (Constantia)

After waiting months for our booking day to finally arrive, we were very excited for our dinner at La Colombe. We had heard all the buzz and wanted to check it out for ourselves. The winding drive up the mountain was the first step of the exciting journey. The food that followed was art on a plate, with the flavour to boot. We went for the tasting menu and ordered a bottle of the Raats red. The prices are high, but so is the quality of the food. We had a wonderful evening and are looking forward to having the lunch menu next, as at night we couldn’t really enjoy the views that I’m sure are breathtaking from that height over the Constantia valley. – Talisha Ramnarain

Mulberry & Prince (City Bowl)

My Friends and I had the privilege of dining at Cape Town’s new hot spot. This is such a unique and special place with the interior and friendliness of the staff adding to the experience. The menu is interesting yet exciting with ingredients I could not even pronounce. We wanted to try a bit of everything and ended up doing so. The food was absolutely incredible. The flavours are so interesting you can’t help but order more to enjoy. The concept of shared plates encourages a spontaneous and communal vibe, which we really enjoyed. I had a memorable time, with the food being the highlight of the evening. This kitchen and bar is a little gem right in the heart of Cape Town. These two young chefs have amazed me in so many ways. Mulberry & Prince is worth the visit, and though all of us can’t visit New York ourselves, Cornel and Cynthia managed to bring a piece of it, combine it with the Mother City and deliver a fantastic creation like no other! – Barbara Mostert

Winelands and beyond

Betty Blue Bistro (Hermanus)

A definite gem in Hermanus. We had breakfast there on Saturday and I can recommend the bacon flapjacks with brie and fig. So much attention to detail. The kiddies’ apple juice even comes in a bear-shaped juice bottle. We will be back again. – Mandy Petim

A dish at Betty Blue in Hermanus. Photo supplied.

The Restaurant at Newton Johnson (Hemel-en-Aarde Valley)

We went to the restaurant at Newton Johnson during restaurant week. They were placed first in the competition the previous year, so we were anticipating them to want to hold that title. I am pretty sure after our lunch there they will. I had the most amazing hake I have ever tasted in my life; hake being the fish you don’t usually expect much from, I was blown away. It was prepared in a medallion and was similar to an amazing sashimi plate. The views are arguably one of the best of the valley and you can watch the chefs with all their gadgets preparing your feast, or have a seat next to the smoke burning outside for additional heat in the winter months. – Talisha Ramnarain

The Restaurant at Waterkloof (Somerset West)

We absolutely loved our lunch at Waterkloof. We went for the tasting course and ordered a bottle of the Circle of Life Red (amazing). As you wind up the hill, the glass building in the sky comes into view and you are greeted as if entering the heavens. We went on particularly overcast and cloudy day where we felt, with the floor-to-ceiling glass walls, that we were in a cloud. Later the sun came out to reveal the Strand and Atlantic coastline. We had the tasting menu, which was reasonably priced compared to other restaurants in the cape at R450 pp, but we had more than just the courses we planned, as the kitchen kept bringing out unexpected treats and palate cleansers. We had three different desserts! After our first bottle, we wanted to try more of the Waterkloof wines and moved to the wine tasting area next to the restaurant. From there we could watch the chef create, and enjoyed tasting the six wines next to the fire pit. A worthwhile experience close to the city. – Talisha Ramnarain

The Restaurant at Waterkloof. Photo supplied.

Some reviews have been edited and condensed.

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