408 reviews
#18 of 2,727 Restaurants in Cape Town$$$$, International, Contemporary, Vegetarian friendly+27 21 286 2733+ Add websiteImprove this listing
Hours
Mon
12:00 pm - 2:00 pm6:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Tue
12:00 pm - 2:00 pm6:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Wed
12:00 pm - 2:00 pm6:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Thu
12:00 pm - 2:00 pm6:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Fri
12:00 pm - 2:00 pm6:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Sat
12:00 pm - 2:00 pm6:00 pm - 8:30 pm
What is Travellers’ Choice Best of the Best?
This award is our highest recognition and is presented annually to those businesses that are the Best of the Best on Tripadvisor, those that earn excellent reviews from travellers and are ranked in the top 1% of properties worldwide.
Ratings and reviews
4.5
Travellers' Choice Best of the Best 2024
RATINGS
Food
Service
Value
Atmosphere
Details
Someone from this business manages this listing.
Learn More
CUISINES
International, Contemporary
Special Diets
Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options
Meals
Lunch, Dinner
features
Details
About
A South African and Japanese restaurant experience by Peter Tempelhoff, Jennifer Huge & Ashley Moss.
CUISINES
International, Contemporary
Special Diets
Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options
Meals
Lunch, Dinner
FEATURES
Reservations, Seating, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Wine and Beer, Free Wifi, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service, Gift Cards Available
Contribute
4.5
408 reviews
Excellent
340
Very good
41
Average
14
Poor
8
Terrible
5
Eddy D
Amsterdam128 contributions
Feb 2020 • none
Tribute to the chef and founders of this special restaurant, located on the 5th floor of an old building, Speaker's Corner, in central Cape Town. The chef has a clear preference for refined Japanese cuisine combined with local ingredients.
Location and layout of the restaurant; 10
Decor; 10
Service and hospitality; 10
Open kitchen; 10
Food; 6
We chose the pescetarian lunch menu, with a promising selection of fresh fish and seafood.
The canapes from Bento came first, instagrammable miniature masterpieces, beautifully presented. A type of sushi roll with orange carrot and few dots of gel looked exquisite but left an intense wasabi/pepper taste on the palate that dominated the following courses.
The waiter then brought a copper burner with a bowl of butter rolled in black powder (Idombolo?). The butter melted away slowly so bread could be dipped in it. Great idea!
But that bread came only 30 minutes later. By that time the butter had been roasted black. According to our waiter that was the intention but the tasting left a bitter greasy aftertaste.
Then came the starters, a series of small dishes with subtle flavors, perhaps a wee bit too subtle for my taste. Perlemoen (abalone) was promised on the menu but to my surprise I got squid on rice. I asked for the abalone but according to the waiter that ingredient wasn't available that day. Understandable, but why was this not mentioned when ordering the menu?
In a restaurant where details are such an important part of the total experience, I found that a disappointment. In addition, the squid was tough and bland.
The selection of wines and the knowledge of the sommelier were excellent though.
All in all, an unique restaurant with a highly instagrammable appeal.
More style over substance. The food is not 100% in balance with the visual expectations that FYN promises.
But FYN definitely is a great addition to the address book of the well-heeled crowd and foodies that populate it.
Written 7 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
KendalMint2
80 contributions
Mar 2020 • friends
This in my opinion is the best restaurant in Cape Town.If I can use a John Arlott quote about Graeme Pollock "Everything else after this innings will be second best."
If this was in the UK it would have at least 2 Michelin stars.
From the moment you are whisked up in the old style lift until the moment you leave you feel special.
The attention to detail.We were still drinking our aperitif when the white wine arrived.Jennifer the top notch maitre d' said let me it back once you are ready.
Caroline our bubbly,very happy waitress brought the menu.We went through our dietary requests.This was adhered to 100%.
What separates this restaurant from the rest I hear you ask.
It is just the perfect execution of every dish.Every thing on the plate is there for a purpose.
The use of things like fresh coconut and lime zest just lifts the food to heavenly levels.
I will not spoil the surprises by describing any of the dishes.
All I will say is that Peter's great skill is he enhances the main ingredient on the dish with subtlety and flair.
The main course and dessert were particularly special,but to single out one plate would be like saying a symphony is like a concerto.
Of course this is not a cheap night but if you are in a Ferrari showroom you do not pay a Volkswagen price.
The service throughout from Caroline and Courtney was exemplary.The sommelier Lara chose too stunning wines for us.
This is is a must do evening.
Fyn by name gourmet by nature.
Written 2 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
JMSanJose
San Jose409 contributions
Mar 2020 • none
FYN was one of the best meals we’ve ever had. We decided it was in our top 5 ever. We made reservations well in advance, so if you know you are traveling here and want a table, book it early! I had the plant based tasting menu and he had the pescatarian tasting menu. We added the wine pairing and were off on our adventure.
I won’t elaborate on each course, but each one was was a visual spectacle with flavors and richness that was out of this world. On top of that, the wine pairing was spot on - you could absolutely tell how much attention to detail went into making the match with each item.
Service was outstanding, you basically had an entire staff waiting on you, making sure you were content. They were so kind, friendly and knowledgeable about all the items being served. You felt they were as excited for you to try each course as you were!
Not going to lie, this place is expensive, and we had the exchange rate on our side, but if you want a seriously special experience, it’s worth it.
Written 1 April 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
FKEU
Welgemoed115 contributions
May 2021 • friends
It was a very disappointing experience. Only every first Thursday of the month, FYN started to offer various food sticks to grill. They offered mainly chicken: skin of chicken feet, skin of chicken wings, liver, heart, two chicken thigh options etc. All on small sticks, priced each between R40-R160. The sticks are tasteless. No explosion of spices or various sauces or dips to dig into. Even the most expensive stick “Wagyu Beef” came just with a tiny hint of Wasabi. Side orders need to be paid extra, a small bowl of dry, cooked Koshihikari rice comes with a price tag of R70! A Rock Shandy R55 of which 70% was crushed ice cubes. Bottle of water sets you back with R42. Finally if you feel for something green, a vegetarian bowl with some noodles, some Shiitake mushrooms which were vinegary will cost you R140. All in all just a non exciting experience with a hefty bill as they add not only 10%, no, the waiter informed us that he added 12.5% as a TIP already. If you feel like giving more, the space for gratuity underneath is still there. It was definitely not a lunch place which we would visit again as there was no value for money! Sad, as we were hoping for something very special…
Written 3 June 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
TravelandLearn_11
Toronto518 contributions
Feb 2020 • couples
This is an exquisite fine dining experience. The Japan/ South African inspired dishes were executed flawlessly, and the service was knowledgeable and friendly. We have eaten in quite a few Michelin starred restaurants, and this one deserves at least one star. Creative combinations, flavours that explode in your mouth, surprises that delight - what a wonderful experience! We sat at the kitchen counter, which allowed us to see how focused and exacting Chef Peter is, and loved watching the patisserie chef Caroline in action, who has a wonderful personality. Book well in advance!
Written 9 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Matvl
5586 contributions
Dec 2021 • couples
Fyn is lovely. The vibe was great and Stanley was a brilliant waiter; attentive, knowledgeable and über professional.
The menu was interesting, with some theatre too which was fun. If anything found it a little ‘safe’ and while buchu made one appearance it was not especially African (or South African) which was disappointing.
We found some of the dishes a little off, but on the whole the food was delicious, interesting and beautifully presented.
The wine pairings were fine but not exciting or usual and there was too much served - definitely could do less and eventually we took a sip or two and left it. Some of the service from other staff was also quite frantic and lacked the real slickness of truly great restaurants.
While this restaurant is amazing, being in the top 100 is a big deal; and we felt Fyn could do better; more authentic, a bit more experimental, more consistently amazing and a smoother service. Totally a harsh critique but it is all valid.
While Michelin doesn’t (ridiculously!) cover Africa you can help but wonder if this would get the nod. I’d say probably not unfortunately. But with a few tweaks it could!
Written 23 December 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Margaret W
London38 contributions
Sept 2020 • friends
I was fortunate to have dinner again at this very special restaurant! I am a small eater so they accommodated me by providing a menu that suited my taste. We were greeted with a beautiful champagne and an elbow hug from Jennifer the co- owner. I had the winter fish menu which was sublime. Every dish on that menu really showcased a lot of skill with great flavour combinations and fantastic control! It was so true to Fyn style of South African / Japanese epicurean flair! Absolutely honest cooking!! The dish of the evening for me was the Outshoorn ostrich egg custard with new season morel mushrooms and truffle!! Intense flavours packing a punch!! I definitely enjoyed this dish very much and can eat it again and again!!massive thanks to Jennifer, Peter and their excellent team for an amazing evening!! 😘💕💃🏿
Written 12 September 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Laura B
32 contributions
Aug 2021 • none
It has taken me far too long to write this review but I think that attention needs to be brought to this issue and amendments to service made.
We were positively ecstatic to get a reservation to celebrate a long awaited post-covid family reunion. Booking & on arrival we were asked about any dietary requirements and whilst most of us were going to be drinking wine that evening, my partner requested no uncooked alcohol in any of the service (a simple request one would think in an expensive fine dining establishment).
The meal started off well with some exciting dishes and then paused for a sorbet-based palate cleanser which contained sparkling wine. After all the pomp and ceremony of wheeling over this fancy cocktail cart to prepare our dish, we had to remind our waitor that one of us would not be able to have alcohol. This was met with a confused and quite franky rude response as to how the dish was now to be prepared in order to accomodate our request. We made some creative suggestions such as using sparkling apple juice which was met with further resistance as to how one could possibly prepare two different versions of the dish, leaving the entire table awkwardly staring at one another.
Ultimately we all agreed that we would be happy for the dish to be prepared with appletizer for us all and to omit the alcohol completely.
I realise that this may seem like a small matter, but the total lack of professionalism that this was handled with really irked me. My partner is well into his recovery journey and totally shrugged this off but I tried to imagine how it would feel for someone who was less confident or at their start of their life of sobreity. How it would feel being singled out with light cast on how they were inconveniencing the rest of the table and the restaurant. There could be any number of common reasons why someone would like to avoid alcohol, including pregnancy, breastfeeding, religion or diet so it seems perfectly unnecessary to single someone out in such an awkward fashion.
I really would expect more from such a high end restaurant - its often in the finer details that places such as these stand out. I have since been to restaurants who have seamlessly accomodated this request and allowed for inclusion in every dish by simply including any uncooked alcohol component on the side and allowing us all to participate in the various dishes without question.
We spent a lot of money that night on what should have been an incredible experience, but I was left with a bitter taste in my mouth for the rest of the evening.
Do better to be inclusive FYN.
Written 28 April 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Elmarie P
Corner Brook14 contributions
Aug 2022 • family
The restaurant is situated in the Cape Town CBD without parking, and the area feels unsafe to walk at night.
We had the 6-course reduced dinner menu and found the food not that great. We have eaten at many great restaurants in SA, UK and Canada and found the food very expensive for the tiny portions given. The ostrich egg chawanmushi starter was a bland custard. The burnt mushroom custard / milk bun second course was quite nice but not exceptional. The best course was the springbok but the two small pieces of meat were really small for the price of the menu.
The staff were professional and friendly and the restaurant was full with people seemingly enjoying themselves.
We just thought for almost R6000 for 4 reduced dinner menus, one glass of wine, two cocktails and water is very steep compared to other fine dining restaurants in the Cape Town area with better food.
The whole experience (food, price and location) was a let down. We won’t be returning and can’t really recommend it
Written 1 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Salmons234
Surrey44 contributions
Feb 2020 • none
We're from London and have eaten at plenty of Michelin starred restaurants and FYN beats all of them. The service was spot on, not too stuffy, just really friendly and nothing was too much trouble. My wife took on the wine tasting and we both found the backstories behind each wine (from our brilliant hostess Courtney), much more fun and interesting than the usual blurb you can get from the sommelier. The dishes themselves are exquisite in taste, originality and presentation. We weren't surprised to hear that the head chef used to work at Colombe because it's on that level. It's pricey, but it earns it. We'll be back as soon as we can :-)
Written 29 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mohammed K
6 contributions
Oct 2022 • none
FYN is a fantastic restaurant, with world-class food, service, setting and ambience. The pairing of Japanese techniques with local produce combines for a spectacular Tasting menu experience and although the experience is not cheap for the full tasting menu experience, it is well worth it, and when compared to European and US counterparts, is very good value for money for the quality of the cooking and service. If FYN was in Europe or the US, there would certainly be some Michelin stars proudly adorned on its sleeve. Although all the dishes on the Experience Dinner menu were outstanding, highlights included:
Obsiblue prawn hand roll
Hokkaido milk bun, burnt mushroom custard
Ostrich egg chawanmushi
KZN langoustine, globe artichokes, yuzu
Chokka, truffle, ink mayonnaise
Sashimi, sancho, kosho aioli
Tsukemono
Abalone braaied in kelp, kingklip, tomato, sea plants
Outeniqua springbok, kabocha squash, Hokkaido pumpkin, caramelised onion jus
In short, FYN is a true destination restaurant, and with dinner spanning over 3 hours, serving elegant, beautifully presented and simply delicious courses with restrained, thoughtful and unrushed service (Special mention to our main servers Troy and Samantha, who were outstanding), FYN deserves its success and accolades and is highly recommended.
Written 29 October 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
BreeM15
Bagshot99 contributions
Mar 2020 • family
This was an amazing place, beautiful food and perfectly paired wines. Staff were particularly welcoming to our 3 year old, preparing a child friendly dinner for her. Perfect place, perfect food, perfect wine and your staff are an absolute credit to you.
Written 10 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
1life
Paarl22 contributions
Oct 2021 • couples
Food is bland and tasteless. The presentation is pretentious . As a vegan dish you would be served cold butternut cubes and overcooked cauliflower. The decor is beautiful and the service excellent but the food was a huge disappointment to say the least. My 10 year old can to a better job.
Written 17 October 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Been a few places
Epsom1072 contributions
Jan 2020 • none
We enjoyed the tasting menu during our lunch time visit to FYN and absolutely loved it. The staff were suberb, the food was sublime, the restuarant decor classy and the views wonderful. We sat in the upstairs section where we felt a bit isolated at first, but the restuarant soon filled up and we realised we had one of the best seats in the house as we could look down at the main restaurant and watch the food being prepared and observe our fellow diners.
We debated whether or not to have the tasting menu having had a course tasting menu the night before, but I'm so glad we went for it as it was deliciously different and the flavours amazing. Standouts were the canapes, octopus rice and sprinbok. Highly recommended and well deserving of it's top 5 restuarant in the best restuarants in South Africa.
Written 22 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
minesap1nt
East Linton70 contributions
Feb 2020 • couples
This is one of the easiest reviews I've ever done.
The restaurant is amazing.
From being greeted by the lobby staff to the front of house, the servers and the chefs, all need to be acknowledged for their part in a wonderful evening.
Looking at the menu we weren't sure what to expect but every dish on every course was brilliant.
The highlight of the menu for both my wife and I was the Springbuk. The beautifully cooked meat accompanied by the maize pot was delightful.
Definitely a must for anyone who appreciates quality food.
Michelin star in the waiting.
Written 25 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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