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Belly of the Beast

Reviewers' Choice 2024 - Top 50 Reviewers' Choice 2023 - Top 20
Contemporary South African
110 Harrington St, Cape Town City Centre, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa
(2711 reviews)
RRR+

Attributes

  • Romantic
  • Gourmet Guide Plated
  • Reviewers' Choice 2022 - Top 20
  • Reviewers' Choice 2023 - Top 20
  • Reviewers' Choice 2024 - Top 50

Chef's Anouchka Horn and Neil Swart.
We offer a tasting menu for lunch and dinner in our 30 seater restaurant.
There are no menu options or set amount of courses. All you do is show up and trust us to satisfy with our seasonal fare.
We source from local sustainable producers and use every part of the animal. You can expect some dishes that might test your boundaries, but we always balance our menu so that everyone will enjoy the experience.
The 30 seats make for a very personal dining experience, as we do everything from cooking to serving our food.
Belly of the beast works on online reservations only and we require a deposit to confirm the booking.

Lunch: 12:30pm
Tuesday to Saturday

Dinner: 18:45
Monday to Saturday


Terms and conditions:
Arrival time:
Lunch starts at 12:30.
Dinner starts at 18:45.
We serve all tables together so please be on time.
Being late may result in missing out on the courses already served.

Cancellations:
Please note that all cancellations made within 24 hours of your reservation will result in the loss of the deposit. If the party is smaller on arrival, then a no show will be charged for, as we have prepared for the guest.

Allergies/Dietary restrictions:
We do cater for some dietary requirements and allergies but we can only accommodate them with at least 24h notice.

With our small team cooking a multi course menu we can unfortunately not cater for: dislikes, low carb, vegans, onion, garlic, alcohol, coriander, black pepper, butter, cream, soy sauce, sugar, and egg allergies.

We welcome Vegetarians and pescatarians

Please note that although we take great care with regard to dietary restrictions, we have a small kitchen that uses lots of different ingredients that may contain allergens.

We cannot guarantee that there are no trace elements of allergens like, nuts, shellfish etc. in the dishes that we serve.

Gratuity:
a 12% gratuity is added to every table that will be split by the whole team including the kitchen.

Children:
We can only accommodate children above the age of 12, that will eat the tasting menu.

Wine list:
We have curated a great selection of wines from local winemakers and also serve an optional wine pairing with dinner.

Corkage:
We ask that you consider buying wine from us, if you do have a special bottle you would like to bring we charge a R200 corkage fee with a limit of one 750ml bottle per table.

By booking you agree to all our reservation terms and conditions.
For more information, please see our FAQ's on our website.

Gourmet Guide Description

Chefs Anouchka Horn and Neil Swart have cemented buzzy Harrington Street as their home since opening Belly of the Beast over six years ago. The long open kitchen and engaging staff, as passionate as these talented chefs, are part of the charm for the 30 diners who sign up for
elevated yet unintimidating dining.

Tasting menus, with no set number of courses for lunch and dinner, are unpretentious and tasty, based on what is freshly available. Some dishes are edgy and unexpected, others more nostalgic, but always evocative. The menu changes every six to eight weeks. For your amuse bouche, you might be lucky enough to devour a Saldanha Bay oyster (or the bite-sized Caprese) with a Bloody Mary dressing, Kashmiri oil, and salted celery, or a mouthful of venison tataki with crispy fried sushi rice, topped with smoked jalapeño mayo, cured egg, roasted tomato oil, furikake, and spring onion.

After dessert, homemade cornflake, strawberry, and white chocolate cookies with a caramelized Ideal Milk foam hit the nostalgia button leaving a last, lingering memory of generosity. It’s no wonder that as bookings open, regulars quickly grab their dates and simply show up with trust.

Reviews (2711)

4.7 out of 5.0
Based on the past 12 months
Food 4.8
Value 4.7
Service 4.8
Ambience 4.7
  • Grace J. Dined: 2 days ago
    5
    Food 5.0
    Value 5.0
    Service 5.0
    Ambience 5.0

    Reviewed on: Tue 15 Apr 25
    Incredible food and service. Every course was unique and captured a wide variety of local flavors. Would 100% recommend and come again when we’re back in Cape Town. Thank you!

  • Clemens Z. Dined: 2 days ago
    5
    Food 5.0
    Value 5.0
    Service 5.0
    Ambience 5.0

    Reviewed on: Tue 15 Apr 25
    Great being there and really enjoyed the food and the service.

  • Anniec M. Dined: 4 days ago
    5
    Food 5.0
    Value 5.0
    Service 5.0
    Ambience 5.0
  • Jedd W. Dined: 4 days ago
    5
    Food 5.0
    Value 5.0
    Service 5.0
    Ambience 5.0
  • Oliver B. Dined: 6 days ago
    5
    Food 5.0
    Value 5.0
    Service 5.0
    Ambience 5.0
  • Nicola K. Dined: 1 week ago
    3.5
    Food 5.0
    Value 3.0
    Service 3.0
    Ambience 3.0

    Reviewed on: Thu 10 Apr 25
    The food was absolutely delicious! Each dish beautifully presented and packed with flavour. I especially appreciated the strong local influence and the stories behind each course; it added so much depth to the meal and showcased a true passion for South African ingredients and culture. However, I was a little let down by the service. While the waitstaff were friendly, the experience felt a bit impersonal. No one asked whether we’d dined there before, whether we were celebrating something special, or explained what the structure of the evening would be. This made things like selecting wine a bit tricky, as we didn’t have a clear sense of the pace or style of the meal. We also felt quite rushed between courses, as if the goal was to fill us up and send us on our way. A bit more time to savour the dishes and enjoy the atmosphere would have elevated the experience even more. That said, the food really stood out and made the evening special. With a bit more attention to the flow and guest experience, this spot could easily go from great to exceptional.

  • Melissa G. Dined: 1 week ago
    4.8
    Food 5.0
    Value 4.0
    Service 5.0
    Ambience 5.0

    Reviewed on: Thu 10 Apr 25
    Lovely tasty food, good portions, you do not leave hungry like some fine dining venues. Staff is friendly, lovely restaurant and such a good idea to serve everyone at the same time and the same menu. Would definitely recommend to friends.

  • Thomas B. Dined: 1 week ago
    4.5
    Food 4.0
    Value 4.0
    Service 5.0
    Ambience 5.0
  • Laura B. Dined: 1 week ago
    5
    Food 5.0
    Value 5.0
    Service 5.0
    Ambience 5.0

    Reviewed on: Sun 06 Apr 25
    One of the best dining experiences I’ve ever had! What a treat. Despite the feeling like you might be a character in The Menu (which made it more exciting), the entire experience was flawless. We couldn’t have been more impressed by the food, service, and ambiance. A must try in Cape Town!

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Opening Hours

  • Monday 18h45 - 23h00
  • Tuesday 12h00 - 14h00, 18h45 - 23h00
  • Wednesday 12h00 - 14h00, 18h45 - 23h00
  • Thursday 12h00 - 14h00, 18h45 - 23h00
  • Friday 12h00 - 14h00, 18h45 - 23h00
  • Saturday 12h00 - 14h00, 18h45 - 23h00
  • Sunday CLOSED