South Africa is a country buzzing with interesting and delicious places to eat – almost too many to choose from! So where do locals go for their favourite everyday meals? Favourite eateries in the Western Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal were revealed at the Eat Out Mercedes-Benz Best Everyday Eateries celebrations in Johannesburg and Cape Town on 16 and 18 October respectively.

After a year-long voting period and adjudication process, the top eateries in each category were, in conjunction with scoring from professional Eat Out critics, determined by public ratings received via the Eat Out app and website (eatout.co.za).

2018 is the fourth year that Eat Out, together with Mercedes-Benz, has invited the public to help select South Africa’s favourite everyday restaurants via the star rating system on the website and Eat Out’s new, exciting app – both of which are easy to navigate.

“These awards never fail to excite us, as we find out which restaurants inspire the most devotion amongst its fans,” says Linda Scarborough, editor of Eat Out. “This year the easy-to-use Eat Out app made reviewing that much easier, so we could garner public opinion on as many South African restaurants as possible. We love reading about users’ dining experiences, and look to their star ratings to determine the shortlist. Our professional critics also review each eligible restaurant to determine the final winners in a 50-50 composite score.”

The 2018 Eat Out Mercedes-Benz Best Everyday Eateries winners and highly commended restaurants announced at the Cape Town event on 18 October are:
Western Cape
Best Asian-Inspired Eatery
Winner – SHIO (winner of this award for the second consecutive year)
Highly commended – Active Sushi on Hudson Street

Best Bistro
Winner – Avontuur Estate
Highly commended – Skotnes

Best Burger Eatery
Highly commended – Jerry's Burger Bar in Blouberg

Best Coffee Shop
Winner – Pajamas & Jam Eatery
Highly commended – Boston Coffee

Best Country-Style Eatery
Winner – Ons Huisie
Highly commended – Karoo Art Hotel

Best Indian-Inspired Eatery
Winner – Indian Chapter with Prim Reddy (winner of this category for the second consecutive year)
Highly commended – Marigold

Best Italian-Inspired Eatery
Winner – Giulio's
Highly commended – A Tavola

Best Seafood Eatery
Winner – Kyoto Garden Sushi

Eat Out Tramontina Best Steakhouse
Winner – Rare Grill

KwaZulu-Natal
Best Bistro
Winner – 9th Ave Bistro (highly commended in this category in 2017)
Best Coffee Shop
Highly commended – Terbodore Coffee Roasters in KZN Midlands
Gauteng
Best Bistro
Winner – Farro
Highly commended – The Green Peppercorn
Best Coffee Shop
Winner – Afro-Boer (highly commended in this category in 2017)
Highly commended – La Coco C

Best Italian-Inspired
Winner – Saint Restaurant
Highly commended – Gemelli

Best Asian-Inspired
Winner – Momo Soko (highly commended in this category in 2017)
Highly commended – The Great Eastern Food Bar
Eat Out Tramontina Best Steakhouse
Winner – Wood & Fire
Highly commended – The Local Grill in Parktown North (winner in this category in 2017)

Best Tapas
Winner – Urbanologi (highly commended in this category in 2017)

“The people have once again spoken, placing their votes for where they most enjoy dining regularly. We congratulate the winning restaurants for being voted the best by those who matter most – their loyal patrons,” said Selvin Govender, Marketing Director of Mercedes-Benz Cars.

The eligibility period for restaurant reviews for the Best Everyday Eateries was 1 September 2017 to 31 August 2018, followed by the critic review period in September 2018 for qualifying restaurants that received the highest average star rating but didn’t have a critic’s review for the period. Final scores were based on a 50-50 composite rating determined by both the public and the critics. For each review submitted via the Eat Out app or eatout.co.za, Eat Out pledges a meal for a hungry child through Rise Against Hunger. Since the start of this partnership in November 2014, over 10 552 meals have been pledged.