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ARKESTE

Reviewers' Choice 2025 - Top 100 Reviewers' Choice 2024 - Top 50
Bistro Fine Dining French South African
Location Pointer Chamonix Wine Estate, Uitkyk St, Franschhoek, 7690, South Africa
4.8
(2447 reviews)
RRR
Menu
Favourite

Attributes

  • Romantic
  • Outdoor Seating
  • Wine Estate
  • Gourmet Guide Plated
  • Reviewers' Choice 2022 - Top 100
  • Reviewers' Choice 2023 - Top 50
  • Reviewers' Choice 2024 - Top 50
  • Reviewers' Choice 2025 - Top 100

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Menu
Favourite

At Arkeste, we present an a la carte menu in a casual fine dining style. We are located on Chamonix Wine Farm, Franschhoek, in a characterful heritage building on the edge of a forest. This sets the scene for a tranquil dining experience and delicious food by chef Ashwin Johannes who present dishes which showcase seasonal and local ingredients. Our wine list features Chamonix wines and a curated selection from the Cape region.

Gourmet Guide™ Description

Chamonix Wine Farm in Franschhoek is the perfect backdrop for Richard Carsten’s culinary ability. The forest setting is serene and the heritage building charming, but diners come for the food. Richard has returned to Chamonix after 30 years of notching up an impressive pedigree at top restaurants that included a successful tenure at Tokara, giving him time to cement his reputation and following. Known for his modern twists on classics, Carstens creates dishes that celebrate the seasons and heralds local.

Choose from an a la carte menu with inventive starters like the squid, either with togarashi, dashi black rice, wakame, cucumber and chili garam or a rendition with risotto, parsnip, wakame and a yuzu-ginger sauce.

Mains could be a citrus-glazed linefish with pommes, greens, rouille, heerenboon and a sauce bouillabaisse, showing chef’s love of traditional, notched up with a contemporary flair. Or the kapokbos-glazed springbok with creamy and dreamy Robuchon pomme, greens, sake-pears, and a sauce that he calls ‘Cape senses’. Dishes are sure to appeal to all your senses. His signature baked Alaska of rainbow trout and the Franco-Jap interpretation of seafood are a must. Vegetarians are well respeced and catered for. Be sure to order a delectable dessert – watch out for the gorgonzola ice cream with walnut, pears and honeycombe – and your appetite for deliciousness will be sated. The wine list reflects wines of the estate and the Cape. Here’s casual fine dining at its best.

Opening Hours

  • Monday 12h00 - 14h30, 18h00 - 20h15
  • Tuesday 12h00 - 14h30, 18h00 - 20h15
  • Wednesday 12h00 - 14h30, 18h00 - 20h15
  • Thursday 12h00 - 14h30, 18h00 - 20h15
  • Friday 12h00 - 14h30, 18h00 - 20h15
  • Saturday 12h00 - 14h30, 18h00 - 20h15
  • Sunday 12h00 - 14h30, 18h00 - 20h15

Reviews (2447)

4.8 out of 5.0
Based on the past 12 months
Food 4.8
Value 4.8
Service 4.9
Ambience 4.7
  • Melinda A. Dined: 5 days ago
    1.5
    Food 1.0
    Value 2.0
    Service 1.0
    Ambience 2.0

    Reviewed on: Sat 17 Jan 26
    I really wanted to love it here and was encouraged by all of the positive reviews but regrettably we did not have a good experience. We visit the area, every year for at least the past five years and this is probably the worst experience we have had. Our table, booked for four was set for six so lots of messing around once we had sat down to correct, no acknowledgement of our dietary requirements (which had been advised twice previously), extremely slow inexperienced service and average food. Salmon ice cream and salmon bombe alaska is not a combination I would ever recommend and we were advised the fish was Cape Salmon but we received Snoek. Everything was just average and with so many great restaurants in the area, I would give this one a miss and book elsewhere.

  • Richardson Dined: 3 days ago
    5
    Food 5.0
    Value 5.0
    Service 5.0
    Ambience 5.0

    Reviewed on: Thu 15 Jan 26
    We received excellent service and attention from Rozanne Asia and all staff…The quality of food and wine also excellent.

  • Stephen G. Dined: 3 days ago
    5
    Food 5.0
    Value 5.0
    Service 5.0
    Ambience 5.0

    Reviewed on: Thu 15 Jan 26
    The setting ambience and staff great particularly our cheery server. Food really tasty, great presentation and not too cheffy. Some unusual combinations of flavours but they worked Just had to try the gorgonzola ice cream with poached pears. Fantastic. Pleasantly surprised when we received our bill. Far better value than the restaurants we visited in Camps Bay and higher standard of cooking. Will be back

  • SUE R. Dined: 3 days ago
    5
    Food 5.0
    Value 5.0
    Service 5.0
    Ambience 5.0

    Reviewed on: Thu 15 Jan 26
    Nice to be out of town to eat delicious food and drink Chamonix Pinot - just the best. Nosi looked after us so well with her knowledge of the menu and ingredients, making everything so interesting. My trout Alaska, I’ve waited a year to taste it again and pork belly, Devine, Kudu a little tough I believe but all eaten. Thank you

  • Elena K. Dined: 5 days ago
    4.3
    Food 4.0
    Value 5.0
    Service 4.0
    Ambience 4.0

    Reviewed on: Wed 14 Jan 26
    We had a solid meal at Arkeste. The food is definitely considered and well presented, the steak was the standout. It was easily the best steak I’ve had in South Africa, cooked to absolute perfection. However, if you’re heading there expecting the fine dining you get at spots like La Petite Colombe, Epice, or JAN Franschhoek, it’s not that. While those restaurants offer a very polished, white-tablecloth level of finesse, Arkeste feels much more like a high-end casual bistro. The setting is beautiful, but it lacks that finesse in the atmosphere and décor. I also found the wine list a little thin, it lacked the depth and specialised sommelier touch you’d find at the area’s heavy hitters. The staff were lovely but not attentive or precise to the level of a fine dining experience. But look, for the price you’re paying, it’s a really nice meal. It’s more of a relaxed forest-side experience than a fine dining restaurant for me. And for that steak alone, it was worth the visit.

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