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Belly of the Beast

Reviewers' Choice 2025 - Top 100 Reviewers' Choice 2024 - Top 50
Contemporary South African
Location Pointer 110 Harrington St, Cape Town City Centre, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa
4.8
(3009 reviews)
RRR+
Favourite

Attributes

  • Romantic
  • Gourmet Guide Plated
  • Reviewers' Choice 2022 - Top 20
  • Reviewers' Choice 2023 - Top 20
  • Reviewers' Choice 2024 - Top 50
  • Reviewers' Choice 2025 - Top 100

Book a table

Favourite

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.

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

Reviews (3009)

4.7 out of 5.0
Based on the past 12 months
Food 4.8
Value 4.7
Service 4.8
Ambience 4.7
  • Joao S. Dined: 2 days ago
    3
    Food 4.0
    Value 2.0
    Service 3.0
    Ambience 3.0

    Reviewed on: Sun 07 Dec 25
    I don't think its ethical to include 12% gratuity above the total line automatically ( abtw I believe we as patrons should be voting if the service or establish was good and then give accordingly - and additionally by the way 10% tip is standard in SA so dont know wehre 12% comes from ? ) and then also have another line open with Gratuity again to be added on ...very sneaky ..i nearly tipped twice .. i believe that is unethical and trying to trick your patrons to tip twice unknowingly

  • Tom M. Dined: 2 days ago
    2.3
    Food 3.0
    Value 2.0
    Service 2.0
    Ambience 2.0

    Reviewed on: Sun 07 Dec 25
    Did not live up to the hype for me and the service felt sloppy. We were not offered the wine pairing and when we asked we had already been served the first course, the pacing of the courses felt rushed. Some of the dishes were well over seasoned for my palate. On Saturday evening service you expect the chefs to be there. Disappointed..

  • Robin S. Dined: 4 days ago
    3.8
    Food 5.0
    Value 4.0
    Service 2.0
    Ambience 4.0

    Reviewed on: Sun 07 Dec 25
    Outstanding food, but service unfortunately not on the same level. There is a fixed service fee/tip of 12%. It seems they should better not do that...

  • Deborah H. Dined: 3 days ago
    3.5
    Food 3.0
    Value 3.0
    Service 4.0
    Ambience 4.0

    Reviewed on: Sat 06 Dec 25
    Third visit once every year for last three years but this time very disappointing. Huge amount of salt used in dishes even the desserr which did not taste like a dessert at all but a very salty granola. Portion sizes reduced quite a bit. Did not enjoy meal at all except for the two snacks. Wish we had gone somewhere else. Wines were lovrly.

  • Angela P. Dined: 5 days ago
    5
    Food 5.0
    Value 5.0
    Service 5.0
    Ambience 5.0

    Reviewed on: Fri 05 Dec 25
    Recommended by different friends from the UK so was keen to go- not disappointed either. Loved the chilled out but formal environment- you knew you were in for a treat. We went for the wind pairing which is always a favourite of ours and found all courses well matched and considered. The food was beautifully presented and put together, and there was plenty.A couple of the dishes were a little alien to us - chicken gizzards and tongue- but we absolutely loved trying new and found the starting courses and the alaska to be outstanding. Similarly outstanding was the service by every single member of the team, but I have to shout out Gino- one of the happiest and kindest servers we have experienced. Thanks for a lovely evening all!

  • Luke W. Dined: 4 days ago
    4.3
    Food 5.0
    Value 4.0
    Service 4.0
    Ambience 4.0

    Reviewed on: Fri 05 Dec 25
    We had a good experience. The food had amazing combinations that you think would not work. But was very surprising. The service was a bit mechanical but good enough. Overall we enjoyed the whole evening.

  • David D. Dined: 5 days ago
    4.8
    Food 4.0
    Value 5.0
    Service 5.0
    Ambience 5.0

    Reviewed on: Thu 04 Dec 25
    There are always going to be one or two dishes which don’t hit the mark with tail to snout dining but generally this was a wonderful experience with charming service , great atmosphere and some delicious dishes

  • Barry M. Dined: 5 days ago
    4.8
    Food 5.0
    Value 4.0
    Service 5.0
    Ambience 5.0

    Reviewed on: Thu 04 Dec 25
    Overall an amazing experience with incredible service and very creative dishes. A bit pricy but definitely worth it!! Would highly recommend this to anyone who is a foodie and wants a unique experience.

  • Amit B. Dined: 6 days ago
    4.3
    Food 4.0
    Value 4.0
    Service 5.0
    Ambience 4.0

    Reviewed on: Wed 03 Dec 25
    We liked most of the dishes a lot , my only issue was whether the pairing are correct in terms of the fibre content and one after the other as most dishes were rich . In a set menu , usually .. one or 2 dishes are on the heavier side and the balance dishes are a little more nuanced . But the flavours are bang on … Loved the concept of a set menu that will surprise you .

  • Yvonne R. Dined: 6 days ago
    3.5
    Food 3.0
    Value 4.0
    Service 4.0
    Ambience 3.0

    Reviewed on: Wed 03 Dec 25
    I had very high expectations for Belly of the Beast, but it landed up being a hit and miss for me. There were only two standout dishes which were the first two. Furthermore the rest of the food was not memorable at all. I also found the space neglected, like it needed a bit of an update. A few errors from the staff, not a biggie but at this level of fine dining it stood out. To give the readers some context I do consider myself a foodie and have eaten at ALOT of the fine dining establishments in the Western Cape and some incredible places around the world so my standards are extremely high.

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