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Belly of the Beast

Reviewers' Choice 2024 - Top 50 Reviewers' Choice 2023 - Top 20
Contemporary South African
Location Pointer 110 Harrington St, Cape Town City Centre, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa
4.7
(2781 reviews)
RRR+
Favourite

Attributes

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

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 (2781)

4.7 out of 5.0
Based on the past 12 months
Food 4.8
Value 4.7
Service 4.8
Ambience 4.7
  • Eunji P. Dined: 1 day ago
    5
    Food 5.0
    Value 5.0
    Service 5.0
    Ambience 5.0

    Reviewed on: Sun 15 Jun 25
    The Belly of the Beast is an incredible culinary experience. The tasting menu and wine pairing remains as an element of surprise until you are sat on the table. As a group of three, we also went for the wine pairing and did not regret our choice. Each plate, wine and detail feeds into a story of blended heritage, history, a reflection of ‘what mom cooks on the table’. I would sincerely recommend the restaurant and thank you so much for the team bringing a wonderful experience. 10/10.

  • Cara J. Dined: 1 day ago
    5
    Food 5.0
    Value 5.0
    Service 5.0
    Ambience 5.0

    Reviewed on: Sun 15 Jun 25
    This was such an amazing experience! I brought my partner for his birthday, and from start to finish the whole experience just blew us away! Also the service was five star and we will definitely not only be back, but recommending you to absolutely everyone.

  • David S. Dined: 4 days ago
    4.8
    Food 5.0
    Value 5.0
    Service 5.0
    Ambience 4.0

    Reviewed on: Thu 12 Jun 25
    The service was impeccable. We were made to feel so welcome and every effort was made to accommodate our needs. (I had neglected to inform them ahead of time of all the dietary requirements of one our party, and they were very gracious about resolving it for us.) We went with the full wine pairing and the wines were truly exceptional. Each of the courses was delicious, with the swordfish ceviche and the springbok carpaccio perhaps standing out. Would definitely recommend most highly.

  • Henriette P. Dined: 4 days ago
    5
    Food 5.0
    Value 5.0
    Service 5.0
    Ambience 5.0

    Reviewed on: Thu 12 Jun 25
    Die kos was regtig besonders lekker!

  • Matthew S. Dined: 1 week ago
    4.8
    Food 5.0
    Value 5.0
    Service 5.0
    Ambience 4.0

    Reviewed on: Tue 10 Jun 25
    We had a great food experience at Belly of the Beast. Each dish was carefully made with heaps of flavour and interest. We would definitely recommend. The drinks cost as much as the food though, which wasn't too great.

  • THEA 1 E. Dined: 1 week ago
    5
    Food 5.0
    Value 5.0
    Service 5.0
    Ambience 5.0

    Reviewed on: Tue 10 Jun 25
    An exceptional culinary experience. A must add to your food and wine experience. Incredibly well researched wine choice to complement creative extraordinary dishes. Thank you for the honor to experience a wonderful taste experience. In my memory bank for sure.

  • Hayley N. Dined: 1 week ago
    4.8
    Food 5.0
    Value 4.0
    Service 5.0
    Ambience 5.0

    Reviewed on: Sun 08 Jun 25
    Absolutely outstanding!

  • Chris D. Dined: 1 week ago
    5
    Food 5.0
    Value 5.0
    Service 5.0
    Ambience 5.0

    Reviewed on: Sat 07 Jun 25
    Wonderful meal with exceptional and informative service

  • Guy C. Dined: 1 week ago
    5
    Food 5.0
    Value 5.0
    Service 5.0
    Ambience 5.0

    Reviewed on: Fri 06 Jun 25
    Another amazing experience. A Big thank you to Chef Odette, Rudi and the team for making the night incredible.

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