Are There Michelin Star Restaurants in South Africa?

Updated October 5, 2026 · Star counts and prices checked October 2026

No. There are no Michelin star restaurants in South Africa, because the MICHELIN Guide doesn’t publish a restaurant guide anywhere in Africa. Michelin does rate South African hotels: 32 hold MICHELIN Keys in the 2026 selection. Cape Town’s top restaurants are judged by the Eat Out Awards instead.

That surprises many visitors, because Cape Town and the Winelands are among the world’s great places to eat. The reason is simply where Michelin has chosen to go. Here is why, what Michelin does cover in South Africa, how Cape Town’s best restaurants are rated instead, and the South African chef who has won a star abroad.

Why South Africa has no Michelin stars

Michelin only awards stars in the places it publishes a guide for, and none of its restaurant guides covers Africa. Its newest guides, such as New Zealand in June 2026 and South Australia in October 2026, mostly launch through partnerships with tourism bodies that help fund the anonymous inspections. Michelin hasn’t announced a South African guide, and there’s no public sign of a deal yet.

South Africa’s MICHELIN Key hotels

Michelin’s hotel award did reach Africa in 2025. The MICHELIN Key is to hotels what a star is to restaurants, and the 2026 selection, published in September, gives Keys to 32 South African hotels, three of them with the top three Keys. Delaire Graff Estate, a wine estate near Stellenbosch, is Africa’s newest Three-Key hotel. A Key rates the whole stay, though, not the restaurant, so the hotels’ restaurants don’t have stars.

Are there Michelin star restaurants in Cape Town?

No, for the same reason. South Africa’s own equivalent is the Eat Out Woolworths Restaurant Awards, which give one, two or three stars. Three stars go to restaurants scoring 90 or more out of 100. At the 2026 awards, on 23 March, FYN in the City Bowl, where Japanese technique meets South African produce, was named Restaurant of the Year.

Cape Town’s other three-star restaurants at the 2026 Eat Out Awards are La Colombe in Constantia, Pier at the V&A Waterfront, Salsify at the Roundhouse in Camps Bay (Restaurant of the Year in 2025) and Salon in Woodstock. In the Winelands, La Petite Colombe in Franschhoek and MERTIA in Stellenbosch hold three too, and outside the Cape, The LivingRoom at Summerhill Guest Estate near Durban. Eat Out stars aren’t Michelin stars, and their scale isn’t the same, but they’re the best guide to where Michelin’s inspectors would start.

The South African chef with a Michelin star

Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen became the first South African-born chef to win a Michelin star when his restaurant JAN, near the port in Nice, earned one in 2016. It still holds it in the 2026 MICHELIN Guide France, and its cooking draws on his South African roots. Dinner costs €195 (about $220) for the longest tasting menu, before drinks.

The nearest Michelin stars to South Africa

From South Africa, the closest starred restaurants are in the Gulf. Dubai and Abu Dhabi both have MICHELIN Guides, as does Doha, each a direct flight from Johannesburg. Every page on The Starred Bill lists dinner, lunch and wine pairing prices side by side.