December 8, 2006
By Barbara Ludman
JOHANNESBURG is a pleasure during the holiday season. Much of the population has disappeared – families have gone to the sea, the mountains, or the bush, or travelled to small towns all over the country. There are no traffic jams, no frayed tempers, no long queues at cinemas.
Unfortunately, many restaurateurs also disappear during the holidays. So just when you think it might be possible to get a good table, some of Joburg's best restaurants are shut.
Below are the 2006 closing and 2007 reopening dates for the restaurants whose reviews appear regularly on this website, in categories including award winners, African restaurants, vegetarian restaurants, historic restaurants and the best restaurant neighbourhoods.
Award-winning restaurants
Assaggi: Closed from 22 December; re-opening on 10 January.
Auberge Michel: Closed from 16 December; re-opening on 9 January.
Brown's: Closed on 25 December only.
Chefs in Motion: Closed from 1 January; re-opening on 12 January.
Deluxe: Closed from 24 December; re-opening on 6 January.
La Compagnole: Closed after lunch on 25 December; re-opening on 4 January.
Ciro: Closed from 24 December; re-opening on 15 January.
Moyo at the Market: Closed from 24 December; re-opening on 9 January.
Moyo, Melrose Arch: Closed on 25 December. On 31 December and 1 January open for dinner only.
Moyo Zoo Lake: Open throughout the holiday season.
Soi: Closed on 25 and 26 December, and on 1 and 2 January.
Bell Pepper: Closed from 21 December; re-opening on 10 January.
Singing Fig: Closed from 16 December; re-opening on 15 January.
Yamato: Closed on 25 December and 1 January only.
Historic restaurants
Gramadoelas: Closed from 14 December; re-opening on 16 January.
Kapitan's: Closed from 16 December; re-opening on 15 January.
Radium: Closed from 25 December; re-opening on 2 January.
Saxon: Open throughout the holiday season.
Vegetarian restaurants
Fruits and Roots, Emmarentia and Bryanston: Closed from 24 to 26 December, and again from 31 December to 2 January.
Greenlands: Closed from 23 December; re-opening on 4 January.
Krisp: Closed from 18 December; re-opening on 4 January.
Shayona: Closed on 25 and 26 December and on New Year's Day only.
African restaurants
Abyssinica: Closed from 1 January; re-opening on 15 January.
Batuke: Closed from 22 December; re-opening on 4 January.
Kwa-Thabeng: Closed on 25 and 26 December and 1 January only.
Lekgotla: Closed on 25 and 26 December and 1 January only. Closing at 8.30pm on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.
Masakeng: Closed on 25 December and 1 January only.
Nambitha: Closed on 25 and 26 December and on 1 January.
Sakhumzi's: Open throughout the holiday season.
The Backroom: Closed on 25 and 26 December and 1 January only.
Wandie's: Open throughout the holiday season.
Restaurant neighbourhoods
Melville
Abyssinica: Closed from 1 January; re-opening on 15 January.
Café MezzaLuna: Closed from 24 to 26 December and on 1 January.
Chilli: Closed from 18 December to 9 January.
Nuno's: Closing early on 23 December, and closed on 24 and 25 December only.
Portuguese Fish Market: Closed on 24 and 25 December only.
Pomegranate: Closed on 24 and 25 December, and from 10 to 20 January.
Service Station: Closed from 24 December; re-opening on 8 January.
Soi: Closed on 25 and 26 December, and on 1 and 2 January.
Soulsa: Closed on 25 December and 1 January only.
The Melville Grill: Closed from December 25; re-opening on 5 January.
Greenside
Bite: Closed on 25, 26 and 31 December and on 1 January.
Café Flo: Closed from 24 December to 12 January.
Doppio Zero: Closing after lunch on 24 and 31 December. Closed on 25 and 26 December and 1 January.
The Circle: Closed from 21 December; re-opening on 8 January.
Parktown North
Developers have forced out a strip of restaurants on the west side of Third Avenue. However, Wombles is located far enough down the street to have avoided the massacre, as have those restaurants round the corner on the east side. Petit Karma, Espresso and Yo Sushi are hanging on – but apparently not for long.
Bistro Bleu: Closed on 24, 25 and 31 December and on 1 January only.
Ramazzotti: Closed after lunch on 24 December; re-opening on 3 January.
Wombles: Closed from 22 December; re-opening on 4 January.
One street along, on Fourth Avenue:
Ciro: Closed from 24 December; re-opening on 15 January.
Fino: Closed from 24 December; re-opening on 3 January.
And on Grafton Avenue:
Giles: Closed from 24 December; re-opening on 2 January.
Osteria Tre Nonni: Closed from after lunch on 17 December; re-opening on 8 January.
Nearby, in The Firs in Rosebank, is:
The Grill House. Closed from 23 to 26 December, and again on 31 December and 1 January.
And on Baker Street, opposite the Rosebank Mall, is a new branch of Doppio Zero. Closed on 25 December and 1 January.
Parkhurst
Batuke: Closed from 22 December; re-opening on 4 January.
Cilantro: Closed from 18 December; re-opening on 5 January.
George's on Fourth: Closed from 24 December; re-opening on 5 January.
Ruby's: Closed from 24 December; re-opening on 2 January.
Melrose Arch
JB's Corner: Closed on 25 December only.
March: Open throughout the holiday season.
Moyo: Closed on 25 December. On 31 December and 1 January, open for dinner only.
Orient: Closed on 25 and 26 December and 1 and 2 January only.
The Meat Company: Closed for dinner on 25 December and 1 January. Otherwise open throughout the holidays.
Kensington
Cumin and Coriander: Closed from 24 December; re-opening 4 January.
The Bell Pepper: Closed from 21 December; re-opening on 10 January.
Norwood
Benkei: Closed on 25 and 26 December and on 1 January.
Piccolo Prima Donna: Closing after lunch on 24 December and re-opening for dinner on 26 December. Closing after lunch on 31 December and reopening for dinner on 2 January.
Shahi Khana: Closed on 25 December.
The Singing Fig: Closed from 16 December; re-opening on 15 January.
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