Luxe Restaurant Awards 2026 Names Mertia Top Restaurant
Mertia in Stellenbosch took Restaurant of the Year at the 2026 Luxe Restaurant Awards, while Carla Schulze of Salon was named Chef of the Year.
The Luxe Restaurant Awards 2026 named Mertia in Stellenbosch Restaurant of the Year, the top honour at South Africa's leading fine-dining ceremony. Carla Schulze of Salon in Johannesburg took Chef of the Year, and the ceremony was held on 23 February at MIRA Sandton.
The awards, presented with Audi South Africa and hosted by media personality Shashi Naidoo, drew chefs and restaurateurs from across the country to Sandton. Mertia's win follows Best New Restaurant honours in 2024 and two Luxe Stars plus a Service Excellence Award in 2025, a three-year climb to the top category.
Inside the Luxe Restaurant Awards win
Mertia's win confirms Stellenbosch now sets the pace in South African fine dining.
Mertia occupies a former Standard Bank building on Bird Street in Stellenbosch. Owner Marais Kirsten-Uys named the restaurant after his grandmother; chef Matt van den Berg runs two tasting menus in parallel, an eight-course and a thirteen-course version, built around South African staples such as vetkoek and dry-aged duck alongside a hen's-egg course and a caviar dish.
Judges credited Mertia's "refined approach, consistency, and exceptional dining experience" for the win, according to award organisers. Chef of the Year Carla Schulze's cooking at Salon was described by reviewers as favouring depth over display, a sauce-driven style built on precision rather than spectacle.
Cape Town's newest recognised talent
Amura, the restaurant at Cape Town's Mount Nelson hotel, took New Restaurant of the Year in its debut year. Nic Charalambous of Ouzeri, also in Cape Town, received the Culinary Rising Star Award for a Greek-inflected menu built around open-fire cooking and shared plates.
FYN in Cape Town collected a Luxe Diamond Star at the same ceremony. Its chef, Peter Tempelhoff, is the first South African chef to hold three knives in the Best Chef Awards, and FYN has repeatedly placed on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list. The Luxe results add another marker to a Cape Town and Cape Winelands dining scene now measured against international rankings as often as local ones.
South Africa's fine-dining calendar is not done for 2026. The separate South African Restaurant Awards holds its own ceremony at Hotel Sky in Sandton on 25 May, with Tempelhoff and Amura both listed among this year's nominees.
