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Classeq- Zomato User’s Choice Awards

The awards are based on user generated Zomato ratings, the Top 30 restaurants in Johannesburg and Cape Town have been selected. (sic)

(Zomato is a restaurant search and discovery service founded in 2008 by Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah. It currently operates in 23 countries, including India, Australia and the United States
It provides information and independent reviews on restaurants, including images of menus where the restaurant does not have its own website.)

We at first counted 56 nominees excluding the repetition of two eateries that may have many branches. With this and a few other finer details not being included in the release we were left confused about these awards and how the team came to curate the contestants as listed below for the Classeq- Zomato User’s Choice Awards.

We have sinces spoken to the team who have indicated that the awards and the short lists below are solely user rating based which is a variance for other awards that currently run in South Africa.

We had mailed the PR team to clarify the following; [UPDATED]

HH | Was there a specific reason for not including KZN or Durban in the awards?

MB| Because these are  first time awards for these two brands, we have decided to go with the main foodie cities of SA and hopefully bring in KZN and Bloem next year as we would like to see these awards grow each year and rival all existing ones

Please clarify “Best of the best” is that any **food establishment rather than restaurant, some only supply Ice cream/cakes etc.

Best of the Best ‘eatery” so we have included the most popular as per Zomatos rating system. We decided that if an ice-creamery is as popular as a restaurant as voted for by the public, then who are we to judge or say differently

Will there be an overall national winner?

Two overall winners ( one for JHB and one for CT)

Will there be an awards ceremony as with Eat/ Conde Nast/ Diner’s Club awards?

Yes, there will be two ( one in JHB and one in CT) although more casual and not as fussy. Voting closes 31 May so awards will take place mid June ( venues and dates to be announced)

Are winner’s chosen merely on user votes or is there a judging panel/team too?

Merely on the public votes- that is the differentiator for these awards

The Velvet Cake Co. Is written twice is that a typo or are there franchises and these are both top entries?

Correct – they are the different franchise branches and yes, both top!

The public are encouraged to vote for their absolute ‘Best of the Best’ from a short list of 30 nominees and stand a chance to win an event for 10 at one of ‘The Best of the Best’ nominees simply by visiting https://www.zomato.com/awards, voting and sharing the voting portal link to their social media with the hashtag #UsersChoiceAwards.

Two overall restaurant winners will be chosen from Cape Town and Johannesburg respectively and each winner will walk away with a fully installed Classeq glass washer and a 6-month supply of detergents to the value of R40 000.00

Voting closes 31 May 2017.

Interestingly, the below Cape Town List does not include any Winelands or Boland eateries. With The exception of Warwick Wine Estate which we are not sure is the winery or the picnic/restaurant area as Zomato lists Restaurants and Wineries for users to comment on &  review

Assuming then that Cape Town is to be taken as a directive for The Cape City bowl and surroundings, yet then there’s the inclusion of the Hemel and Aarde by means of nominating The Tasting Room @ Creation. Which is confusing and one wonders why Franschhoek & Stellenbosch restaurants that are decorated with EAT OUT awards have been excluded by Zomato users.


THE CAPE TOWN  NOMINEES ARE:


The Test Kitchen
La MouetteThe Potluck Club
Warwick Wine Estate- picnics
Jarryds
La Colombe
The Velvet Cake Co.-Belville
Chefs Warehouse & Canteen
The Velvet Cake Co.- CBD
Four & Twenty
Jerry’s Burger Bar
The Creamery
Marc’s Table
The Foodbarn
Kitima Restaurant
Dash – Queen Victoria Hotel
Willoughby & Co.
El Burro
Starlings Cafe
Kloof Street House
NV 80
Constantia Glen
The Shortmarket Club
Blacksmith’s Kitchen @ Pearl Mountain
Unframed Ice Cream
My Sugar
Truth Coffee


THE JHB NOMINEES ARE


Urbanologi
DW Eleven-13
Gemelli Cucina Bar
Cafe Del Sol Classico
Roots – Forum Homini Hotel
Cafe Del Sol TRE
Licorish Bistro
Wombles
Nonna’s Italian Food Bar
Olives and Plates – Club & Conference
Cafe Del Sol Botanico
Signature Restaurant
Level Four – 54 on Bath Hotel
Pigalle- Melrose Arch
The Great Eastern Food Bar
Winehouse – Ten Bompas Hotel
The Fat Zebra
Pigalle- Sandown
Momo Baohaus
Marble
The Foundry
Escondido Tapas
The Grillhouse
La Trinita Rstorante
Les Delices de France
Athol Place Restaurant
Perron
Pablo Eggs Go
Brian Lara Rum Eatery
Lupa Osteria

What are your thoughts on the Awards, we would love to hear from you in the comments section below!

IMAGES Courtesy of The Pot Luck Club
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  • Ron Stansfield
    April 28, 2017 at 7:00 am

    This Just seems like a glorified popularity contest

  • Nolwazi
    May 2, 2017 at 6:00 pm

    Thanks! New restaurant ideas 👍

    • Llewellyn Lambert
      May 3, 2017 at 10:45 am

      It’s an easy go to list for sure- be sure to vote for your favorite! 🙂

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