Eat Out Awards - And your nominations are...

It's finally here. Eat Out has announced their 20 nominations for the country's acclaimed 'top 10 restaurants' awards. 

Here they are:

• 9th Avenue Bistro, Durban
• Aubergine, Cape Town
• Bizerca Bistro, Cape Town
• Bread and Wine, Franschhoek
• Carne, Cape Town
• The Foodbarn, Cape Town
• The Greenhouse at The Cellars Hohenort, Cape Town
• Hartford House, KZN
• Jardine, Cape Town
• La Colombe, Cape Town
• Mosaic, Pretoria
• Overture, Stellenbosch
• The Restaurant at Grande Provence, Franschhoek
• Reuben's Restaurant, Franschhoek
• Roots, JHB
• The Roundhouse, Cape Town
• Rust en Vrede, Stellenbosch
• The Tasting Room, Le Quartier Francais, Franschhoek
• Terroir, Stellenbosch
• Zachary's, Knysna

So there it is. My immediate thoughts: 

1. Nice to see the return of The Foodbarn, Bread and Wine and Reuben's. The Foodbarn especially seems to have made a strong case for top 10 honours. 

2. No Bosman's? I personally agree and found it a bit overrated when I visited, but I'm sure they will be disappointed. 

3. Very pleased to see Bizerca and I still expect them to finish in the top 3. 

4. Interesting to see the amazing quality of restaurants situated on our beautiful wine routes. 

5. Only one restaurant from Jozi? Very interesting. 

6. Carne? This seems a touch premature to me. Having said that The Princess was blown away on our visit. 

7. Still no room for Ginja or Myoga? Will Mike Bassett ever regain his former glory? 

8. No room for Opal Lounge? I think they deserved a nomination. The food might be "over-cheffy" but the experience was memorable. 

9. Overall, Cape Town is the undisputed food capital of South Africa. 

To read my past reviews of featured restaurants click on the links below

The Foodbarn:

http://jamiewhatshisname.blogspot.com/2009/07/foodbarn-will-you-forgive-me.html

Bizerca Bistro:

http://jamiewhatshisname.blogspot.com/2009/06/bizerca-bistro-my-new-favourite.html

Carne:

http://jamiewhatshisname.blogspot.com/2009/04/carne-yes-please.html

Roots:

http://jamiewhatshisname.blogspot.com/2009/08/roots-tough-one-for-me.html

The Roundhouse:

http://jamiewhatshisname.blogspot.com/2009/07/roundhouse-you-will-see-me-again-soon.html

I would be interested to hear your thoughts on the 20 nominations...

Cheers,

Jamie Who