Restaurant Focus: Reverie Social Table

Restaurant Focus is where you can find upcoming restaurants to know about. This time we’re in Cape Town, South Africa at Reverie Social Table.

Where is Reverie Social Table?

You’ll find Reverie Social Table in Observatory, Cape Town, one of the first suburbs established in the city and named after the Royal Observatory built in the 1800s. The area has always been an eclectic, bohemian mix of cultures with industrial, commercial and residential side by side. Observatory is the perfect location for Reverie as you’re on the outskirts but just a short drive from the city.

Who's the chef?

The chef-owner is Julia Hattingh, a born and raised Capetonian. Hattingh studied at Meerendal Hospitality Academy, with David Higgs and Wade van der Merwe. She has an impressive CV and has worked with renowned chefs at important restaurants like Margot Janse and Chris Erasmus at Le Quartier Francais, Gary Rhodes and Adam Gray at Rhodes 24 in London, and Gregory Czarnecki from Waterkloof. Opening a restaurant has always been her dream and Reverie is it.

_{Photos: Svenson Linnert and Adrian Beck/Chase Edmonds}

Why is it called ‘Reverie’?

/ˈrɛv(ə)ri/: a state of being pleasantly lost in one's thoughts; a daydream.

While living in Paris, Hattingh attended French lessons at the Starbucks in Le Marais. Her tutor would give her homework each week and she came across the word ‘reverie’ in her dictionary when looking up the accent for the word rêve. It was the perfect description of what she wanted her restaurant to be like both for her and for her guests. So, the name came two years before the restaurant.

What’s the vibe like?

It’s a dinner party. A bunch of strangers from all over the world, coming together through a common love of food and wine. Reverie dinners start with a glass of wine and time for the guests to meet and mingle before moving to the dining table – it’s a whole-evening social dining affair and guests switch seats and move around the table throughout the evening while they are wined and dined. It’s more than a meal, it’s an experience, an opportunity to get away from the bustle, switch off for a couple of hours, engage, be present, and meet new people. There’s a reason we as humans evolved to eat around a table – it’s the connection.

Okay, let's get to the food

The guests have no choice about what is served at Reverie. Whatever is in season and delivered that day, gets cooked and served. The food depends on the wine, so it changes constantly. Hattingh is focused on showing her guests the best of Cape Town and South Africa. She works with local suppliers and growers with a big focus on traceability – working as close to the source as possible, knowing the people behind the produce and being able to support a sustainable process.

Reverie’s suppliers range from community uplift programmes to bespoke growers and artisanal producers. As Cape Town grows as a culinary destination, they have more and more farmers/producers/initiatives to connect with. Hyper-seasonal and as local, sustainable/regenerative and organic as possible, the food is not super glamorous, or luxurious but honest food prepared with lots of love. “Food is like a stitching that brings everything together,” says Hattingh.

_{Stephen Rooke}

Why should I visit Reverie?

Reverie is a restaurant that is part hospitality business, part social enterprise and part dinner party. It’s not for everyone, but if you enjoy meeting new people, eating good food and drinking great wine, then it is a fantastic way to pass a memorable evening that nourishes the body and the soul.

“I got to a point in my career where I realised there was all this magic happening in the dining room and I wanted to be there and be a part of it and cooking in the kitchen was not rewarding enough anymore,” says Hattingh. “I was getting more satisfaction by cooking for friends and family at home, where the food is important, but not everything.

“I think in some ways we’ve lost the real meaning of what food is supposed to do. We have these amazing restaurants where the food looks and tastes amazing and yet it’s not nourishing physically or emotionally. You have to wear certain clothes and you have to act in a very reserved way, it kills the whole purpose of what the food is supposed to do in the first place.”