Review Protege Restaurant - Franschhoek

Look at this place, not as a restaurant or another meal, but more as a fine dining experience. It was such a treat. The combination of flavours was outstanding. Very impressive.

My best meal during my one week stay in the Western Cape. Cozy location, attentive service, curated menu fearing impeccably presented dishes bursting with flavours and complexity, all washed down with superb wine pairing choices. Thank you for a memorable night. I can’t wait to be back.

Stunning meal, service and wine. We will back. We had the sprint tasting menu with wine paring, the best meal we had in South Africa.

We have eaten at most of the La Colombe group restaurants and always thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We tried Protégé during a weekend away in Franschoek and it was positively mind blowing. The food, service and ambiance were all next level. The friendly team were helpful, engaged, patient and funny! We had such a great time. The prawn stuffed Korean fried chicken was a particularly great standout and the cocktails were unreal!

Excellent presentation of good food - lots of flavour and different sauces. Service was great, with attentive staff.

Everything was absolutely delicious. Perfect combination of flavours, great service and presentation.

Loved our meal here. The tasting menu is varied and generous and you won’t leave hungry. The only let down was the “wagyu” sirloin supplement — didn’t eat like actual Wagyu. Otherwise no complaints! Service was exceptional and the space is refined and elegant but not stuffy. Best dish was the KFC (Korean fried chicken).

Absolutely fantastic experience and my favourite restaurant in Franschhoek. The food delights with the creativity and flavours. Tables are well spaced or at the bar looking over the kitchen. With the kitchen in the centre of it all they have still got the acoustics just right. Very good value including the wine flight.

A lovely experience overall. The presentation is beautiful. Interiors are a bit spartan and the pacing is very slow. Don’t miss the Korean fried chicken

Protégé is a casual fine-dining restaurant located in the heart of Franschhoek. We booked to visit the restaurant on our first night in Franschhoek, as it got great reviews. Upon arrival, we were greeted by the friendly service team who quickly seated us and talked through the menu concept. The restaurant serves a range of innovative small dishes using seasonal ingredients, and we’d just arrived in time to sample their new autumn menu. We enjoyed a pre-dinner cocktail, and then the dishes started coming, with the first up being a small selection of breads and nibbles. Next up, we both sampled the Korean Fried Chicken which was very tasty, especially for such a simple ingredient. Next up I sampled the BBQ Pork Roti, which was delicious, albeit very awkward to eat. The dishes were beautifully presented and the flavors were well balanced. The service at Protégé is attentive and friendly, however, towards the end of the meal and the final course, there was a very long wait for our main course. I’m not too sure what happened, but we were waiting for nearly 45 minutes for our final course. We arrived at 7:30pm and finally left at 10:30pm, skipping dessert. When we eventually chased the progress of our meal the team were happy to help, but it had soured the experience. We did enjoy our Protégé experience, but unfortunately, I can’t give it 5 stars due to the final course taking so long to arrive. It is a fairly expensive restaurant, so I feel for the price paid, the score reflects the experience we had.