Review The Test Kitchen - Woodstock

Amazing food and service! Food: I felt like I was in "The Bear" eating at TTK Fledglings. The dishes were so creative while also staying true to the things that made them great. The Korean fried chicken had a interesting shape, but was still super crunchy with a great flavor. The yellowtail had an unique coconut sauce that didn't mask how fresh the fish was. The beef filet had a coffee sauce which didn't overpower the extremely tender steak. The list goes on! Also, the food was a great value compared to fine dining in the US. For 5 people and a lot of food we paid around $200. Service: Every single person seemed to love working there. The servers were so nice and knowledgeable about the menu. Every recommendation was spot on based on my preferences. They remembered little things we talked about. I mentioned it was my birthday and they DIDN'T sing to me. Truly an outstanding experience.

We had an incredible dinner here. It’s such an amazing concept and you can really tell how passionate everyone working in the restaurant is. Everyone is having a good time and doing their very best to provide the best service possible. We had the privilege of sitting at the bar seats overlooking the open kitchen. It was so fun to see the kitchen in full action. A moment that stuck with me was when one of the fledglings had prepared a plate and then the chef gave feedback and corrected the plating. Nothing gets past him, every plate goes out just right. The food was delicious. The atmosphere lively. The service friendly and professional. If you like food and good vibes give this place a go. Make sure you check out their website beforehand and are on board with the concept.

Superb dining experience! The atmosphere was really relaxed and the staff were so friendly and attentive. The food was well executed. Each dish was filled with excitement, the right balance and texturally pleasing to the pallet. The stand out dish was the Yellowtail sashimi, my word it was sensational. Cocktails were delicious, thank you to Zoë our waitress for her recommendations and superb service. We'll be back!

Without a doubt our best restaurant experience so far. Food and Winepairing extraordinary, Service outrageous, Team outstanding. If we ever make it back to Cape Town, we will come to Test Kitchen again for sure.

Best fine dining experience in Cape Town! The food and service here was incredible. Attention to detail was so impressive and the flavour profile of each dish was incredible. My husband and I tried both the Kudu and tuna starters, the Springbok and Beef Fillet mains, and the Coconut Panna Cotta and apple tart. Everything was absolutely amazing. The atmosphere was higher end yet still inviting and the service was very high level. Cannot say enough good things about this restaurant. Highly recommend!

Can highly recommend this place, overall a fantastic experience. Fine dining, very engaged service, great taste. We went for the 5 course menu, great experience.

Expecting huge and filling South African dishes, we opted for the 3-course meal instead of the more extensive chef's menu. Little did we know that the dishes are culinary size and the vegetarian starter is so light it is hardly there. When I mentioned my concern of not having enough food in the three-course meal, the staff went beyond and organized an additional starter. The dish that blew us away was the beef filet with the jus cafe au lait. Very attentive waitress (Rose) made our visit a pleasure. We really enjoyed the evening.

Best place in cape town. Amazing food and amazing people. The tasting menu is so good!

The service is fantastic and the staff were tentative in every way. The meals were tasty and had a variety of tastes and textures. Great selection of wines. The best part is that this is a career path for people that haven’t had many opportunities in life. The restaurant allows individuals with little to no culinary experience to become artists in the industry. Good work!

This is an exquisite dining experience, possibly the best to be had in Africa. The service levels together with the presentation as well as the balance in the combinations to create each dish is on such a high level. Its a feel of such precise dining, while each dish looks like art. I had the iconic wine pairing dinner, even the wines paired perfectly, with each glass described by the sommelier present. My highlight dish was the springbok, beetroot, bone marrow and hazelnut curd paired with a boekenhoutskloof cab. This will go down as 1 of the best single plates of food I’ve ever had. This while every other dish was excellent as well. Yes it can be expensive, but it’s still an experience that can actually feel like it’s value for money, once you understand the effort that has been made here, to serve us. We only live once and this needs to be experienced. Note that this was my experience a few years ago.

Our visit was a bit of a tale of two experiences. We arrived spot on time for our reservations at 8:45 and from the moment we sat down, felt rushed. We had waiters constantly hovering around and with each course would walk up to the table and return back to their station. I counted 6 times mocked charged in one of the courses. We also had a winter drop a dropper into the food (glass part fell off) and instead of bringing a new plate, he only got a new dropper. The wine recommendation was made, but then recommended the iconic tasting “because it wa only R50 more”. The wait staff needs to realize that if we’re already there, they should be making a good recommendation, not a cheap recommendation. Also by the time we were on our mains, the staff started cleaning and it went from the test kitchen to the test scullery. Lastly, it really annoys me when they include an automatic gratuity on the bill. 1. We were 2 people (not 6+). 2. You know your service hasn’t been up to scratch or are scared you may not get tipped. 3. We live in the USA, tipping is 20%+ for good service, so in reality you could have made more for actual good service. In terms of the food, that was amazing. I loved the concept of the focus on water preservation. The dishes were well prepared with good presentation and interesting food notes. Springbok and Cabage was a big hit, and the trout ou’dhourve was delightful and delicate with the watercress snow. No doubt fantastic food, and in he end, the pairings with the wine was pretty good. It’s a shame - honestly. We live easy coast of USA, and I waited up until 1 in the morning for a booking online. I was so excited to take my fiancé there as our first engaged fine dining dinner.

Well over their head. With a reservation arrived at the not so greatest location in Cape Town place after a35 minute can drive. To find the not so friendly Manager not to honor our reservation with some lame excuse that they were booked even the places was empty. Not even tried to help in any way. Not recommended. Cannot recommend a place with this attitude.

Amazing experience! The best dinner I've ever had. From the introductory cocktails, to the black room experiential canapes and onto the more formal white room, this is a truly special experience. The staff are wonderful and best of all, you will go home full and so happy! Thank you TKK!