Restaurant in Cape Town, South Africa
Serious wine credentials, waterfront address.
Belthazar at the V&A Waterfront holds back-to-back Star Wine List recognition (2023 and 2026), making it the most credible wine-focused dining address at Cape Town's waterfront. Booking is easy and the setting is accessible. Book here when the wine list is the priority; choose La Colombe or Fyn when food credentials take precedence.
Most visitors to the V&A; Waterfront assume Belthazar is a tourist-trap steak house riding its location. That assumption is wrong. Belthazar has earned back-to-back Star Wine List recognition (2023 and 2026), which puts its wine program in a different category from the surrounding competition. If you are a wine-focused diner looking for serious bottle depth at a waterfront address, this is where you book. If wine is incidental to your meal, Fyn or La Colombe will serve you better.
Belthazar sits at Shop 153, 19 Breakwater Boulevard, inside the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront complex. The address is accessible and well-signposted. Getting there requires no navigation effort, which matters when you are coordinating a group or arriving after a day of travel. The waterfront location also means the surrounding area is active in the evenings, so timing your arrival is less stressful than it would be at a more remote Cape Town dining address.
The Star Wine List awards, granted in 2023 and renewed for 2026, are internationally recognised credentials for wine programming. They are not given on the basis of bottle count alone. They signal curation, range, and depth. For a wine-focused traveller exploring the Western Cape wine corridor, Belthazar functions as a credible urban anchor point before or after visits to estates further out. Compare that to our full Cape Town wineries guide if you are planning a broader wine itinerary.
The editorial angle worth flagging here is weekend and brunch service. At a Waterfront venue with Belthazar's wine credentials, weekend lunch is the format that makes the most sense. You get the wine list working for you in daylight, the harbour setting is at its leading in the afternoon, and the booking pressure is lower than Saturday dinner. If you are weighing a weekend afternoon option against something like Salsify at the Roundhouse, the trade-off is setting versus wine depth. Salsify gives you a heritage property and a tighter food-first experience. Belthazar gives you the wine list and a view. Choose based on your priority.
For visitors staying near the waterfront and looking for a wine-led weekend lunch without committing to a full tasting menu format, Belthazar is the practical call. The booking difficulty is rated easy, which means walk-in chances are realistic for lunch service, though a reservation removes any uncertainty.
Belthazar is located at Shop 153, 19 Breakwater Boulevard, V&A; Waterfront, Cape Town. Booking is rated easy. Wine List credentials: Star Wine List 2023 and 2026. No phone or website data is currently available in our records, so book through the V&A; Waterfront venue listings or confirm details on arrival. For broader planning, see our full Cape Town restaurants guide, our Cape Town hotels guide, and our Cape Town bars guide.
If your Cape Town trip extends beyond the city, the wine corridor context is worth building into your itinerary. Dusk in Stellenbosch, 96 Winery Road Restaurant in Raithby, and Delaire Graff Lodges & Spa on Helshoogte Pass all sit within day-trip range and offer wine-estate dining that complements what Belthazar does in the city. For something further afield, Le Quartier Français in Franschhoek and Wolfgat in Paternoster represent the wider Western Cape dining circuit. On the waterfront itself, Arthur's Mini Super is worth knowing as a more casual adjacent option. For wine-list depth at destination-level international standards, the conversation shifts to venues like Le Bernardin in New York City or Atomix in New York City, but Belthazar holds its own as a serious wine venue at a city level.
| Venue | Price | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belthazar | Easy | — | |
| Fyn | Unknown | — | |
| La Colombe | Unknown | — | |
| Salsify at the Roundhouse | Unknown | — | |
| The Test Kitchen | Unknown | — | |
| Chefs Warehouse Beau Constantia | Unknown | — |
Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.
Belthazar's position inside the V&A; Waterfront complex at 19 Breakwater Boulevard suggests it operates at scale, making it a practical choice for groups. The wine-focused format — backed by Star Wine List recognition in 2023 and 2026 — gives larger tables a shared reference point for ordering. check the venue's official channels to confirm private dining or reserved section options, as specific group policies aren't documented in available data. Larger groups wanting a more intimate setting might consider Chefs Warehouse Beau Constantia instead.
Solo diners at a large Waterfront venue can feel sidelined, but Belthazar's wine credentials give a solo visit a clear purpose: working through the list. Star Wine List awards in both 2023 and 2026 confirm the selection is taken seriously. Counter or bar seating options aren't confirmed in the venue record, so call ahead if seating format matters to you. For solo dining with a more intimate atmosphere, Fyn or The Test Kitchen are worth comparing.
Specific dietary accommodation details aren't available in the venue record, so contact Belthazar at Shop 153, 19 Breakwater Boulevard before booking if you have requirements. As a venue with documented wine-list credentials rather than a tasting-menu format, the kitchen is likely running an à la carte operation where substitutions are more negotiable than at fixed-menu venues like La Colombe. Confirm directly rather than assuming.
Yes, with a specific caveat: Belthazar works for occasions where wine is central to the celebration. Two Star Wine List awards — 2023 and 2026 — give the cellar genuine authority, and the V&A; Waterfront address is easy for out-of-town guests to reach. If the occasion calls for a chef-driven tasting menu rather than wine-led dining, La Colombe or Salsify at the Roundhouse will suit better. For a landmark dinner built around a bottle, Belthazar is a credible choice.
For tasting-menu ambition, The Test Kitchen and La Colombe are the reference points. Salsify at the Roundhouse offers a strong wine list alongside a more destination-focused setting. Fyn covers Cape Town fine dining with a local-ingredients focus. Chefs Warehouse Beau Constantia works well for small groups wanting a shared-plates format with Constantia valley views. Belthazar's edge over all of them is the depth of its wine selection, confirmed by Star Wine List recognition in two separate years — if the list matters more than the menu format, it's the stronger call.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
