Restaurant in Johannesburg, South Africa
Serious wine list, consistent kitchen, book ahead.
Marble is one of Johannesburg's most reliable upmarket dinner bookings, built around live-fire cooking and a wine program that has ranked at the top of Star Wine List's South African listings in both 2022 and 2023. Book dinner over lunch to get the most from both the kitchen and the list. Easy to secure by the standards of the city's top tier.
Marble is one of Johannesburg's most consistent high-end restaurant bookings, and it earns that position through a combination of a serious wine program and a fire-led cooking style that suits the city's appetite for bold, confident food. Booking is easy by the standards of the leading end of the Joburg dining scene, which makes it a reliable choice when you want a special-occasion dinner without the reservation anxiety of harder-to-get tables. For food and wine enthusiasts visiting the city or entertaining clients, it belongs near the leading of your shortlist.
Marble sits in the Trumpet Building on Keyes Art Mile in Rosebank, a stretch of Johannesburg that has become the city's most concentrated address for serious dining. The room carries the energy of a place that operates at full capacity regularly: expect a lively, high-ceilinged space with the ambient volume that comes with it. This is not a quiet dinner venue. If you want a hushed room for delicate conversation, Marble is the wrong call. If you want atmosphere, confidence, and a kitchen that performs to a crowd, it is the right one.
Chef David Higgs built Marble around live-fire cooking, and the result is a menu that leans into smoke, char, and direct heat. This approach suits dinner more than lunch: the bold flavours and the full-length menu are better aligned with an evening booking when you want to commit to the experience. Lunch at Marble tends to be a leaner affair, with a quicker pace and a room that feels slightly less charged. If you are coming specifically for the wine program, which has placed multiple times in Star Wine List's leading three South African rankings across 2022 and 2023, then dinner is where that investment makes most sense. You will want time to work through the list, and lunch rarely permits that.
On the Star Wine List rankings, Marble claimed the leading position in South Africa in 2023, adding to a run of podium finishes in 2022 as well. For a wine-focused traveller, this is one of the more credible signals in the local market. The list is not a token addition to a food-forward operation; it is a co-equal part of what Marble is selling.
For first-timers, the Keyes Art Mile location is worth noting. Rosebank is accessible and well-served by hotels, making Marble a practical choice if you are based in the northern suburbs or staying nearby. The address is direct to reach by rideshare, and the building itself is well-signposted. Booking is handled with relative ease compared to the most competitive tables in the city, so a few days' notice is typically sufficient for weeknight dinners, though weekends warrant earlier planning.
If you are exploring the broader South African fine dining circuit alongside a Johannesburg trip, the natural comparisons lie in Cape Town and the Winelands: Fyn in Cape Town operates at a similar prestige level with a more structured tasting menu format, while Le Quartier Français in Franschhoek and Wolfgat in Paternoster offer distinct regional identities. Marble is the Johannesburg anchor in that conversation. Internationally, the live-fire confidence and wine depth invite comparison with higher-end addresses like Le Bernardin in New York City or Atomix in New York City, though Marble's format and price point are quite different from either.
Within Johannesburg's own dining scene, see our full Johannesburg restaurants guide for the full picture. For context on where to stay while you are in the city, the Johannesburg hotels guide covers the field. If bars and wine bars are part of your itinerary, the Johannesburg bars guide and wineries guide are worth a look, as is the Johannesburg experiences guide for broader planning.
Marble is one of the easier high-end bookings in Johannesburg. For weeknight dinners, a few days' lead time is generally sufficient. Weekend evenings, particularly Friday and Saturday, benefit from a week or more of advance notice. There is no strong case for booking months out the way you might for Cape Town's most competitive tables or for leading international venues. That accessibility is part of Marble's appeal for visitors and locals alike.
Marble is located at the Trumpet Building, 19 Keyes and Jellicoe Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg. The Keyes Art Mile position puts it within easy reach of the Rosebank hotel cluster and is well-suited to rideshare drop-off. The restaurant is also near a number of other strong dining options along the same stretch, including Ethos Restaurant and KŌL Izakhaya, if you are building an evening around the neighbourhood. For additional Rosebank and wider Joburg dining options, Aurum and Embarc are both worth having on your radar.
Marble sits at the upmarket end of the Johannesburg dining scene, in a building on Keyes Art Mile that draws a dressed-up crowd, particularly in the evenings. Smart casual is the working standard: clean, put-together, and leaning toward smart rather than casual. Formal wear is not required, but you would feel underdressed in trainers and a t-shirt. For lunch, the dress expectation relaxes slightly, but the room still skews well-dressed.
Book dinner rather than lunch if this is your first visit. The live-fire cooking format and the wine program that has topped Star Wine List's South African rankings both make more sense in an evening setting when the room is at full energy and you have time to explore the list. Arrive with an appetite and plan to spend time on the wine. The Rosebank location is easy to reach by rideshare from most of the major Johannesburg hotel areas. Marble is one of the more accessible bookings at this level in the city, so you do not need to plan months in advance.
Bar seating is a common feature of restaurants in Marble's format and price tier in Johannesburg, and the Trumpet Building location includes a bar area. However, specific bar-dining policies are not confirmed in our current data. If bar seating matters to your plans, contact the restaurant directly to confirm availability and what menu options apply at the bar. This is worth doing particularly if you want a shorter, less formal version of the Marble experience.
Marble operates at a level where dietary accommodation is standard practice rather than an exception. A kitchen built around live-fire cooking with an upmarket positioning will typically accommodate common dietary requirements with advance notice. The most reliable approach is to flag restrictions at the time of booking rather than on arrival, which gives the kitchen time to adjust. For specific requirements, contact the restaurant directly before your visit. Current contact details are not listed in our database, so check their most recent booking platform or social channels for the relevant contact.
| Venue | Cuisine | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marble Restaurant | The restaurant Marble, by Chef David Higgs, situated within the Trumpet Building on Keyes Art Mile, has established itself as a key player in Johannesburg’s restaurant scene. The upmarket eatery, focu...; Star Wine List #2 (2023); Star Wine List #1 (2023); Star Wine List #3 (2022); Star Wine List #2 (2022); Star Wine List #1 (2022) | Easy | — | |
| Gigi | Unknown | — | ||
| Les Creatifs | Unknown | — | ||
| The Blockman | Unknown | — | ||
| Aurum | Unknown | — | ||
| Embarc | Unknown | — |
What to weigh when choosing between Marble Restaurant and alternatives.
Dress smart — this is Rosebank's Keyes Art Mile, and Marble sits at the upper end of Johannesburg dining. Jeans are fine if they're clean and paired with something considered. Trackwear and sportswear will likely get a second look at the door. Think dinner-out rather than dressed-up.
The wine list is a genuine draw: Marble has placed in Star Wine List's top rankings multiple years running, including two #1 finishes in 2022 and 2023. Chef David Higgs is the name behind the kitchen, and the restaurant is set in the Trumpet Building on Keyes Art Mile — Rosebank's most concentrated dining address. Book ahead for weekends; weeknight tables are easier to secure.
The Trumpet Building layout supports a bar-area experience, and Marble's Rosebank positioning means the space attracts a drinks-and-lighter-bites crowd on weeknights. That said, specific bar seating policy isn't confirmed in available venue data — call ahead or check availability when booking if this is your preferred format.
Higher-end Johannesburg restaurants at this tier routinely accommodate dietary requirements when flagged at booking — this is standard practice rather than an exception. Note any restrictions when you reserve rather than on arrival; kitchens at this level respond better with lead time. Specific menu accommodations aren't documented here, so confirm directly when booking.
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