The Restaurant
Harald Bresselschmidt has cooked at the same pass since 1996, which in Cape Town's high-turnover fine-dining scene is close to geological. Aubergine occupies the 1830 house once owned by Sir John Wylde, the Cape's first Chief Justice, on Barnet Street in the Gardens, two blocks below Table Mountain. The downstairs salons hold the dining room across two connected spaces, with French doors onto a vine-shaded courtyard for warm-weather service. The mood is grown-up and calm, candle-lit, and the chef, raised on a dairy farm in Germany's Eifel and trained across Europe, still runs the kitchen most nights.
The Kitchen
Bresselschmidt calls his style East-meets-West, but the discipline under it is classical European technique applied to Cape produce. The aubergine soufflé is the tell: a soufflé is unforgiving, it rises or it does not, and a kitchen that sends one out reliably after thirty years has its fundamentals cold. The slow-roasted wild boar shows the other side, patience over heat. Sourcing is hands-on, with free-range meat, sustainable seafood, and vegetables from two organic gardens the restaurant keeps in Stellenbosch. The wine list is one of the best-read in the city, deep in Stellenbosch and Hemel-en-Aarde bottles and paired by a sommelier who does not hover. The degustation runs four, five or six courses, R1,080 to R1,550, with pairings on top. See the wider Cape Town dining guide.
Why This Is Cape Town’s Impress Clients Pick
Aubergine is the Cape Town impress-clients table because it gives an international guest exactly what they expect of a serious South African room: a grown-up villa, thirty years of unbroken kitchen seriousness, a wine programme that lets the host tell the Cape story properly, and service that carries a four-hour business dinner without rushing it. It is also the most reliable close-the-deal room in the city, because the courtyard and the upstairs spaces allow a discreet conversation away from the main floor. The host knows precisely what the evening will deliver. See more impress-clients tables.
Not for diners chasing the newest, most experimental cooking in Cape Town. Aubergine is a classicist's room — its strength is consistency over three decades, not shock — so look elsewhere if novelty is the point of the night.
Frequently Asked
Is Aubergine worth it?
Yes, if you want classical technique held steady over thirty years rather than the newest thing. Harald Bresselschmidt has cooked at Aubergine's pass since 1996, the signature aubergine soufflé is the proof, and the wine list is one of the deepest in Cape Town. The degustation runs R1,080 to R1,550 across four to six courses, so it is a considered spend for a serious evening.
What should I order at Aubergine?
Take the East-meets-West degustation, four, five or six courses from R1,080 to R1,550, and make sure the aubergine soufflé and the slow-roasted wild boar are on it, since those are the dishes that have outlasted every trend. The wine list leans into Stellenbosch and Hemel-en-Aarde; let the sommelier pair it, because it is one of the best-read lists in the city.
How much does Aubergine cost?
The degustation is R1,080 for four courses, R1,315 for five and R1,550 for six, with wine pairings adding roughly R660 to R1,000 on top. Lunch is the same kitchen at a lower ceiling. It sits at the upper end of Cape Town dining, which the cooking and the cellar earn. Book about six weeks ahead for weekend tables.
Where is Aubergine and is it good for clients?
Aubergine is at 39 Barnet Street in the Gardens, two blocks below Table Mountain, in the 1830 house once owned by the Cape's first Chief Justice. It is the city's most reliable impress-clients and close-a-deal room: a grown-up villa, a thirty-year track record, and service that carries a long business dinner without rushing it.
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