Shop 6132 Victoria Warf, Cape Town Central, South Africa
Cuisine:
Asian, Fusion
Good for:
Breakfast/Brunch, Delivery, Dinner, Families with children, Late Night, Lunch, Takeout
Willoughby & Co
17 Visitor Photos +
Expert Review
Located smack in the middle of the Victoria Mall at the V&A Waterfront, people don't come to Willoughby & Co...
Located smack in the middle of the Victoria Mall at the V&A Waterfront, people don’t come to Willoughby & Co for the atmosphere – it feels way more “food court” than “fine dining.” They come for the top-notch sushi, which many argue is the best in Cape Town — a fact we won’t dispute, as this was the tastiest sushi we tried in the Mother City.
If you arrive during peak hours – say anytime between 11:30am and 3pm and for the dinner rush – you can expect to wait in a line for the hostess to just jot down your name (of course the good news is you are in a shopping mall with plenty of distractions while you wait for a table). They don’t take reservations, so if you can’t stand a wait we suggest arriving either early or late.
The restaurant has been in operation for more than 20-years – it first opened in 1992, the same year as the mall it is still housed inside. It is the creation of Jens and Liz Tibshraeny, who still run the restaurant, and are committed to sourcing the best ingredients from around the globe.
Choose from a table in the mall area, sushi bar seating, or one of the seats along another interior bar – we like the sushi bar as you can see the chefs at work in front of you.
Most people order off the sushi menu as the fish here is incredibly fresh and rolls are creative and also made to order – if you don’t like your roll served with dollops of mayo (a weird South African tradition) make sure to ask them to leave it off.
Should you be craving something other than raw fish, however, Willoughy & Co serves a full Japanese menu including tempura and noodle dishes along with soups and salads.
Overall, Willoughby’s is a place you come for amazing, fresh sushi without fuss, but don’t expect atmosphere.
Expert Review
On Saturday I thought I’d stop by the legendary seafood restaurant at the V&A Waterfront, Willoughby&Co. Every night there’s a...
On Saturday I thought I’d stop by the legendary seafood restaurant at the V&A Waterfront, Willoughby&Co. Every night there’s a queue out the door and people wait for hours just to get a table at this successful establishment, so it was time to see what all the fuss was about.
Once I got a table, I decided to kick off my seafood meal with some sushi, as some people say it’s the best in town. I ordered some basic salad (vegetarian) California rolls and inari (sushi rice stuffed in tofu). When my sushi arrived I was definitely let down by the standard of food that was put in front of me. It didn’t look appetizing at all, and for the price, I was expecting something of a much higher quality. Either the sushi chef was having a bad day, or standards at Willoughby’s are going down, and from what I’ve heard around town, I think everyone feels the same way. For mains I went with the English-style fish and chips, and yet again I was a little disappointed. For the price of my meal, I was expecting more “fresh” battered hake and maybe a little more effort in presentation. The fish itself was floury and tasted like frozen fish. Not even the chips hit the spot!
I thought dessert might selvage my meal, and I was right! I ordered the mille feuille, which included some of the best custard I have ever eaten. This dessert is the restaurant’s speciality and I would definitely recommend getting this if you decide to visit Willoughby’s. Caramel sauce, roasted almonds and and phyllo pastry – absolutely delicious!
Willoughby&Co is a great location for tourists or people who love watching the hustle and bustle of a busy shopping centre, but don’t get your expectations too high because they seem to no longer be living up to their name. What a pity!
Expert Review
Willoughby & Co. is a restaurant, deli, and wine shop inside the mall at the V & A Waterfront. It’s...
Willoughby & Co. is a restaurant, deli, and wine shop inside the mall at the V & A Waterfront. It’s best known for sushi and seafood. However, the theme of the restaurant is hard to pin down as it tries to be a bit of everything. The somewhat confusing menu has something for any taste, including Boston clam chowder, tom yum soup, Italian salads and pastas, English style fish and chips, Portuguese style prawns, and fresh oysters. Japanese food is the main attraction though, and much of the interior of the restaurant is taken up by a busy sushi bar.
Since it’s known for its sushi, I tried “rainbow reloaded” (a rainbow roll dressed with sweet soy sauce, 7-spice, sesame oil, and chopped spring onion) and the “creamy rock shrimp maki” (spicy chopped tuna inside a maki roll wrapped with soy bean paper and topped with spicy creamy rock shrimp tempura and sprinkled with sesame seeds), recommended to me as house specialties. The flavors of both were good, and the fish was very fresh, but as a whole, I found the sushi to be pretty average considering the price. The rice was stodgy and the nori had gone all chewy. The tempura shrimp on top was soaked in a heavy creamy sauce which left the tempura coating soggy. I also tried a tempura plate with prawns, fish, scallops and vegetables. The tempura was heavy and oily and lacked flavor.
Besides the bar seating inside the restaurant, there are also a huge number of tables set in the middle of the mall aisle outside the front of the restaurant. Thus, the atmosphere is pretty mall-ish. I went on a Wednesday night and the place was absolutely packed—unfortunately, they don’t do reservations. Service was just okay. There’s better sushi in Cape Town and much better restaurants in the Waterfront, but if you have a craving while you’re in the mall, give it a try.
Expert Review
The fact that Willoughby & Co. is situated in a shopping mall – diners are literally flanked by those browsing...
The fact that Willoughby & Co. is situated in a shopping mall – diners are literally flanked by those browsing the best the V&A Waterfront has to offer – does little to deter would-be patrons from queuing for up to 20 minutes to get a table.
Once you’re seated, the atmosphere is no more appealing. It’s noisy, there is almost permanently someone (usually a waiter) trying to squeeze past the back of your chair, and the steady throng of diners makes it difficult to enjoy your meal at a leisurely pace. If you are not part of a larger group, it’s a good idea to sit ‘inside’ at the sushi bar, where the atmosphere is far more pleasant. Although the waiters are efficient and have a good knowledge of the menu, it’s hard to shake the feeling that they are about to shout: Next!
So why visit Willoughby’s at all? Simple: the food. Arguably the best sushi in Cape Town, the food at Willoughby’s is always fresh and consistently good. In addition to sushi that you’ll be thinking about for days, Willoughby’s also offers other seafood fare such as fish or prawn curry, salmon fish cakes, English-style fish and chips, and Boston clam chowder. The restaurant’s signature dishes include Rainbow Reloaded — a rainbow roll dressed with sweet soya sauce, 7-spice, sesame oil and seeds, and chopped spring onion — and flash-grilled Salmon Saikyo Miso Yaki.
Adjacent to the restaurant, you’ll find a small deli section and wine shop. At the deli, you’ll be able to buy fresh fish and high-quality Japanese products. The wine shop offers a selection of South African wines. If you are lucky, you’ll be given the opportunity to taste some of these wines while you are waiting for a table or to be served.
Final tip: the restaurant doesn’t do reservations, so factor in the potential queue time. Either arrive a little early for your meal or eat at an unorthodox time when the restaurant is less likely to be busy.