Throughout the entire year, women are deserving of recognition and appreciation. National Women’s Day, which falls on August 9, serves as a timely reminder of this crucial fact.

This month is dedicated to honouring women across the world for what they have achieved despite all the hurdles they have encountered in their lives.

Speaking of achievements, there’s a wave of women making a name for themselves by opening their own restaurants, enjoying much fanfare and raking in the awards.

This National Women’s Day, discover these five exceptional women-owned restaurants that are reshaping culinary landscapes and making a significant impact.

Chef Nolukhanyo Dube-Cele. Picture: Seven Colours Eatery Instagram

Cape Town

Seven Colours Eatery

Seven Colours Eatery is a brand that chef Nolukhanyo Dube-Cele started to share her passion for South African food and culture.

The vision behind the eatery is to incorporate creativity, nostalgia, and diversity, and inspire a positive South African identity through food. They pride themselves on creating quality home-cooked comfort food.

Located in the V&A Waterfront district, the restaurant experience will evoke those wonderful childhood memories.

You can enjoy a daily seven-colour plate, a shisanyama plate, or sandwiches made out of their local bread.

Liberté French Food & Wine owner Natasha Maciel. Picture: Facebook

Johannesburg

Liberté French Food & Wine

Liberté French Food & Wine is a space that celebrates life, femininity and connection.

Based in Craighall – one of Joburg’s most beautiful, leafy suburbs – Liberté seeks to inspire a greater awareness of self. It is a place where you can free yourself from the beliefs that keep you small and powerless.

Owner Natasha Maciel invites you to join them as they approach each day with curiosity and gratitude, surrounded by French food and wine, and good people. The restaurant is open for breakfast and lunch seven days a week and for dinners Tuesdays to Saturdays.

Their food is a modern take on the timeless French classics, re-created through the lens of their own culture and experiences. #

Their beautifully built bar is always open. If it’s a quick after-work drink, a glass of wine and canapé after a long day, a night out with friends, or a milestone that you’re celebrating – the bar is for you.

Founders of The Pink Cafe Pinao Christelle Robbetze and Chanelle van Wyk

The Pink Piano Cafe

The Pink Piano Cafe is the brainchild of a mother and daughter, Christelle Robbetze and Chanelle van Wyk, who recognised the need for quality coffee for beautiful salon clients in Gauteng.

With this in mind, they decided to open a small pop-up coffee shop for the convenience of regular clients. Without any experience, they are still learning day by day.

With its stylish pink interior and warm, friendly atmosphere, the eatery located in Benoni has become a popular spot for locals to catch up with friends or grab a quick cup of hot chocolate or a decadent slice of cake.

The coffee shop is pet-friendly and if you are looking to host a kitchen tea or baby shower, you won’t be disappointed.

Chef and owner of Splat Neha Valjee. Picture: Neha Valjee Instagram

Durban

Splat

Splat restaurant in Glenashley is an expression of all fabulous experiences in one. Having travelled around the world, and indulging in cooking courses in many countries, qualified chef and owner Neha Valjee always dreamed about owning a personal space where she could shine on a platform to express her colourful cooking experiences.

It was not long after leaving school that she explored her first culinary adventure and opened a pure vegetarian, home-based food company called The Hunnie Pot.

Here she was able to experiment with flavour profiles, spice combinations, and customer enjoyment. After completing a few degrees and an extreme career change, she decided to convert her side hustle into a formal qualification.

After completing an international cooking certification she was ready to explore the food-tastic world of restaurants and that is when Splat was born.

Nqobile Mthembu of Madam & Sir. Picture: Picture: Nqobile Mthembu Linkedin

Madam & Sir

Located in the heart of one of Durban’s trendiest streets, Florida Road, Madam and Sir is an upmarket contemporary casual dining restaurant with a tastefully vibrant aesthetic, friendly service, and a deliciously diverse menu.

Run by Nqobile Mthembu, a marketing strategist turned interior designer, the restaurant’s menu is designed to be a celebration of food, a celebration of diversity, and a celebration of life.

It is a full-service restaurant that opens at 7.30am for breakfast and serves lunch and dinner until it closes. The lunch and dinner menu offers a delectable combination of light meals, grills, seafood, and the ever-so-loved sushi.

Mthembu said designing restaurants for her is what led to the opening of the restaurant.

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