By any yardstick, Nic Haarhoff and his partners are building a tasty little F+B empire for themselves in South Africa, delivering a well-designed mix of Mexican concept eateries in equally charming settings.
The latest outpost of their El Burro brand is in leafy Newlands, one of Cape Town’s toniest suburbs on the western slopes of Table Mountain. The walls between two adjoining retail shops were knocked down and the entire length of shop front windows replaced by folding concertina windows. The result is an expansive dining room that is lined with recessed arches, and dressed and designed by Haahoff and his partners with light fixtures, horizontal timber slats, and customised furniture, and painted in sectional swatches of sunny yellow, pink and grey.
As with the El Burro Taqueria and the flagship El Burro Greenpoint, the menu here is resolutely Mexican. Executive chefs Reinette Botha and Mariaan Labuschagne send out classic crowd-pleasers like a cerviche of finely diced angel fish marinated with lime juice, coriander, and ginger. The moles are made with 70 per cent organic chocolate and served with a herbed green rice and refried beans, while the marquee attraction – an eight-hour braised mutton flavoured with star anise, cumin, cloves, and cinnamon – is piled into house-made corn tortillas with slaw, guacamole, pickled red onions, and roasted chilli.
ADDRESS
Shop 1
37a Dean Street
Newlands
-
Japan in Milan! See the highlights of Japanese design at Milan Design Week 2025At Milan Design Week 2025 Japanese craftsmanship was a front runner with an array of projects in the spotlight. Here are some of our highlights
-
Tour the best contemporary tea houses around the worldCelebrate the world’s most unique tea houses, from Melbourne to Stockholm, with a new book by Wallpaper’s Léa Teuscher
-
‘Humour is foundational’: artist Ella Kruglyanskaya on painting as a ‘highly questionable’ pursuitElla Kruglyanskaya’s exhibition, ‘Shadows’ at Thomas Dane Gallery, is the first in a series of three this year, with openings in Basel and New York to follow
-
Wallpaper* checks in at Few & Far Luvhondo: an intimate South African eco-lodgeWith just six cliffside suites, Few & Far Luvhondo offers front-row seats to the untamed wilderness of South Africa’s Limpopo
-
The world’s best new hotels that we’re loving without reservationExplore the best new openings in the world, from Orient Express’ La Dolce Vita train and first-ever hotel to Capella’s debut in Taipei
-
Singita Ebony Lodge celebrates 30 years of wild beautySingita Ebony Lodge in Hazyview, South Africa, begins a new chapter with a refresh by Cécile & Boyd
-
A refreshed Cape Grace hotel embraces the best of South African heritageCape Town’s Cape Grace hotel reopens its doors following an extensive and playful renovation by international interior design studio, 1508 London
-
Cape Town: 8 things to do and see for the design-minded travellerCape Town is a capital of art, design, food and wellness; local resident Sean O’Toole on the best things to do and see, from a Bree Street meander to a Constantia wine route
-
Villa One at the One & Only Palmilla — Los Cabos, Mexico -
Martim — Wroclaw, Poland -
Tattersalls Hotel — Armidale, Australia
