The original returns, with two exciting new restaurants at 91 Bree Street.
Going back to the roots of his super-successful Chefs Warehouse, feted chef Liam Tomlin has brought a new vision to the heritage building on Bree Street. Outside, the familiar charcoal-and-red signage of the original Chefs Warehouse & Canteen reflects a welcome return to form. Upstairs, a brand-new restaurant, Merchant Bar & Grill, brings a new dining experience to the first floor, while the rooftop bar and terrace has been transformed into a dedicated events space, Room 91.
“In this heritage building that we love and now know so well, on this street that means so much to us, we are creating completely new big city restaurants, that are for today and tomorrow,” says Liam. “They will be less formal, unique and exceptional destinations for diners to experience exciting, fresh and deep flavours, as well as dishes prepared with locally produced ingredients they won’t find elsewhere. It’ll be fun, vibey, speak to food lovers of all ages and is our renewed commitment to the neighbourhood that feels like home.”
Collaborating with Liam on these exciting new ventures are chefs David Schneider (his chef-partner at Chefs Warehouse Maison and The Red Room) and Adrian Hadlow (an accomplished young chef, who has been working in the Chefs Warehouse group since 2022).
Chefs Warehouse & Canteen
The ground floor feels sleek but bursting with urban energy: stone walls, leather chairs and banquettes, a long communal table and individual ones, too. There’s a wood-burning fireplace, and a new central staircase leading up to Merchant, which somehow works beautifully to anchor the space and divide it into more intimate sections.
Here, Liam is reviving the original Chefs Warehouse & Canteen concept (first opened in 2014), both in the edgy informal style and in terms of the fare: the global tapas menu will be available as Tapas for Two or à la carte (where there are plenty of pescatarian and vegetarian options). Liam and David have pored over old notebooks and are rolling out many of the old favourites,
“We want people to come back, close their eyes, eat the food and think that they’ve been transported 10 years back. We’re excited to bring some of those flavours back in a beautiful, complex kind of simplicity” says David.
Merchant Bar & Grill
Climbing the stairs to Merchant on the first floor, the first thing you see is the glass wall of the beautifully stocked larder that is central to its offering. Dedicated to using only South African ingredients, the philosophy is to make as much as they can in-house, using the whole animal, the whole fish, the whole vegetable… and to champion local producers in fresh new ways. David explains, “A merchant is someone who goes directly to the source to procure the best and often the exclusive. In South Africa, we have incredible produce – from meat, game and seafood to vegetables, grains and fruits.”
At the front, with windows looking out over Bree Street, is the restaurant serving a simple but thoughtfully curated tasting menu. At the back, a bar area serving an informal à la carte menu flows into an intimate side room with leather couches.
In the larder we glimpsed home-made charcuterie, pickled waterblommetjies, preserved artichokes, all of which will be the basis of both the tasting menu and of charcuterie platters served on the bar menu. Old-school practises of zero waste, fermentation and preservation, and honouring the whole animal will be fully integrated into Merchant’s modus operandi, with David’s expertise in butchery coming to the fore. “It’s just the way things used to be done,” he says.
Room 91
The top floor, with its roof terrace looking over Bree Street to Lion’s Head and Signal Hill, has been reconfigured as a stylish, multipurpose indoor-outdoor event space, with its own kitchen and menus, available for any private or business occasion: from product launches and business conferences to musical performances and DJs to cocktail parties and weddings, and even film and commercial shoots.
We loved our sneak pre-opening peek at the stunning new spaces and can’t wait to taste the offerings at both exciting old/new additions to Bree Street, in this edgily urban new iteration of a grand old heritage building.
Opening date Chefs Warehouse & Canteen: 7 August 2024
Merchant Bar & Grill: 13 August 2024
Opening times CW & Canteen: Monday – Saturday, 12pm – 9.30pm
Merchant Tuesday – Saturday, 5pm (bar) 6pm – 9.30pm
Contact 021 773 0440
Where to find it 91 Bree Street, Cape Town
Book through DinePlan
Discover all of the Cape’s hidden gems – subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
