It’s been 10 years since chefs, restaurateurs and partners Liam Tomlin and Ivor Jones opened the doors of Chefs Warehouse Beau Constantia, kicking off a decade of bold flavour and creativity just below Cape Town’s Constantia Nek. Since 2016, the restaurant has become iconic in Cape Town restaurant culture: beloved for marrying Jones’ playful approach with elegant culinary execution, bundled with warm and relaxed professional service. Jones, who is now 40, has mentored a generation of young chefs, who’ve worked together to produce outstanding food every day at “Beau”, and are blazing trails beyond.
Jones’ style is one-of-a-kind. He is obsessed with the fresh aromatic flavours of South East Asia, but also brimming with South African nostalgia. Above all, he loves what he does: the cooking, the hospitality and the team.
The restaurant he and Tomlin have created has exceptionally high standards but without the stuffiness. It is a place of tattoos and timbales; an authentic expression of identity executed with masterful technical skill. This is what continues to attract a team – both front and back of house – that want to be part of this vision. For all of this, the restaurant has been rewarded abundantly, with a loyal clientele and numerous Eat Out, Luxe Restaurant and JHP Gourmet Guide awards and a spot on the World’s 50 Best Restaurant Discovery list.
Furthermore, Jones is revered by his peers for his creativity and leadership, having been awarded the Eat Out S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna Chefs’ Chef award several times. Recently, Chefs Warehouse Beau Constantia was voted the Number 1 Restaurant for Dinner by Cape Town by Chefs, an international organisation that awards restaurants recommended by chefs and ranked by votes in major cities.
“The stats in our industry really say it all: 12-30% of restaurants close within the first year of trading, 50% make it past their fifth year,” weighs in Tomlin. “To be celebrating our tenth year at Chefs Warehouse Beau Constantia is not only a great achievement but it also reflects the professionalism and exceptional leadership of Ivor, for setting the bar and surviving all of our industry’s challenges. To Ivor and the Beau Constantia team past and present, thank you and congratulations!”
How It Started
It all began when Tomlin was approached by the owners of Beau Constantia boutique wine farm, Pierre and Cecily du Preez, who wanted to turn its existing restaurant into a culinary destination. An accomplished international chef and restaurateur, Tomlin had made a name for himself in Cape Town doing global Tapas for Two with the original Chefs Warehouse & Canteen on Bree Street. He wanted the Beau Constantia opportunity but knew he couldn’t do it alone.
Jones had been working with Cape Town chef Luke Dale-Roberts for nine years: first at La Colombe, then jumping with Dale-Roberts to his iconic Test Kitchen, which became an internationally celebrated restaurant. By the time he left, he was head chef at the Test Kitchen, and had taken in all he could from his mentor. Dale-Roberts suggested to Tomlin that he chat to Jones, who when approached, thought the offer was a joke.
“I couldn’t believe that Liam, who I had admired for years, was offering me a partnership,” says Jones. “Beau Constantia was the place my wife and I used to go to dream about our future over a bottle of wine. So, Beau was literally a dream come true for me; an opportunity to take what I’d learnt and create something with my own identity. I am and will forever be extremely grateful for Liam’s faith in me.”
How It’s Going
Over the years, Jones has built an extensive repertoire of genre-defying dishes. As a chef, Jones is thoughtful, playful and adventurous, inspired by a cache of memories, taste and travel experiences in Southeast Asia. He’s always looking for maximum flavour, for a new riff on an old classic, for something to make an ordinary ingredient pop or put a spotlight on the unusual.
Some of his iconic dishes include We Eat With Our Hands Tartare, with steamed seed-encrusted amadombolo buns; coal-seared yellowfin tuna with Balinese mint sambal matah, toasted yeast dressing and coconut paper; Siqokelele [meaning We Gather in Xhosa] which is a savoury millefeuille of duck liver parfait, barbequed porcini mushroom emulsion, bramble jellies and other autumnal finds layered with the best of the last season’s preserves; and Yellowtail with BBQ Southeast Asian dressing and frozen coconut.
As part of the original deal with Tomlin, the classics have always remained on the menu: fresh oysters, risotto (ranging from carrot with goats cheese mousse, orange zest and pine nuts, to roasted corn risotto with fermented black garlic and popped sorghum) and Jones’ signature dessert, Wild Honey and Lavender Cream.
“You can say that our success is due to the food, which I’m extremely proud of, but that is only a part of the story,” says Jones. “This business is really about investing in people. Everything we do at Beau is community-focussed, whether it’s our management team, our hard-working crew in the kitchen and the front of the house, our amazing suppliers who go the extra length for us in sourcing unique and exciting produce, the chefs we have collaborated with, and our guests, who make this whole journey possible. We take this community very seriously, while having big fun…I think that’s why it works.”
The Future Starts Now with Winter Lunch and Dinner Menus
Winter means leaning more into slow-cooked dishes and melded flavours that warm and comfort. At Chefs Warehouse Beau Constantia, cooler days mark the launch of the Winter Set Menu, a delicious four-course lunch at an exceptional value.
This year, the menu includes the restaurant’s legendary Coal-Fired Bread and Butter, a choice of Torched Linefish Sashimi, Spiced Coconut and Turmeric Sambal, with herbs and aromatics OR Crying Tiger Tuna, Red Apple and Cabbage Kimchi with Popcorn Cereal Milk; Coal Seared Beef Saam with Flavours of Naam Tok OR Beetroot Tart, Sour Cream and Goats Cheese Dressing with Baba Ghanoush; Braaied Linefish, Confit Leek and Mussel Salad with Champagne Cream OR Thai Roast Chicken, Pandan Sticky Rice, Coconut Naam Pla; and for dessert, Cherry and Rose Geranium Mousse, Hibiscus & Rosé Jelly, Amaretto Foam, Cherry Ice Cream and Coconut Crumb OR Citrus Parfait, Spiced Poached Pineapple, Lemon Sponge, Vanilla Anglaise, Lemon Verbena Frozen Yoghurt and Sunflower Seed Tuile.
The Winter Set Menu is available from Monday to Friday for lunch from 4 May until the end of September 2026. It is priced at R895 per person, and can be supplemented with a wine pairing for R700.
Nighttime at Beau evokes a magical, more leisurely experience that lends itself more to ebbs and flows along with a few surprises. The restaurant’s luxe six-course dinner menu is both an immersive journey and the ultimate showcase of Jones’ out-of-the box creativity, the skill of his team and a close relationship with local small producers, along with an outstanding wine list.
The new six-course dinner menu is served Monday to Saturday evenings, with a Sunday lunch seating also available. The menu is priced at R1500 per person, with the option of a wine pairing at R900 per person. Pescatarian and vegetarian variations of the menu are offered. For daytime service from Monday to Saturday. (closed on Tuesdays during winter months)
For table reservations, book online viawww.chefswarehouse.co.za/beau-constantia. Follow Ivor and Beau’s story via @chefswarehousebeauconstantia.
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