Last Monday, we were still in Cape Town ?, with a day to go before we had to head back home. In case you hadn’t worked it out already (from my previous blog post or my Instagram account), we heart Cape Town. It’s our fave city in SA, and this last stay there was way too short. *sigh*

On Monday evening we had gone in search of supper, and found a long queue of people waiting outside one of the restaurants in V&A Waterfront. I didn’t even look at the name of the place, because I wasn’t keen on a long wait. We took a walk one floor up, and a little while later, Shawn (who was quite curious about what it was everyone was queuing up for) looked down and saw that the line was a bit shorter, so we decided to give it a shot. Zee looked down too, spotted sushi (she is her mother’s child) and went, “ooh sushi! Are we going there?” ?

The clearly popular restaurant turned out to be Willoughby & Co.

Since opening in 1996 Willoughby & Co has offered its guests a full Japanese culinary experience. Head Asian chef, Sam, and his dedicated team have continued to create new and exciting dishes. Through these creations thousands of patrons have been introduced to fusion style Japanese cuisine, for which Willoughby & Co has become world renowned.

We only waited about twenty minutes – while trying the red wine we were offered (just Shawn and I; Zee’s slightly under age for wine) – before being seated. This is us looking pretty pleased about our relatively short wait in the queue.

We let our waiter know that we hadn’t eaten there before, and asked what he recommended. Francis, who is charming and knows the menu well, quickly pointed out a popular dish on the menu – the 4×4 (4 pieces rainbow reloaded, and 4 pieces spicy creamy rock shrimp roll). He told us that the 4×4 was the reason there’s always a long queue of poeople everyday. Zee didn’t need any help, she told Francis she’d have her “usual” – salmon roses. ☺️

The food was fresh and delicious, AND we didn’t have to wait forever for it – how brilliant? The 4×4 was an excellent pick. Thank you Francis! The pics don’t really do the food justice. The sushi pieces are generously sized, and the flavours are amazing. I knew I’d love the rock shrimp roll (and I was right, it was amazing), but the rainbow roll really blew my mind. I’d never eaten such a delectable rainbow roll before! And Zee says her salmon roses were “reeeeeally YUMMY!”

We stuck with sushi for our main, and dug into this sumptuous prawn tempura roll. We were pretty much rendered speechless on the first bite. It was that good! Whatever secret spices and sauces they’re using, it’s working! Every bite is an experience. Seriously, the sushi is so well made, I was a little mad that we’d decided to have dessert before our meal, as I would have gladly ordered and wolfed down more had I not been so full! ?

It’s been exactly a week since we dined there, and I still can’t get over how yum everything was. So now, obvs, we have to move to Cape Town, and explore the rest of the menu. ?

Oh, the work of art below is what the welcome page on their website looks like. I mean, COME ON!! How do you not start drooling immediately?

Willoughby & Co, I’m so happy we found you… we’ll be back.

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