RESTAURANT REVIEW
THE CABBAGE THAT STOLE THE SHOW
BY KIM KAY
Hidden in plain sight at the V & A Waterfront, COY offers relaxed, African ingredient-led dining built around sharing plates. Expecting meat to dominate, I left with cabbage on my mind...
If you’ ve ever visited the V & A Waterfront with children, you’ ll understand how easy it is to miss what is directly in front of you.
You’ re trying to keep one eye on the boats and another on the kids racing towards the nearest play area. Somewhere in-between, you’ re supposed to admire the scenery, choose somewhere to eat, and keep the whole expedition moving.
That may explain how I managed to walk past COY so many times without stepping inside. Tucked away in its own building, the restaurant doesn’ t compete noisily for attention. It quietly lets the food do the talking.
COY is the second restaurant from award-winning South African chef Ryan Cole, whose flagship, Salsify at the Roundhouse, has become one of the country’ s top fine dining destinations. The COY kitchen is led by co-head chefs
Geoffrey Abrahams and Teenola Govender.
This winter, the restaurant has extended its popular EDIT menu from lunch to both lunch and dinner. It offers a more flexible way to enjoy COY’ s African ingredient-led cooking without committing to the full tasting menu.
If you’ re anything like me and believe the best meals are made up of lots of smaller dishes to share, the“ picky bits” format works beautifully. It’ s my favourite way to eat because you get to taste far more of the menu.
During our visit, I asked Geoffrey and Teenola which dish had surprised them the most by becoming a customer favourite.
Neither chef hesitated.
“ The cabbage.”
I’ ll admit that I wasn’ t expecting that answer.
104 INBOUND SA / AUGUST 2026