To some, Belmond Mount Nelson has a rarified air that makes it seem untouchable.

I’ve flown close to this bright spark through the years, and have yet to be burned (except with the rather dour state of the hotel room coffee stations). In my ‘Nellie’ experiences, I have witnessed how its halls, suites, restaurants, and very grounds become a living stage where generations and shifting tastes dally and parry.

Fortuitously, the city that this hotel calls its home is in another golden moment, by the way.

A new wave of restaurants (and markets) is defining the city’s culinary personality once again – some thoughtful, ambitious, and confident without being loud.

With Belmond’s latest dining offering, once again, tradition is giving way to a menu that’s intriguing and hospitality that’s quite decadent.

WELCOME TO AMURA

Chefs of the Cape have become synonymous with one image these last few years: shoreline foraging for our feasts. Belmond, though, has decided to add a relatively new face to the local arena and ensure words like “fresh” and “sea” circle back to their latest casual fine dining restaurant, AMURA. The ‘Chef of the Sea’ moniker that three Michelin star chef Ángel León holds under his Aponiente in Cádiz, carries beautifully to AMURA restaurants’ aesthetic, approach, and food & beverage menu – rather delightfully in fact.

Under AMURA’s seascape design (from the imaginarium of award-winning designer Tristan du Plessis), guests are challenged to not only try something new, but rewrite any taste categorisations they previously had, under new preferences, because even the Martini you knew is shaken up under the sea chef’s purview.

THE FOOD

It would have been so easy for Chef Ángel León to simply transplant his famed Spanish menus to this Cape Town restaurant and call it a day, as Spanish bar snacks alone would have been well-received. He chose to be transportive, though – taking diners across the seven seas to edible sunken treasures (even sea rice) whose flavours he’s lifted further without compromising their essence – and guests get to indulge ‘under the sea’ without having to fork out a boon.

A few standouts from my lunch:

Garum-cured scallop
Thin, translucent, impossibly delicate – the sort of dish that rewards a slow bite and a quiet moment taking in those delicate flavours and textures.

Plankton risotto
Not at all designed as a gimmick, but a green, deeply savoury (and salty) bowl that feels like a tide pulling you toward another spoonful. I am enamoured!

Tuna rib
Rich, meaty, and genuinely unexpected. It’s proof-positive that the kitchen’s philosophy balances precision with nourishment.

The wider menu stretches comfortably: oysters, abalone, tartare (definitely give it a try as it’s accompanied with a herb escabeche), coastal Cape greens, and other dishes structured to please the diner who wants refined technique and the diner who simply wants a satisfying, flavour-forward meal without pretence.

There’s spectacle in their food here, of course – no Belmond eatery is without a little razzle for the purse full of dazzle guests bring. However, the food is largely thoughtful, generous, and surprisingly accessible for those who aren’t naturally seafood loyalists (must try the ‘chorizo’ comprised entirely of seafood).

Even the warm house bread was memorable. For me at least, it is the kind of detail that often foreshadows the integrity of the courses to come.

THE DRINK

AMURA understands its area code, truly honours its ingredients, and gives guests a reason to settle in, stay longer, and plan a return visit – all this before they’ve even left their table.

The non-alcoholic and cocktail lists, for example, have a sense of play to them (sea plant infusions, for a start,  and even an olive-and-lemon spritz) that’s so in line with the Cape Town clientele, and it succeeds without losing composure.

The Islay Sky, particularly if requested to be served over crushed ice, is a smoky-cool companion to the seafood-led lunch; Its one of those unfussy, refreshing sips that can be a nod to island drinking culture too.

The wine guidance from the in-house sommelier is another highlight of this Belmond experience. Allowing a professional (particularly the hilarious & experienced character at AMURA) to match your plate pick with the right bottle – housed in an enviable wooden wine library – remains one of dining out’s small luxuries, and it pays off.

If you’re thinking of choosing only one, the Remhoogte Honeybunch is a reliable, expressive pick that lifts the menu beautifully without leaving too heady an aftertaste across your palate.

VERDICT?

I believe that AMURA is not trying to reinvent seafood for the sake of novelty.

This Belmond restaurant is offering something more rare: meals that stay with you long after the afternoon has folded into evening.

Where the beloved ‘Pink Lady’ has historically leaned into classics and traditions without too much jarring deviation, AMURA signals a shift: not away from elegance, but toward a contemporary, more articulate, and quietly confident culinary identity that feels both grounded in Cape Town and intriguingly global.

The interior design too, steps away from starchiness and dives fully into the waters of vibrant earth tones, bronze, rattan, and gripping textures formed into trendy designs sure to go the distance – curated choices among verdant plantlife, that have people running their hands over banquet cushions, partitions, tabletops, etc.

Floor-to-ceiling elements play with light in a way that makes midday dining feel unhurried. Delight in how the soundscape is controlled (despite being in the centre of the bustling Mother City), and enjoy the entire rhythm of the restaurant, feeling like it’s made for long lunches and leisurely bottle orders.

Even if a failure could be found among the food & beverages (none so far), AMURA’s triumphs begin with its locale, sashays to success with the rich thematic immersion of its restaurant’s entrance, defines its thesis with the sheer scale, elegance, and magical interiors, and then takes an award-winning bow with its hospitality and price point.

Arrive straight from a pool lounger or from a gallery opening and feel equally at home dining solo, or having a meeting ‘under the sea’.

AMURA will become the kind of restaurant one returns to for a particular dish, a particular wine, or simply because it sits exactly where the city (and global culinary trends) is going.

By my recommendation: AMURA

Mount Nelson, A Belmond Hotel, 76 Orange Street, Gardens, Cape Town

restaurantreservations.mnh@belmond.com

Tel: +27 (0)21 483 1000

Lunch: 12–3pm | Dinner: 7–11pm