An exploration of the Western Cape with Urchin Restaurant at Hyatt Regency Cape Town

 

Urchin Restaurant, housed within the Hyatt Regency Cape Town, has entered a new chapter under the vision of Head Chef Marcus Gericke. Known for his thoughtful approach to local ingredients and his celebrated global career, Gericke has reimagined Urchin as an honest expression of the Western Cape, embracing source, terroir and heritage.

“Urchin has always been about connection to source,” says Chef Marcus Gericke. “This season, we have evolved the menu to tell a deeper story of the Western Cape through dishes that hold a sense of place, memory and the people behind every ingredient.”

Recognised as Global Chef Africa & Middle East 2022–23, awarded the Fine Dining Lovers Food for Thought prize for his dish Remembrance (Quail Consommé) at the San Pellegrino Young Chef Academy 2020–21, and crowned South African Chef of the Year 2024, Gericke brings world-class skill paired with a deeply personal narrative.

To shape the new menu, Gericke and his team embarked on a 1,627-kilometre journey across the province, from Kalk Bay’s fishing docks to the wide plains of the Karoo, along the Garden Route and back to Cape Town’s Bo-Kaap. Along the way, they spoke with farmers, butchers and home cooks, discovering the traditions, seasonal wisdom and flavours that define the region.

The result is Journey, a nine-course homage to and interpretation of the road trip that shaped this menu.

The homage to quintessentially Cape-inspired cuisine begins with Voorhappie, where snoek meets mebos and curry leaf, a dish born from early-morning trips to Kalk Bay, where time spent with Aunty Ashmita and choosing the freshest catch becomes a ritual of sea-to-table simplicity. Next comes freshly baked bread, paired with jam, farm butter and fragrant fynbos oil, inspired by the oldest recorded recipe for brown bread from Stellenbosch and enriched by Urchin’s beloved sourdough starter, Pete, who has been nurtured for 20 years. The Beginbord follows, featuring sweet, succulent crayfish with lemon garlic sauce, paying tribute to the unspoilt shores of Paternoster, where keeping things simple and elegant felt essential.

 

A cold starter of pickled fish, radish, flowers and Cape Malay sauce showcases a cherished local tradition, its spicy, acidic and fresh flavours balanced with finesse. Then comes the warm comfort of braised oxtail with samp and fynbos atchar, a stew that speaks to South African homes

year-round while introducing a touch of brightness.

For the main course, Karoo lamb chops are flame-grilled in true braai tradition, paired with onion, coriander and a rich tomato bredie sauce, with pickled onion for balance and fresh coriander for lift. Before dessert, a playful prelude arrives in the form of milk tart with vanilla and vrugte ysblokkie, uniting cultures and memories in one nostalgic bite.

The finale celebrates the Western Cape’s love for warmth and comfort with malva pudding, sago and custard, presented anew while honouring its stalwart status. And before you hit the road, we send you off with a sweet padkos selection of peppermint crisp tart, hertzoggie and klapperys, a small taste of home to carry with you long after the journey ends.

Each course champions sustainable sourcing, a plant-forward ethos and respectful use of seasonal produce.

For a slightly more relaxed experience, Urchin also offers the Navigator Menu, a curated journey through the Cape’s beloved flavours in an à la carte format. Drawing inspiration from towns such as Kalk Bay, Paternoster, Elgin and District Six, the menu highlights regional favourites like cured fish with avocado and spring onion, fragrant lemon-butter prawns, slow-cooked egg with sweet potato and warm malva pudding with brown butter custard. Designed to be approachable yet refined, the Navigator Menu invites guests to taste the Cape in a way that’s unhurried, generous and laid back.

Urchin’s evolution is palpable. The refreshed dining room is polished yet unpretentious, with an intimate warmth that encourages conversation as much as quiet ceremony. The spirit of the team’s Western Cape road trip lives on the walls through striking large-scale photographs of moments and landscapes captured along the journey that inspired the menu. Wines are chosen with the same consideration, deepening the expression of terroir.

There is a collective of excellence at every touchpoint of this project. The team spearheading the Our Journey menus at Urchin have stepped confidently into a new era of identity. For those already familiar with the space, there is a palpable refinement, a sharper sense of character and contemporary dining, delivered with focus and poise. For travellers and newcomers discovering the menu for the first time, it serves as an inspired introduction to the Cape, told with craft, confidence and conviction.