Utopia Cape Town — Restaurant in undefined

Utopia is an aesthetically stunning restaurant with breathe taking views. Unfortunately my friends and I were unable to experience the so called elevated dining experience due to been mistreated by the Manager and waiter. We chose to leave and spend our money on a establishment that discourages passive racism and classism. We were party of 8 young people who booked a table to celebrate my friends birthday. My first opinion upon arrival to Utopia was a relaxed ambience with background music,vibey atmosphere with background chatter. The host pointed to our booked table for us to join our party not escorting us to to the table which one would expect from a so called fine dining establishment. Nothing formal which further cemented this relaxed casual ambiance.

After 15 minutes at our table while laughing and chatting like most normal people do at a restaurant a waiter approached our table. The waiter tapped my friend on the shoulder and asked him,' Are you happy? Keep it down!' and walked away. We were all so shocked and disgusted at the manner in which this waiter spoke to us as if we we raucous drunk children. Thereafter a man who we later learnt was the manager Frikkie positioned himself right next to our table like a security guard glaring at us when we laughed in conversation. It was now clear the waiter was sent by Frikkie. Unfortunately we started to feel uncomfortable with this situation and offended by the way we were being treated.We agreed to request to speak to Frikkie asking him whether he had a problem with our table and further addressed our concerns with the manner the waiter spoke to us. Frikkie was defensive and explained that this establishment is a romantic setting. He further indicated that the place is hollow and the noise echos causing disturbance to other guests. This was surprising because the guests around us were all pleasant ,laughing and speaking casually. Infact we could not even properly hear Frikkie during conversation due to the other guests talking. We pointed this out to him and asked him.if he will approach those tables too. His response was that the other guests level is acceptable and ours was not. If this establishment does not cater for larger groups this should have been communicated when we reserved this table and paid a hefty deposit. Noise is subjective and people speak and laugh differently. The only conclusion I can derive from this experience is that Utopia does not cater for guests who celebrate with laughter and light conversation. Furthermore I will note that we were a group of people of colour and all guests around us where not.

Utopia reeks of passive racism and classism at its peak.

Utopia is stiff and unwelcoming. The restaurant is not inclusive and diverse. Frikkie the manager not once tried to rectify the matter and ask us to stay. He was very happy that we were leaving which confirms that we were not the right 'type ' for this restaurant. If you are a guest who loves to be schooled by the white man and placed in a politically correct box then this place is for you.

I can get beautiful views anywhere and I will take my money to a place...

I recently visited "Utopia Cape Town" to celebrate my wife's birthday and had an experience that left me with a bag full of mixed feelings. The restaurant offered an array of dishes that ranged from exceptional to quite underwhelming, making it a bit of a rollercoaster ride in terms of satisfaction.

Let's start with the highlights - the tasting menu was an absolute delight. Each dish was meticulously crafted and left a lasting impression. The flavors were on point, and I couldn''t have asked for a better culinary experience. Moreover, the thoughtful birthday message added a personal touch that was greatly appreciated, earning a solid 5/5 rating.

Moving on to the Asian-style chicken starters-perfection. The flavors, the tenderness, everything was spot on, making it a solid 4/5 experience. The calamari starter was also a hit, meeting the mark precisely as requested, delivering a satisfying 4/5 rating.

However, the journey took a detour when it came to the rib-eye steak. Despite my request for a medium-rare rib-eye steak served on a cold plate, the initial serving arrived well-done and served on a hot plate. Upon requesting a correction, the replacement steak arrived as desired but fell short on several fronts. It was marred by an excess of untrimmed fats, and the presentation paled in comparison to the initial serving, leaving a disappointing aftertaste. Accompanying this disappointment were a handful of chips, which, instead of the anticipated house-made chips with parmesan and spices, resembled Mccain's frozen ones with a mere dash of seasoning-quite far from expectations.

Overall, the experience at "Utopia Cape Town" was decent, save for the steak mishap. While the tasting menu, Asian-style chicken, and calamari were highlights, the letdown with the steak and side dish significantly impacted the overall experience, leading to a rating of 2.5/5.

It's clear that the kitchen excels in certain areas, but consistency across all dishes remains a challenge. With a bit of attention to detail and consistency in delivering dishes as requested, this restaurant has the potential to elevate its overall...

We celebrated our dear friends birthday last night and did so at Utopia. We were a table of 8. My wife and I got the early, to enjoy the views before sunset and had good service during this time. The rest of the guests arrived and we started catching up before ordering our meal and there were many laughs. The place was fully booked and there was background music along with a general "buzz" in the place. As the night ensued, I was approached by a waiter who abruptly asked me to keep it down. We then had a floor manager that was standing a meter from our table basically watching us. We then decided to call the manager, Frikkie and asked what the issue was and he said someone had complained that we were too load. So while it is not unreasonable to expect a certain ambiance in an establishment like Utopia, we adhered to the sound levels that we had been hearing all night. Frikkie said that our table was in an area of the restaurant that was a bit hollow and had a bit of an echo. So if thats the case, then why place us there? Frikkie said that we have to remember this is a romantic place. Then why take a table of 8??? I informed him that all his points are subjective, and that he could not bring objective fact to us and therefore we were feeling "othered" and objectified and through the process of trying to talk to him, he did not seem to be understanding us or acknowledge what we were trying to convey. We then told him that we would like the deposit returned and we would be leaving without having order any meals. Frikkie did not even try and apologize and try keeping us there. We then spoke to Washington, another manager who assisted us with the deposit process. Washington was a star and immediately understood our points, apologized and ensured us, that our table was not load at all, compared to the noise levels already audible in the place. We then left to another spot in Bree and had the best time ever! Unfortunately, I will never return to Utopia with their typical old school approach to service and handling people....