FYN — Cape Town, South Africa
Though Cape Town’s latest restaurant tests new territory, FYN is actually the realisation of a space that acclaimed chef Peter Tempelhoff had conceptualised over 22 years ago, when he first started cooking.
Found on the corner of Church Square and Parliament Street in Cape Town’s inner city, the historic Speakers’ Corner location in which FYN sits is a newly restored combination of two separate heritage buildings, built as early as 1898. Having been handed the fifth floor as a blank slab of concrete, Tempelhoff tasked Tristan du Plessis of Studio A to create a hybridised space that blended Japanese and South African influences.
The resulting materials – which centre around ropes, beads, wood and stone – are evident from the second you enter the restaurant. Boasting expansive views over Table Mountain, FYN’s interior is in itself worth marvelling over. An expansive wood-bead roof installation from Christoph Karl floats weightlessly suspended above the kitchen counter, where diners engage in an interactive experience, with servings such as the crispy and chewy rice with white fish, aged soy and wasabi furikake.
In FYN, Tempelhoff compresses an elaborate menu thanks to a kaiseki approach, with small sequenced platings offering three or four courses simultaneously, many of which incorporate varying tastes and variations of the same ingredient, including the unmissable daikon four ways.
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
5th Floor
Speakers Corner
37 Parliament Str
-
How Ichio Matsuzawa designed the almost-invisible bar defining Art Week Tokyo 2025During the art fair’s latest instalment, Wallpaper* met the Japanese architect to explore architecture as sensation, not structure
-
The story behind rebellious New York fashion label-cum-art collective, Women’s History MuseumMattie Barringer and Amanda McGowan’s multidisciplinary label has been challenging fashion’s status quo for the past decade. As they open a new exhibition at Amant, Brooklyn, the pair sit down with Wallpaper* to discuss their provocative approach
-
Mark+Fold Turns 10 with first Shoreditch pop-upBritish stationery brand Mark+Fold celebrates ten years in business with a Brick Lane pop-up featuring new products, small-batch editions and conversations with creatives
-
How Ichio Matsuzawa designed the almost-invisible bar defining Art Week Tokyo 2025During the art fair’s latest instalment, Wallpaper* met the Japanese architect to explore architecture as sensation, not structure
-
In Sou Fujimoto’s far-flung Not A Hotel villa, solitude feels almost planetaryAn underwater sauna, an infinity pool and a circular courtyard garden are just a few of the highlights at Not A Hotel’s latest outpost, on Japan’s Ishigaki Island
-
Check into a new pocket-sized Tokyo hotelSoil Nihonbashi Hotel brings greenery, warmth and a neighbourhood spirit to a quiet corner near Tokyo Central Station
-
Explore Hiroshima through the eyes of those who rebuilt itJapan’s architectural phoenix continues to rise. ‘The Hiroshima Architecture Exhibition 2025’ explores a legacy of memory and modernism across 23 architects and artist groups
-
Will the revamped Park Hyatt Tokyo keep its cinematic soul?As Park Hyatt Tokyo prepares to reopen after an extensive transformation, film fans wonder: will it still evoke Sofia Coppola’s dreamscape?
-
Stay at Patina Osaka for a dose of ‘transformative luxury’ in western JapanFrom nature-inspired interiors to sound-tracked cocktails and an unusually green setting, Patina Osaka is a contemporary urban escape that sets itself apart
-
Tune into the rhythm of Tokyo’s most ambitious record shopVinyl Delivery Service in east Tokyo’s Skwat Kameari Art Centre is spinning a new narrative for the traditional record store model
-
Wallpaper* checks in at Waldorf Astoria Osaka‘It’s rare to work on a brand new hotel of this scale in Japan in today’s landscape,’ says designer Andre Fu about Osaka’s newest luxury hotel. Wallpaper* paid it an early visit