Marble restaurant review - Johannesburg, South Africa

Located in the centre of Johannesburg’s Keyes Art Mile, a new luxury design and lifestyle hub, Marble has fast become one of the city’s most buzzed about dining spots, equally distinct for its collaborations with South African artists and artisans as it is for award-winning chef David Higgs’ creative reimagining of wood-fired cooking.

The result is a space that is more of a destination than a restaurant, with a theatrical open kitchen pulling in local crowds. The menu’s fire theme crosses over into the decor — masterminded by interior decorator Irene Kyriacou — which local creatives have interpreted in a range of ways; from the wood-fired wall tiles by Mervyn Gers to ceramic dolos by artist Peter Mthombeni. Elsewhere, leather-upholstered banquettes are interspersed amongst marble tables and sit beneath photography by Cape Town artist Krisjan Rossouw.

And then there’s Higgs’ menu. Led by the national penchant for cooking on open fire - or a braai - the offerings focus on South African cuisine prepared on a grand wood-fired grill, imported from Michigan, in an open kitchen that offers diners a front row seat. We suggest booking a lunch-time spot by the window, where views of the city, all the way to Magaliesburg, can be enjoyed while tucking into dishes such as the perfectly prepared rib-eye with bone marrow, or lamb cutlets with chimichurri.