Ouzeri included in the World’s 50 Best Discovery list

Nic Charalambous and his team at Ouzeri have been included into the World’s 50 Best Discovery list, part of the in-depth collection of city guides. 

There are now 31 destinations in Cape Town in the guide (including restaurants such as Tokara, Salsify at the Roundhouse, Fyn and Aubergine), eight in Johannesburg and Pretoria (including Marble Restaurant and Embarc) and Klein Jan at Tswalu in other regions. 

More than 500 new venues were added to the platform last month, and more than 100 cities and towns are represented on this guide for the first time, spotlighting dining, drinking and travel destinations around the world. 

Each venue, including Ouzeri, is selected after receiving a certain number of votes that create 50 Best world-leading global and regional lists. 

Opened in 2022 and inspired by the lively bars of Cyprus and Greece, Ouzeri is a trendy yet traditional Cypriot-Greek restaurant in Wale Street in Cape Town, just off the Bree Street hub. Charalambous says this achievement reflects their dedication to creating an authentic experience for our guests. “From our humble beginnings as a pop-up experience to this incredible milestone, it’s really been a journey of passion and perseverance”. 

Natasha Sideris, founder of the hugely popular Tashas Group, is his business partner and has been providing funding and “minimal guidance. Nic has done this on his own and I can’t take any credit for the food”, she says. 

Charalambous worked for Sideris as a chef in her Greek restaurant in Dubai. “I recognised his incredible talent and his hard-working attitude, so when he approached me with this concept and a request to mentor him and later become a partner it was an easy yes.” 

As to what sets Ouzeri apart from other restaurants, she says it’s the fact that it’s a combination of a Greek Cypriot cuisine that makes it unique. “You don’t see a lot of Cypriot food. The other thing that makes it unique is the relaxed, laid-back interior with very elevated food, presented in an unpretentious way. The flavours are always on point”.

50 Best Discovery is a reference tool in which more than 3,000 Academy members — who are experts in their local restaurant, bar and hotel scenes — vote for the venues that feature on the platform. 

Charalambous says awards all have their benefits when it comes to marketing and getting your business out there, but it’s more a reflection and a motivator to carry on and it shows that what they’re doing for our customer, the experience they’re trying to give our customers and guests. “It’s a good sense that it’s working,” he says. 

“I think the restaurant has really evolved and grown since we opened. We didn’t open and know exactly what was going to come but we had an idea and we had an authentic, unique space to provide it in and over the last two and half years. The whole experience — the service, style, food, drink, people we’ve been working with — has evolved for the better”. 

A lesson he’s learnt along the way is to allow change to come. “Don’t try rail it back; improve every day and hopefully that’s going to take us further and allow us to get better and better.”

Charalambous says they are exploring growth options and opportunities. “I think a little bit of optimism and forward thinking does help”. He notes that it hasn’t been a linear progression but they’ve evolved, trying to do small things every day that make it better. 

With the latest refresh, 50 Best Discovery now features more than 3,700 hospitality establishments around the world.