In the world’s top restaurants, an excellent dining experience happens long before a guest is served their meal. It starts at the door with the welcome, and the atmosphere, service, and décor all play a part in satisfying the contemporary diner’s needs.

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In South Africa, restaurants are redefining what it means to host, weaving an understanding of these needs with operational precision to create moments guests remember long after the bill is paid. Four front-of-house (FOH) managers share more about the work that goes on behind the scenes of some of South Africa’s most celebrated dining experiences.

The power of teamwork

For Derrick Marais, manager at Eat Out star restaurant Upper Union in Cape Town, stepping into hospitality was a case of mother knows best. It began as a gentle nudge after high school, and 21 years later, it has become his life’s work. Derrick believes that teamwork is essential in creating the moments that define a great Upper Union experience.

Derrick Marais

“I don’t think there is ever going to be a perfect service,” he says, “but a great team can make magic happen in the most challenging circumstances. When the team realizes that someone needs assistance and they jump in and help them through, I think that’s perfect.”

Behind the scenes, Upper Union’s culture is built on respect, communication, and camaraderie. Daily training and briefings involve everyone, from Executive Chef Amori Burger to scullers and housekeeping, ensuring the entire operation moves as one. But what defines the team, Derrick says, is how they treat one another. There is always space to talk, to ask for help, to laugh, and to share the load.

“When the team is happy, that happiness spills onto the floor and a happy team means happy guests.”

Sometimes, happiness looks like kneading dough at 10 p.m. One summer night, a guest arrived hoping for the restaurant’s beloved kubaneh bread, but the kitchen had run out.

“Chef Amori and I literally started from scratch,” Derrick recalls. Fresh bread, warm from the oven, was hand-delivered before dessert. “They opened the bags immediately and ate it at the table. That made everything worth it.”

For Derrick, this is the heart of hospitality: not the flawless execution of service steps, but the emotional imprint left behind. “Guests want to feel welcomed, cared for, and missed since their last visit. That’s what keeps them coming back.”

Precision, presence, and the pursuit of seamless service

For Pierre Broodryk, general manager at COY (winner of the Eat Out VISI Style Award for 2025), his relationship with hospitality started with a love of good food and sneaking small sips of his grandmother’s wine. After taking a gap year and then waitering at an Italian family restaurant, he realized that he wanted a career not just in food but in service as well. Now he is helping Chef Ryan Cole, of Salsify and COY, and his team bring an elevated dining experience to the V&A Waterfront eatery.

Pierre Broodryk

“What I have come to realize over my 15 years in hospitality is that every service is different. You can never be perfect, but you can certainly try your utmost best to work toward as close to perfection as possible. A ‘perfect service’ to me is a service where communication and teamwork are on point.”

Pierre trains his team through clear communication and constant refinement of awareness. Before each service, the team is briefed on special occasions, birthdays, anniversaries, critics, high-profile guests, or intimate dinners, so that everyone understands the tone required.

The focus is on striking the delicate balance between attentiveness and discretion. Learning to sense that distinction, and to adjust their presence accordingly, is a skill that develops through practice, guidance, and daily reinforcement.

COY is lucky to have not just one food lover working in front-of-house but two. Working alongside Pierre is restaurant manager Jemma Aldworth.

Jemma Aldworth

“Hospitality combines creativity, people, and real-time problem-solving, which keeps me on my toes. I started out in the kitchen, but I was quite young and immature at the time and struggled a bit with the industry. After stepping back and re-examining my approach, I joined Salsify (COY’s sister restaurant) as a hostess and very quickly realized this was what I wanted to do.”

She describes the perfect service as seamless.

“I often use the metaphor of being in the driver’s seat of a luxury car: you’re driving guests to a destination, and at no point should they remind you about a missed turn or a flat tire. We should anticipate their needs and ensure they arrive at their ‘destination’ having had a completely seamless journey—giving them the best chance to be present.”

For Jemma, FOH leadership is far more than logistics or running the floor. It’s storytelling, culture-building, and shaping the emotional tone guests take home.

“FOH managers carry the restaurant’s narrative, absorb the behind-the-scenes pressure, and create the conditions that allow chefs and staff to shine. Ultimately, it’s about how we make people feel.”

When efficiency meets creativity

Marble Hospitality’s Nathalie Human blends sharp efficiency with natural creativity, setting the standard for the restaurant’s signature service. Nathalie, who has worked for the group in Johannesburg and Cape Town, is currently the front-of-house manager at Marble Cape Town.

With an honours degree in fashion retail and design management, she notices every detail and brings them to life through the energy and warmth of hospitality.

Nathalie Human

“The hospitality bug bit because there’s nothing quite like putting a smile on someone’s face, making a birthday feel special, or seeing a function you’ve planned for months finally come together,” she says. “Front-of-house lets me stay creative while making guests feel welcome and at ease in a space that can sometimes feel intimidating.”

“Operational efficiency is your foundation, but it should never overshadow the human side of hospitality,” she explains. “That’s the difference between simply serving and truly hosting.

“Anticipating a guest’s needs and adding those extra touches creates moments they’ll never forget—moments that make them feel at home and keep them coming back.” For Nathalie, some of those guests have even become friends for life.

Warm and attentive, Nathalie shows that great hospitality doesn’t just run smoothly; it feels effortless.

The human touch

Solly Mmethi, restaurant manager from CYRA in Johannesburg (Eat Out Best New Restaurant for 2025), understands the importance of people  – diners and staff  – and their role in creating a great front-of-house experience. This love for people extends to creating the perfect service at CYRA.

Solly Mmethi

“I define a perfect service as being proactive, which means anticipating guest needs before they even ask. It should also be seamless and hassle-free, which means getting everything in order before the service starts. Ultimately, our effort is not only about service, but about building relationships with our customers so they can feel at home.”

CYRA coaches front-of-house staff through role-play exercises almost daily and daily briefings to prepare the team for a smooth operation.

“Teach your team to observe typical behaviour patterns of clients and even colleagues. It helps you notice a shift from a person’s normal behaviour, like when a vocal person becomes quiet, which may mean something is wrong.”

Solly loves the social connection that comes with working in a restaurant.

“For me, the most important part is meeting new clients and learning about cultural differences. The hospitality industry is full of opportunities for one to grow both personally and professionally. You get to meet people from all around the world, and you learn about their culture. It also teaches you how to solve challenges on the spot and pushes you to develop skills you never expected to learn,” he says.

When hiring for front-of-house, Solly looks for genuineness and attitude, a positive mindset, and a natural smile. Clear communication and attention to detail are also important.

“To nurture these traits, we share guest feedback and areas for improvement during daily briefings. We empower through recognition and acknowledge staff who go above and beyond. We also retain talent by offering growth opportunities.”

The invisible work that makes a restaurant extraordinary

Modern hospitality is about more than just carrying plates. The front-of-house leader is a coach, a psychologist, a strategist, a storyteller, a calm in the storm, and the keeper of a restaurant’s soul. They navigate everything guests don’t see, including managing team morale, last-minute crises, perfection under pressure, the weight of reviews, and the relentless demands of consistency.

What keeps them coming back is the people, the teams they love, and the guests whose lives they touch, often in ways neither side fully realises.

Because the art of hospitality is simple: make someone feel seen, make them feel welcome, and make them want to return. In South Africa’s best restaurants, that art is alive and thriving.

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