In a small space, a talented team is finding its fine-dining groove – improvising, having fun and creating something fresh.
An understated sign above a small door on Bree Street leads to a dimly lit narrow space. Next door, a MINI Cooper is parked near a gleaming Porsche in a vintage-car showroom window.
At a chef’s counter just inside the intriguing space, chef Ismail Amos, aka “Fish”, says the culinary offering is “omakase-style”. In other words, the chef will decide what you’re going to eat.
With a team of four, Amos creates a series of dishes for the evening’s assembled diners. Business partner and friend, sommelier Lester Riffel, plies them with interesting cocktails, wine, even shooters.
The Wiggle Room team say they want to “adjust preconceptions of fine dining” by having some fun. Riffel looks relaxed in a T-shirt. Chefs wear whites, but their demeanour is casual. The music is commanding, and there’s no printed menu, only a page of stickers and emojis of whatever inspired ideas that week – ours includes Michael Jackson, a sandwich and sneakers. Amos and Riffel know the drill, they’ve both worked in high-end Cape restaurants.
COCKTAILS & CUISINE
“This is our take on a Dark and Stormy.” Mixologist Snow sets down an arrival cocktail with an orange slice. It’s fresh and zingy. Child’s Play by Drake is upbeat. On cue, chefs pick up the pace, prepping the first plates under bright kitchen lamps.
This course is a favourite. Riffel pours Testalonga Baby Bandito Methode Ancéstrale where lean Colombard grapes impressively elevate three “snacks”. Delicate king crabmeat with a hit of Durban curry. Raw tuna tart livened with chive and peas, subtle Indian spices creeping up, a fine leek topping for crunch. And a magnificent brioche slice of creamy smoked blue cheese custard, prune gel and wagyu beef tartare. Umami never tasted this good.
FOOD FRIENDS
With us at the table are Emma and Darragh from Ireland, and Magnus from Norway. They’ve all visited Cape Town before, packing their culinary itineraries with The Pot Luck Club brunches and Belly of The Beast dinners. The Wiggle Room food-and-drinks experience has a super-premium price tag; our dining companions find it “good value” compared to Europe.
The mood is hospitable, like a dinner party where your hosts go to great effort. Hours later we’re chatting and swapping numbers.
There’s a Japanese “clean” aspect to yellowtail sashimi with burnt avo, citrus pearls, fermented kumquat kosho, and pickled radish. To sip, a kumquat cocktail.
Amos worked in Japanese kitchens for two years. Durban-born, he explains his heritage as “a mix of Indian, German, Cape Malay and Zulu”, adding, “There will always be four to six elements from my traditions on the menu.”
Another course pairs Japanese milk loaf with delicate local winter truffle shavings, cured venison slivers and gorgonzola custard. Later, a ceramic bowl reveals a lucky packet of smoked crayfish pieces, German dumplings, and other textural elements, in soup-like parsley sabayon squirted from a siphon. This is fancy food that’s fun too – collectively we’re in no doubt.
Finley Quaye’s Even After All introduces a whole duck smoked with pine needles, steam bringing the drama. It’s taken away and returned in pink slices, with duck croquette, burnt onion puree and delicate pickled carrot salad. When a dessert features Zulu beer ice cream and amasi “pearls”, I overhear a junior sous chef explaining Zulu food traditions to Magnus. It’s a magnificent finale, before the kitchen is cleared.
Service over, Amos and Riffel return to sit and chat.
“My food heritage is mostly Indian,” says Amos. “But my food style is based on French-Asian techniques.” It’s a time-consuming way to cook, coaxing deep flavour from ingredients with extractions, cooking down stocks for hours. “It just elevates the dish. Old styles of cooking – bouillabaisse and velouté and beurre blanc.” Adds Riffel: “We like the fact that we can still make things in the old style.” Amos grins. “Lots of technique. And love.” Yes, we felt that.
A usual Wiggle Room chef’s counter dinner is eight or nine courses with paired drinks at a set price – but more dishes sometimes appear if the team feels inclined.
NEW PLAYLIST, NEW MENU
Music at high volume is part of the menu. “We have a new playlist and new menu every week,” says Amos. So alongside scanning available produce for new dishes, they highlight inspirational tracks. “We grew up with music. There’s no genre we’re specifically going for,” says Riffel.
If it’s a fresh way of running a restaurant, the playful ambience shouldn’t be confused with a lack of intent. Amos made a name leading good kitchens because he’s particular about standards and consistency. “I say to my chefs: your goal is to be better than me.”
So far, the small team has been awarded Luxe Concept Restaurant of the Year 2026 and doesn’t seem to be slowing down. By September 2026, Wiggle Room will have been open for a year. “We’ll have put out 52 menus in 52 weeks,” says Riffel. “Most restaurants change their menus seasonally. So only achieve that number after about 25 years. We scrap an entire menu every week.”
THE WIGGLE ROOM | 61 Bree St | 074 792-5510 | Tuesday to Saturday from 19h00-22h30 for a maximum of 12 diners | @thewiggleroomtm_cpt
IMAGES: Kim Maxwell