From concept to collective: Unveiling The Belly Restaurant Group

Neil Swart and Anouchka Horn have established The Belly Restaurant Group. image supplied

Best known for restaurants, Belly of the Beast, Galjoen and Seebamboes, the duo are now expanding their footprint with three new openings in 2026: Buri, Quagga and No Show.

A new kind of restaurant group

At a time when scale in hospitality is often defined by size and standardisation, The Belly Restaurant Group is taking a deliberately different approach.

“When most people think restaurant groups, they think big. We are quite consciously a group of small restaurants, each with a distinct concept,” says Swart.

None of the group’s restaurants seat more than 35 guests, and all are located within a two-block radius in Cape Town’s East City Precinct. This hyper-local clustering has not only enabled operational efficiency, but has also contributed to the regeneration of a once-gritty urban pocket into a vibrant hub of culture, food and creativity.

Fyn crowned Restaurant of the Year at Eat Out Woolworths Restaurant Awards

1 day

From nostalgia to modern South African cuisine

What sets the group apart is its deeply personal approach to food.

Rooted in shared Afrikaans upbringings, Horn and Swart draw heavily on memory by reinterpreting familiar, nostalgic flavours into contemporary dishes that feel both comforting and unexpected.

From reimagined rooi-noodleslaai (commonly known in South Africa as curry noodle salad) to smoked snoek dips and Karoo lamb ribs, menus across the group celebrate South African ingredients with a modern sensibility. The philosophy is simple: bold flavour first, minimal fuss, and no unnecessary complexity.

“We’re not known for foams or molecular gastronomy,” says Swart. “We focus on good ingredients and making them as delicious as possible.”

Sustainability as a business model

Sustainability is not a trend for The Belly Restaurant Group — it is foundational to its operating model.

The group sources all proteins locally and has built strong relationships with ethical suppliers such as farmers and small-scale producers across South Africa. A core principle is whole animal utilisation, ensuring that every part of an ingredient is used across different restaurants and dishes, significantly reducing waste.

This cross-restaurant ecosystem enables a level of efficiency and sustainability rarely achieved at small scale — turning what could be a limitation into a strategic advantage.

Beyond sourcing, the group also prioritises human sustainability, implementing balanced working hours and seasonal closures to support staff wellbeing in an industry known for burnout.

A portfolio built on purpose

Each restaurant within the group serves a distinct purpose:

• Belly of the Beast — the original concept, offering ever-changing tasting menus built on trust and surprise

• Galjoen — a seafood-focused restaurant celebrating 100% locally sourced fish and coastal ingredients

• Seebamboes — a 16-seat experimental space exploring the intersection of land and sea through foraged ingredients

This diversity allows the group to explore multiple culinary narratives while maintaining a unified philosophy around sustainability and storytelling.

Expansion with intent

The next phase of growth introduces three new restaurants, each rooted in the same ethos but targeting different dining occasions.

• Buri (Opening mid-2026): A refined take on South Africa’s iconic boerewors roll, Buri transforms street food into a high-quality, accessible dining experience — casual, nostalgic and ingredient-driven.

• Quagga (Opening late-2026): A bold concept focused exclusively on wild game and venison, Quagga will explore sustainable hunting traditions and underutilised proteins through a multi-course tasting experience.

• No Show (Opening late-2026): The group’s first à la carte offering, designed for walk-ins only. No Show brings the “Belly-quality” experience into a more accessible, time-conscious format — while playfully addressing the industry challenge of reservation no-shows.

From passion project to industry influence

The origins of The Belly Restaurant Group trace back to a series of experimental, one-night-only dinners that Horn and Swart hosted while working together at their earlier ventures.

These events, built on creativity, collaboration and storytelling, laid the foundation for what would become Belly of the Beast, launched in 2018 through a crowdfunding campaign.

Since then, the brand has grown organically, driven not by scale, but by a clear philosophy and strong guest trust.