There is something particularly appealing about Restaurant Week: it gives me an excuse to revisit restaurants I already love, while also encouraging me to try somewhere I might not otherwise choose. This spring, PAN Collective has several of its Cape Town restaurants taking part, each offering a very different take on the multi-course dining experience.
From Italian pasta and Japanese-Peruvian flavours to Mexican sharing plates and Korean barbecue, the line-up covers a surprisingly broad range of dining styles. Restaurant Week runs from 25 September to 1 November 2026, making it the perfect excuse to turn an ordinary evening into something a little more memorable.
Scala Pasta: A Table Made For Sharing
My first stop was Scala Pasta / Bar by PAN Collection, where the focus is firmly on the pleasures of Italian dining. The Restaurant Week offering is a five-course Italian experience by Luciano Monosilio, priced at R445 per person.
What I like about Scala is that pasta is treated as more than simply the main event. The experience moves through sharing plates, pasta and dessert, creating the sort of meal that encourages you to linger over the table. The menu includes focaccia, stewed beef meatballs and chargrilled melanzane before moving into pappardelle, rigatoni and spaghetti alla scapece, finishing with a chocolate budino.
It is the kind of restaurant I would happily return to when I am craving comforting Italian food, particularly if the evening calls for good pasta, a relaxed atmosphere and a table full of dishes to share.
Nikkei: Where Japan Meets Peru
At Nikkei Japanese Peruvian by PAN Collection, the mood changes completely. Japanese precision meets the bright, energetic flavours of Peru, with Restaurant Week offering a five-course Japanese-Peruvian experience for R545 per person.
This is the restaurant I would choose when I want dinner to feel lively and unexpected. The combination of cultures gives the menu plenty of contrast, while the sharing format makes it ideal for settling in with friends and trying a little of everything.
Nikkei manages to make the experience feel polished without becoming overly formal, and it is exactly the sort of restaurant that reminds me why Restaurant Week is worth doing: it gives you a reason to try a dining style you might not otherwise seek out.
Hacienda: For Lovers Of Traditional Mexican Flavours
Hacienda was the one Restaurant Week experience that wasn't quite for me. That said, I think this is precisely where being honest about personal taste is useful: what didn't appeal to me will be exactly what another diner is looking for.
The five-course Mexican sharing experience is priced at R445 per person and leans into more traditional Mexican flavours, with dishes including tuna ceviche, lamb shank al pastor, baked gem squash and salmon tlayuda.
If you love Mexican food in a more traditional vein, or you are particularly fond of lamb, Hacienda could be a very good fit. The menu is designed around bold flavours and sharing, so I would especially recommend it to someone who enjoys a hearty, flavour-forward meal and wants to explore a more classic Mexican-inspired offering.
For me, it was a reminder that Restaurant Week isn't about finding every menu universally appealing. It is about finding the experience that suits your own palate — and Hacienda has plenty to offer diners whose tastes align with its menu.
Maru: Turn Up The Heat
I saved Maru Korean Steakhouse for when I wanted something completely different. Its Seoul Fire Korean BBQ Sharing Experience brings Korean flavours and the rituals of a modern steakhouse together, with fire and sharing at the centre of the experience.
There is something inherently social about Korean barbecue. The table becomes part of the meal, and dinner feels interactive rather than simply served to you. It makes Maru particularly well suited to a group dinner or an evening when you want the food to be as much part of the experience as the setting.
My PAN Collective Addition: Iron Steak
One important note: Iron Steak and Bar is not participating in Restaurant Week. I did, however, make a point of visiting to experience its à la carte menu — partly because, having worked my way through the other PAN Collective restaurants, I felt I simply had to include it for the full PAN Collective experience.
And I am glad I did. Iron Steak brings a different energy to the group, centred around premium cuts, fire and the straightforward pleasure of a good steak. It isn't a Restaurant Week stop, but for me, it completed the picture of what PAN Collective does across its restaurants: creating distinct dining experiences that each have their own identity.
Five Restaurants, Five Different Experiences
That, ultimately, is what made exploring PAN Collective such an enjoyable experience. Scala, Nikkei, Hacienda, Maru and Iron Steak each offer something markedly different, proving that there is no single way to approach a restaurant group or a Restaurant Week experience.
My experience wasn't identical at every restaurant — and I think that is part of the fun. Some menus will speak directly to you, while others will introduce you to something outside your usual order. Whether you are craving pasta, Japanese-Peruvian flavours, traditional Mexican food or Korean barbecue, there is a different kind of dinner waiting.
And while Iron Steak isn't part of the Restaurant Week offering, I just had to attend for a wholesome PAN Collective experience. If you're planning your own Restaurant Week itinerary, start with the menu that sounds most like you — and then let curiosity take you to the next table.
Credits
Images: Supplied
