Global influences pulse through the heart of Cape Town; you don’t need to travel to Valencia to enjoy paella with the perfect socarrat or visit San Sebastián for pintxos – Regent Street has it all. Owned by brothers Sean and Gavin Binder, Qué Linda Restaurante is inspired by traditional Spanish cuisine and is the latest locale to join Sea Point’s vibrant culinary scene.

Qué Linda Restaurante

When the Binder brothers met head chef Dian Botes – who previously worked under renowned chef Liam Tomlin at Chefs Warehouse Pinchos – and discovered their shared appreciation for Latino culture and cuisine, the vision for Qué Linda unfolded. From Galician-style octopus to Catalan-inspired escalivada, the menu takes patrons on a tour of Spain’s treasured flavours. Like the cuisine, the interiors are refined yet relaxed, elevated without being pretentious, creating a space for people to socialise and dine intimately.

Since the restaurant opened its doors three months ago, we spoke with co-owner Gavin Binder and head chef Dian Botes about the inspiration for Qué Linda, balancing authenticity and innovation, and sampling copious amounts of Albariño to curate the ideal wine list.

Pictured bottom: Qué Linda head chef, Dian Botes.

What was the inspiration behind the restaurant?

GB:  The inspiration for Qué Linda came about through different factors. One of them was the many years that I spent travelling through Latino and Spanish-speaking countries. When I came back to South Africa, I noticed that there were gaps in the local market. The beauty and the vibrance of the Spanish cuisine fit in with where this area [Sea Point] is going; there are lots of new, exciting, restaurants and food-related businesses around. In our opinion, there was also a big gap in the market in terms of traditional tapas, where not many people were doing it and our head chef, Dian, has a lot of experience in that.

Qué Linda also came about as a continuation of our other restaurant, Una Más, which is a Mexican restaurant. A lot of the Latino cuisines connect and all stem from a similar source, which is ultimately Spain. When Dian joined us, his passion for Spanish cuisine was evident, so when we saw that this beautiful space was available, we envisaged this Spanish restaurant and what it could become, and everything fell into place.

Why ‘Qué Linda’?

GB: Qué Linda roughly relates to ‘How beautiful,’ and it’s mostly a term of endearment. But if you see something that you love, you may say ‘Oh, that’s cute,’ or ‘That’s beautiful!’ The other reason is that our (my and my brother/business partner, Sean) mother’s name is Linda, which coincidentally means ‘beautiful’ in Spanish.

Qué Linda recently opened its doors; what has the public reception been like thus far?

GB: The feedback has been extremely positive. There are always areas to improve – which we embrace – not only the menu but the space itself needs to grow into its ultimate self. It’s still a baby at this stage, but we are very happy with the development at this point, and we are excited to see where we will be in the next few months with summer on our doorstep.

DB: We constantly want to be better and to create new and exciting dishes and experiences. As Gavin said, constructive criticism is always welcome. We are not Spanish; this is our interpretation, so if a Spanish person walks in here and says we need to do this or asks where’s this at, we change it up, play it by ear, and see what the crowd wants. That’s the fun of it – always being innovative. I hate being stagnant.

Pictured left: Qué Linda head chef, Dian Botes.

The menu features contemporary Spanish cuisine; how do honour authentic flavours and traditional dishes?

DB: There’s a lot of research that has to be done, and trial and error. I’ve gained knowledge from my time at Chefs Warehouse Pinchos and my travels to Spain, where I explored Barcelona and all the Basque countries. Spanish is such a big explosion of flavours and it’s a vast cuisine, but if you make sure that you are following the guidelines of what Spanish food is all about, then I think you can nail it every time.

What are the most popular dishes at Qué Linda?

DB: I think the most popular dish is the paella. We actually had to buy more paella pans to cater to the demand. We do a paella for four and a paella for two; you can also finish a paella for two on your own. People love the patatas bravas as a sharing side. We also have the pintxos of the day and the pan con tomate. (The amount of tomatoes that we’ve sold out of this kitchen is astronomical!) And then, let’s not forget about the cheesecake, because we heard it’s really good as well.

You’ve curated a special wine list. Can you tell us more about it?

GB: The wine list took a while to compile; myself and my girlfriend, Deborah, who has a fantastic palette, tasted a lot of wine over the last year. I’m not complaining – the majority of it was exceptional, particularly the Spanish grape varietals. They are incredibly delicious; many are understated in South Africa, despite being grown and produced here, which beautifully encompasses the ideals of what we’re trying to do with the cuisine at Qué Linda. The concept is similar – Spanish food made in South Africa by South Africans. The more we tasted the wine, the more we realised how dynamic the South African wine industry is at the moment, and we didn’t want too many recognisable wines. The wine list is mostly South African at this stage. The intention is to have a wider variety of Spanish wines and sherries. We’ve kept it more South African at this stage because of the abundance of delicious local wines, but we have your Grenaches and Albariños. There are unbelievable amounts of delicious Spanish varietals, and we’re just touching the surface of it.

DB: It’s a rabbit hole and if you climb down it, it’s almost impossible to get out of it. There are some good local wine farms that produce some of the best wines in Grabouw and Swartland; we try to get those small farms and the unknown ones onto the map. It’s what we’re trying to do with the food – bring the farmers into play, where we work with the heirloom tomatoes and the Padrón peppers and introduce different ingredients. We don’t want to do things the orthodox way; we want to go against the grain. If people come in here and ask for Sauvignon Blanc, it’s up to us to introduce them to the Albariños from Spain, and ask ‘Have you tried this?’

You own another restaurant, Una Más. Besides the food offering, how is it different compared to Qué Linda?

DB: Una Más is a hip, fast-paced restaurant. It’s about a 40-seater; the amount of food that we send out is astronomical – we do about 250 tacos on a good night! It’s like walking into your abuela’s house; you can sit wherever you want, as long as you have a booking. It’s basically a ‘mi casa es su casa’ vibe; everyone comes together and enjoys street food.

What we wanted to accomplish at Qué Linda was to take similar elements that we love about Spanish cuisine, and feature vibrant dishes like tapas and pintxos, but create a refined dining experience, with the wine adding an element of relaxation. We offer good cocktails as well, that’s based on Una Más’ menu, but we wanted to have two distinct establishments. Una Más is for those who want that hustle and bustle atmosphere, where they can go in for a quick tapas or a taco, whereas Qué Linda caters to patrons who want an extended dining experience and to taste the different parts of Spain, from the Valencian-style Paella to the Galician-style Pulpo octopus. We wanted to make this more elevated, while infusing elements of liveliness, with the salsa dancing in our courtyard and the lounge and bar area.

The Cape Town food scene is always evolving; how do you keep patrons enticed?

GB: From my point of view, the Cape Town restaurant industry is evolving socially – especially post-COVID, where we see people reconnecting with their love for food. Dining has always been a social practice, but over the last couple of years, it’s combined that social, fun element with gastronomy. Cocktails are a perfect example; why not have excellent cocktails at a restaurant? Why go to a wine bar to have excellent wine? Obviously, at Qué Linda, there’s more of an association with wine, but it all relates to the same thing – keeping customers enticed. We try to combine the social element with a great space and a great atmosphere, and that really pulls everything together.

DB: We also try to be open-minded and stay current with trends. We don’t bandwagon each trend, but the restaurant industry is constantly evolving – whether it’s new equipment or techniques – so research and development is essential, as well as listening to what the crowd is saying. We’ve got the pintxos of the day that we are playing around with, so we bring out new flavours every day and figure out what people like and dislike. While we focus on Spanish cuisine, we are never limited; we explore regional specialities and add our unique interpretation to certain dishes. Recipes are standardised, so it’s up to you to put love into what you make. That’s how we keep people coming back – by being innovative, being flexible and giving them what they want.

They say you shouldn’t do business with family; how do the Binder brothers make it work?

GB: I’m fortunate to have a very good relationship with not only my brother but my family. Sean and I have worked together in past businesses quite successfully and we have different strengths; he handles the marketing, while I handle the day-to-day operations. We don’t want to rest on our laurels that we know exactly where the business will go – we want to be flexible. One of the most important factors is trust. At the end of the day, I would rather have someone that I trust than anyone else, and that’s what I have with my brother.

What do you hope customers will experience at Qué Linda?

GB: The hope and the intention behind Qué Linda was something similar to an all-encompassing experience – the welcoming atmosphere, the comfortability, the delicious food, the friendly service and the amazing wine list. All those things combined will hopefully create an experience and a moment that people want to revisit. The fundamentals will always remain, but every night is somewhat different – the music changes, the people change, and so do the pintxos. We hope they feel the excitement!

To make a reservation at Qué Linda, book via Dineplan, send an email or call +27 78 184 3354. Location: 39 Regent Road, Sea Point, Cape Town | Open from Tues to Sun 12h00–late 

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