About
Fourteen seats and a decade of unlearning.
PASS opened in 2016 with one idea: that a tasting menu should be examined like a piece of writing, not performed like a show. Everything since has been in service of that line.
The Beginning
Before the pass, there was a garage kitchen and a waiting list of six.
Long before Ferry Lane, PASS ran out of a converted garage seating six, twice a night, cash only, no menu printed in advance. It was a way of testing an idea without the cost of being wrong in public. Three years and one Michelin inspector later, the idea held, and the room grew — but the format never did. Fourteen seats. One counter. No printed menu until the plates arrive.
Recognition
Judged quietly, for a while now.
Since 2019
One Michelin Star
Held for six consecutive guides. Cited for a menu that reveals more with each course rather than repeating itself.
2022 – 2025
No. 34, World’s 50 Best
The only Cape Town kitchen on the list four years running, and the highest new entry the year it debuted.
2023
Chef of the Year
Awarded by the Eat Out National Restaurant Awards, alongside a Diner’s Choice win for Best Tasting Menu.
Chef / Founder
Elian Marchetti
“I don’t want a guest to feel entertained. I want them to feel like they understood something they hadn’t before.”
Elian trained across three continents before returning to open PASS in a converted garage with six seats and no marketing plan. Fourteen years in professional kitchens taught him what to cut; the ten years since have been spent proving the cuts were right. He still works the pass every service the restaurant is open, and still tastes every plate that leaves it.
TRAINED · LYON, TOKYO, NYC
AT THE PASS SINCE 2016
The Team
Everyone at the counter, and behind it.
A kitchen and floor of ten, most of whom have been here since the room had six seats.
Marcus Reyes
Chef de Cuisine
Runs the pass alongside Elian. Nine years in, and still the fastest hands in the room.
Aiko Tanaka
Sous Chef
Formerly of a two-star kitchen in Osaka. Responsible for every fermentation on the menu.
Priya Naidoo
Pastry Chef
Built the final course from scratch three times before letting it stay on the menu.
Julien Foret
Head Sommelier
Builds every pairing from scratch each season. Would rather pour a grower Champagne than a famous one.
Noma Dlamini
General Manager
Knows every regular’s allergy and their preferred seat at the counter. Has never once raised her voice.
Theo Batiste
Maître d’
The voice on the phone when you call for a seat. Also the one who remembers you did.
Familiar Faces
A sitting Michelin inspector, twice — unannounced both times.
A Grammy-winning composer, who asked for the recipe and was politely refused.
Two heads of state, on separate visits, seated at the same corner of the counter.
A three-star chef from Lyon, who came back the following night as a regular guest.
Come see the pass for yourself.
Booked three weeks out, most weeks. Worth the wait.