Owner, Mpho Phalane, a former advertising account manager and self-taught chef, started Food I Love You as a catering company and pop-up restaurant at Victoria Yards in east Joburg. As Phalane explains: Food I Love You was born “after I finally answered the question to myself of what truly made my heart sing… hence the name Food I Love You”. 

The menu is a thoughtful blend of Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and African influences, and features seasonal produce. Phalane's food is beautiful to look at, and the taste matches up. There is always a sense of abundance in the way she serves it – favouring harvest table style, something she describes as a "a feast for the eyes”, with every ingredient given a stage and bold flavours aplenty. 

The setting of this restaurant is full of atmosphere – part of the Old Fort and prison complex at Constitution Hill, a key site of memory in Joburg.