COY
A brand hidden in plain sight
The ocean has a voice.
COY sits in the V&A Waterfront with Table Mountain as backdrop — hidden between million-dollar yachts and working fishing trawlers. It is the second restaurant from award-winning Chef Ryan Cole, recently crowned South Africa’s Restaurant of the Year at the 2025 Eat Out Woolworths Awards with a Three-Star rating.
Cole, the 2023 Eat Out Chef of the Year, has spent over six years perfecting his voice. At COY, that voice is quieter. More assured. Unapologetically African.
A location that tells two stories
Many have walked past this spot. Few noticed it. That was the point.
The Bascule Bridge swings open. On one side, luxury. On the other, labour. Cole, raised in a family of fishermen, understood immediately. COY does not demand attention. It earns it.
The dark interior, with KT Interiors — uses blackened wood and amber accents that frame the mountain instead of competing with it. In the V&A Waterfront with Table Mountain as backdrop is not just a line. It is the entire argument.
Understated fine dining. African at its core.
Cole calls COY “the cool younger sibling” of Salsify. The menu explores African produce and forgotten ingredients: ancient grains, samp, fermented amadumbe sourdough, bokkom, alongside coal-seared tuna and braaied kingklip. Sustainability is not a marketing line. It is the line.
Redbeerd’s work: the brand behind the hidden gem
Redbeerd partnered with Chef Ryan Cole to bring COY to the world, without shouting. Our work included branding strategy, logo development, illustration, and a visual and verbal language that is quiet, curious, and deeply rooted in place.
The COY brand does not need to roar. The view does that. The chef does that. Our job was to step back, so everything else could step forward.
The evolution of Cape Town dining
COY embraces understated power. Our work reflects a vision: African culinary heritage, ocean generosity, local fishermen, and a meal cooked with fire, served with humility, and eaten with a view that stops time.
Growing an industrial icon
