- Tjing Tjing and Mochi Mochi, iconic Japanese-inspired spots in Cape Town, will close on 18 April after 15 years.
- The restaurant, founded by Ilze Koekemoer, gained fame for its unique design, Japanese street food, and lively atmosphere.
- Koekemoer told News24 Food that the closure marks the end of a natural cycle.
After 15 years of operation in the Cape Town city centre, the multi-level Japanese-inspired restaurant Tjing Tjing and its sister café, Mochi Mochi, are closing their doors in April.
Since opening in 2011 at 165 Longmarket Street, Tjing Tjing has been a fixture of Cape Town’s restaurant scene.
Founder Ilze Koekemoer tells News24 Food that the decision to close is a conclusion of the business’s natural lifecycle.
“It’s actually been 15 full years of trade this March, so closing Tjing Tjing is definitely emotional,“ Koekemoer said. ”It’s been such a big part of my life, a place where I’ve shared countless meals, conversations and memories, and met the most interesting people.”
The restaurant will continue trading as usual until 18 April.
‘Incredibly exhilarating’
Tjing Tjing earned a reputation as one of Cape Town’s most distinctive hospitality spaces.
Set in a narrow townhouse with distinct levels, from the intimate ground-floor dining room to the lively rooftop bar, the restaurant blended Japanese-inspired street food, craft cocktails, and indie-electronica playlists to gain a cult following among locals and visitors.
“Watching talented chefs and bartenders doing what they do best, the music playing, the buzz in the room, and seeing guests really enjoying themselves,” she said. “A restaurant takes on a life of its own when everything is happening at once. It can feel chaotic, but it’s also incredibly exhilarating.”
Koekemoer explains the closure is not due to crisis or financial shock, but because the timing felt right.
“There’s nothing dramatic behind the decision,” she said. “After 15 years, it felt like the right moment to end this chapter.”
Like many long-running hospitality ventures, she notes that restaurants often operate in cycles, requiring reinvention every few years.
“Tjing Tjing has always been a passion project and very much a creative outlet for me,” she said. “Reaching this milestone felt like a natural point to step back.”
After 15 years Tjing Tjing on Cape Town’s Long Market Street will close its doors.
When Tjing Tjing first opened in 2011, Cape Town’s Asian dining landscape looked very different from today.
At the time, Japanese and broader Asian dining in Cape Town was still limited, but the city’s food culture has changed significantly since then.
“There’s something magnetic about Japanese culture, the attention to detail, the aesthetics, the sense of ritual, and those qualities translate beautifully into food and hospitality,” Koekemoer said.
“Today the landscape has expanded enormously. Cape Town diners are far more curious and adventurous than they were 15 years ago.”
Not going quietly
Koekemoer’s hospitality career began unpredictably with Dear Me, a café once on the building’s ground floor.
“I’ve always been drawn to creating spaces and experiences,” she said. “Back then, as a customer, it bothered me that most kitchens wouldn’t swap ingredients or adjust dishes for dietary needs, which wasn’t common like it is today. Dear Me grew from a desire to shape something I’m passionate about.”
Tjing Tjing House was conceived as a layered, Japanese-inspired experience across multiple spaces within one building, each with its own distinct character.
Mochi Mochi, meanwhile, emerged more organically from within the restaurant.
“Our head chef Adri Morel returned from a trip to Japan determined to recreate her version of the mochi she experienced there,” Koekemoer said. “We were serving mochi at Tjing Tjing long before the café existed.”
What started as a menu addition grew into a pop-up, then a dedicated café.
“Mochi Mochi has always been the sweeter, younger sibling in the family,” she said. “It’s playful, colourful, focused and very creative, whereas Tjing Tjing is bigger, busier and a bit more chaotic.”
Because both businesses share the same production kitchen and team, Mochi Mochi will close alongside the restaurant.
For now, Koekemoer says there are no immediate plans for a new concept.
“We’re taking some time to reflect and think about what might come next,” she said. “Right now the focus is simply on enjoying these final weeks and saying thank you to everyone who has been part of the journey.”
Trading continues until 18 April.
“We’re not going quietly,” Koekemoer said. “For the next six weeks, our house is open exactly as you remember it.”
