Does your restaurant have great Waiters and excellent service? Enter the Waiter of the Year 2025 Challenge to recognise waitstaff as service professionals for the first time.

Restaurants and diners are encouraged to nominate their best Waiters and Restaurants for the inaugural Waiter of the Year 2025 challenge, which gives Waiters and great service a platform to shine in a competition for the first time.

ANNOUNCING WAITER OF THE YEAR 2025

Good food, great wine and excellent service go hand-in- hand, to give restaurant guests a memorable dining experience that keeps them coming back for more. Waiter of the Year 2025 celebrates the Waiter’s art and skill in delivering the great service that is the true meaning of welcoming hospitality.

Waiters are the unsung heroes of the hospitality industry, delivering the great service that is the major component of the guest experience in restaurants. Yet, while Chefs, Baristas and Bartenders have many opportunities to shine in competition, Waiters have up until now been left out in cold.

We are now sounding out the call to recognise Waiters as valued service professionals, and to celebrate great Restaurant service, in the inaugural Waiter of the Year 2025 challenge.

The format of Waiter of the Year 2025 allows restaurants to nominate their best waitstaff AND their restaurants for the Best Restaurant Service award. Diners are also able to nominate their favourite Waiters and Restaurants, plus rate the service they receive in-store, and vote for the winners.

The competition will run from April to November, with regular announcements of provincial and regional finalists, culminating in a shortlist of finalists who will stand in line to win Waiter of the Year 2025.

AWARD CATEGORIES

Waiter of the Year 2025 takes place in three categories:

  • Fine Dining
  • Casual Dining & Coffee Shop
  • Franchise & QSR

A total of 20 awards will be given, including the Best Restaurant Service of the Year Award. There will be cash prizes, as well as hampers and trophies.

AWARDS LIST

A total of 20 awards will be handed out at the finals, as follows:

Awards:

  • National Waiter of the Year
  • Fine Dining Waiter of the Year
  • Casual Dining Waiter of the Year
  • Franchise & QSR Waiter of the Year
  • Runners-up 1, 2, 3
  • Provincial Winners 1-9
  • Best Restaurant Service Award
  • Waiter Wine Service Award
  • Waiter POS Star Award
  • Best Restaurant Waiter Uniforms

The convenor of Waiter of the Year 2025, and publisher of SA Restaurant magazine, Hilary Ward, says: “It is high time that Waiters were recognised for the valuable contribution they make to the success of restaurants, whether fine dining restaurants, casual dining, coffee shops or QSRs.”

“Waiters are the first point of contact with diners and tourists, and in the case of both foreign and local tourism act as ambassadors for our country and its wonderful travel destinations. I think we underestimate the skill, diplomacy and professionalism it takes to be a really good Waiter.”

Waiters are also an important conduit between the diner and the kitchen, bar, front-of-house and back-of-house. While Waiters cannot directly control how quickly food comes out of the kitchen, or how promptly diners get bill, or their cappuccino or glass of wine, they take the frontline responsibility for a seamless dining experience.

“This takes real teamwork and diplomacy with the chefs, baristas, bartenders and cashiers. When things go wrong, Waiters get the flak from customers, and have to have the diplomacy to resolve the problem, while not necessarily having the authority to do so,” says Ward.

Waiters must also be familiar with the menu and winelist and have the product knowledge to upsell, to be able to give diners information about ingredients and allergens and wine pairings, and so much more.”

Their skill in operating point-of-sale POS and payment systems in an increasingly technology-rich restaurant environment is also becoming an increasingly important skill.

“South Africa has easily some of the most friendly, cheerful and pleasant Waiters in the world—which is so incredibly important. But we have deliberately not included an Attitude award, as we want Waiter of the Year 2025 to focus on recognising Waiters as service professionals, with real skills and knowledge. Service with a smile is an important, but not sufficient criteria for excellent service, says Ward.”

“We encourage restaurants to subscribe to SA Restaurant magazine, so that when entries open they are immediately eligible to enter. This is a POPI requirement and facilitates communication as the competition progresses.”

Restaurants and diners can go to www.sarestaurantmag.co.za to subscribe, and follow news and information updates. Also follow Waiter of the Year 2025 on Facebook and Instagram.

Contact:
Hilary Ward
082 330 1981
hilary@rbmag.co.za