IT'S not easy being a South African restaurant guide editor, given how brief the lives of many of the restaurants are, especially in the cities.

But three main guides are soldiering on, with two having hit on the most sensible way of dealing with the fluctuating restaurant scene: a web site version, with continual updates. And the online (and offline) feast doesn't end there - see further below, as well as in the box on the right.

Eat Out styles itself as "the restaurant guide of SA". Edited by Abigail Donnelly, the magazine – on sale in bookshops throughout the year - lists hundreds of restaurants across the country, in big cities and tiny dorps, with brief descriptions of each, and contact details. The Eat Out web site goes further, with customer reviews as well.

The 2002 edition won two major awards: the Sappi Pica Award as the best annual consumer directory and the Ad Mag Award as best lifestyle publication.

The 2003 edition is due out in December, when presumably the web site will also be updated.

This is probably the best of the guides if you're looking only for the best restaurants, not just somewhere you can find a pizza without having to drive too far. There are more than 100 restaurants listed – but nowhere near the hundreds listed in the other guides – and all are the best in their category.

The 2003 edition of this excellent guide should be in the bookshops. It is also available through online retailer Mags at Home.

In addition, Wine Magazine regularly puts up the restaurant reviews featured in the magazine - and allows you to search its reviews database by category or area.

News in the restaurant world is covered by several magazines – Style, Femina, House and Leisure among them – but the best by a long shot is Food and Home Entertaining. Features focus on new restaurants likely to be successful – or at least to stay in business until the next edition – chefs, and food trends in South Africa and abroad. There is no web site yet, unfortunately.

A firm called A&C Maps publishes well-designed special interest maps – arts and crafts routes, Africana, pink, weekends away, among them – and restaurant maps for Cape Town and Johannesburg. They can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , and the maps, which seem to cover the territory well, can be picked up free of charge at participating restaurants.

FOOD24
Includes a collection of over 10 000 recipes. The site is completely searchable and allows you to store recipes in your own online 'recipe book'.

Showcook
Web-based magazine carrying articles about food in South Africa and abroad, including book reviews and recipes.

Diners Club SA
Use the handy restaurant search function to locate an eatery you already know or search for somewhere new and exotic.

Dining out
A guide to Joburg's restaurants with menus for over 750 restaurants online.

Eating out
A searchable restaurant guide for all food types.

Confrerie de la Chaine des Rotisseurs
Site of the international society devoted to fine dining. Lists events of the various baillages, or chapters - there are four in South Africa. These gatherings are usually black-tie dinners at top restaurants, but are occasionally more informal events.

South African Chefs Association
Mainly for professional chefs and restaurateurs. Offers links to chefs' associations worldwide, a job site with posts in South Africa and overseas, a list of industry events and food festivals, and pages by a range of chefs, most with recipes.

Traditional South African Recipes
Traditional South African and African recipes are offered on this site, which comes complete with a photo of the eponymous Pete, who looks like a Limpopo Province game farmer. There's also a newsletter.

Homesick South Africans
Another site for expatriates. Among its offerings are recipes for biltong, including drawings and measurements for making your own biltong box. If that's too arduous, there's information on where to find the stuff overseas.