Iris Restaurant first opened its doors in 2007 to improve the quality and variety of foods available at The University of the Western Cape. At the time, Iris Wu (the owner of Iris Restaurant) was still a student and the restaurant was presented to her by the University of the Western Cape. As time progressed and the restaurant became popular, Iris decided to ensure that the restaurant obtained a license to serve Halaal food to better serve the campus society. To this day, the aim of Iris Restaurant has always maintained an ethos of serving customers at every opportunity.