This is as close to New York as you’ll get in Cape Town. A tiny restaurant with an amazing Asian influenced menu, including lobster rolls and interesting local sparkling wines and rad cocktails!.
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It’s pricey, and you need to book way WAY in advance. we used to get a booking in 1-2 months, but these days you can expect to wait up to 6 months for a table. But if you’re looking to treat yourself and want to have arguably one of the best meals of your life – save your pennies and find your way in somehow.
Boasts one of the best views in all of Cape Town. Go there for brunch / lunch / sundowners on the lawn (aka the Rambullion), or treat yourself in the fancy restaurant (aka The Roundhouse). note: you’ll need a car or taxi to get there.
Go there for breakfast, lunch or late night drinks. Have the hotdog on the pretzel roll.
Superette recently moved to the Woodstock Exchange, the work & meeting place of many of the city’s creatives. the space is beautiful, the food is good… get there early on a Saturday to beat the crowds for breakfast (and to find parking.)
Hint: order anything that has an Asian flavor. they also have a beautiful deli a bit further down from the restaurant that’s nice for weekend brunches.
The original Yours Truly in Long Street is perfect for a quick (great) coffee and take-away sandwich. they have a second bigger spot in Kloof street that also does pizza nights and serves beer.
Possibly the best eggs benedict in town. and, i’m not a porridge eater, but apparently the sago porridge for breakfast is amazing. Beautiful interior too. They make this almond meringue macaron tart which is amazing, have it with Earl Grey tea.
Lefty’s Dive Bar makes the best ribs i have ever tasted and the best ribs my friends have ever tasted. If you’re after great ribs, pulled pork sandwiches, hamburgers and other sweet, sweet dive bar food – then Lefty’s is where it’s at. If you want to go for dinner on the weekend you had best book a table.
Homemade, healthy food with a calm interior right in the center of town. great for breakfast and a coffee.
Go there for great coffee, bread, croissants, pies, pizza nights, radness. Have the mushroom ragout for breakfast.
Downtown Ramen is located upstairs from Lefty’s Dive Bar. Go into Lefty’s, turn left, and follow the stairs on the right all the way up. It’s styled similarly to other Ramen joints in hip cities around the world – you might find it hard to secure your own table, so expect to share benches. The patrons are cool. super cool. But don’t let that intimidate you, cause the staff are friendly and the ramen is good.
Everyone knows their infamous burger, but you should have the black-forest ham and asparagus sandwich – it changed my life. also any cocktail and the creamery ice-cream or the ice-cream sundae.
The Test Kitchen’s sister restaurant, which moved to its new fancy premises atop the old silo at the Old Biscuit Mill in 2013. go there for lunch on a week day, or for brunch on a Sunday. they do dinners too, but it’s nice to see the view during the day. tapas are to share, so order for the table. have the Thai Green Curry cocktail!!
This grande dame of the winelands has had a recent facelift, with the revamped Werf restaurant & huge vegetable garden being the centre of attention. we visited in the middle of winter, and it seems the crowds had not discovered it yet – as we enjoyed one of the best meals of the year in an almost empty restaurant. i guarantee this will become a place-to-be once the weather warms up, so book a table and go stroll in the garden.
If you’re looking to get out of Cape Town and explore the surrounding wine region, or just want to eat basically the best meal of your life – then you need to visit The Table. Situated on Stellenbosch wine farm De Meye, chef Jessica prepares family style lunches on Saturdays and Sundays. You’ll be served a three-course set menu, but Jessica is so generous with her servings that you probably won’t be able to finish it all. When it’s sunny you get to sit outside under the trees, when it’s cooler you’ll be warmed by an indoor fireplace. Booking is highly advisable.
Go to Bocca for the Italian tapas and genuine Neapolitan pizza. The kind of place where the entire table shares a meal. They don’t take reservations, so get there early if you’re a bigger group – otherwise they have plenty of counter space for couples.
Ff you ask anyone in Cape Town where to get a good burger, they would tell you to head to Junior. It’s kind of like Shake Shack, if we have to make comparisons.
A beautiful interior and equally beautiful food. Giulio’s has Italian roots, and it shows in the fresh buffalo mozzarella and wonderful Italian style buffet which is available at lunchtime. Their breakfasts are great, too.
The Shortmarket Club is the baby sister (or cool cousin, or whatever) to the Test Kitchen and the Pot Luck Club. it’s more of a bistro fare, with a modern twist (read: kind of expensive). The food is delicious and the setting is really wonderfully designed. It’s a treat for a date night or if you just want to impress someone.
Chef’s Warehouse does the best tapas in town, at the best value. Go there and have the tapas platter for two (and make sure you are hungry, as the servings are generous). they also have an awesome kitchen shop attached. my top 5 places to eat in Cape Town, for sure.