Cape Town is ridiculously beautiful with its towering mountains, winding coastal roads and countless picturesque bays. Due to its location it has long been one of Africa’s main food cities but more recently has become home to a new wave of chefs who have created a booming restaurant scene.
A few notes;
📝 Braai is the South African equivalent of barbecue. South Africans generally use wood and charcoal to cook their meat, wood being the better method because it brings out the best flavours in the meat.
📝 Peri-Peri (South African spelling) is a zesty, tangy, spicy marinade or sauce that goes great with chicken or prawns. Contrary to popular belief, and despite being a big part of Portuguese food culture now, Peri-Peri did not originate in Portugal. I always assumed the Portuguese had brought it over when they arrived in the late 15th century but that was not the case. It actually wasn’t even popular in Portugal until the 1970’s. Peri-Peri is the true South African/Mozambican flavour.
📝 Cape Malay is a cuisine unique to the Western Cape of South Africa which is a fusion of Malaysian, Indonesian and East African cooking from slaves, who were brought to Cape Town by the Dutch in the 17th and 18th centuries. I can see Indian influence in the dishes too.
📝 Cape Town has a great fine dining scene. There are tons of options at pretty reasonable prices. For example, La Colombe has a Michelin Star and has been on the the World Top 50 Restaurants List but is under £65 or £82 for a taster menu.
📝 Drinking; Beau Constantia (winery), Constantia Glen (winery), Publik Wine Bar (wine bar), Foresters Arms (An English style country pub), The Gin Bar, The House of Machines (cocktail bar).
📝 Markets; The Old Biscuit Mill, Oranjezicht City Farm Market
📝 Taxis are cheap but Cape Town is very spread out. It can take an hour to get from top to bottom so costs can quickly add up. Car rental is cheap, as is petrol, so it’s worth getting a car.
📝 Almost anywhere you park (street or carpark) there will be somebody who watches your car to make sure nothing bad happens to it. Always have a wad 10 rand notes on you for tipping.
1. La Colombe
📍Constantia. La Colombe, a Michelin Star restaurant on the Silvermist Wine Estate in the hills of Constantia, that has often been on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. The food is described as contemporary cuisine fusing local ingredients with French flair. The whole meal with a cocktail + service was £63. Incredible. A must-visit.
2. Giovanni’s
📍Greenpoint. A great old school Italian deli and espresso bar. Build your own sandwich with high quality Italian deli meats & cheeses.
3. Kalkys
📍Kalk Bay. Right on Kalk Harbour Front, Kalky’s is one of the most popular fish & chip restaurants in the city. The menu is big here with a wide variety of grilled & fried seafood dishes. The prices are ridiculous cheap too. Expect a queue but it’s worth it.
4. Dias Tavern
📍Zonnebloem. An old-school Portuguese restaurant serving some of the best peri-peri chicken in Cape Town. The sauce here is incredible; zesty, buttery and spicy. They also serve a good Super Bock on tap and have live music in the evenings. The prices are great too.
5. Chefs Warehouse Tintswalo
📍Hout Bay. I love that you can go from a busy city centre to what feels like the middle of the countryside within twenty minutes or so in Cape Town. All the dishes were delicious here. They serve seasonal small plates, great cocktails & South African wines. There are three Chefs Warehouse restaurants in the city; one here (probably the most beautiful of the three), one on a farm and one at Beau Constantia winery. Definitely one to add to your Cape Town hit-list.
6. Fish on the Rocks
📍Hout Bay Harbour. Another popular location for fish and chips. As well as fired hake they also offer some very good peri-peri prawns and fried calamari. Go for all three.
7. Snoekies Hout Bay
📍Hout Bay. Snoekies, another popular fish & chop spot in the city, now have five locations in the city but this is the original. Snoek is a long thin type of snake mackerel found in the Southern Hemisphere. It’s full of bones at weird angles so a bit of a pain to eat. I’d recommend sticking to calamari & hake here unless you want to try it.
🦭 After you eat go for a walk around the harbour to find the man with his pet seal Pappy. Bring cash to tip or fresh fish so he can tempt him out the water. Don’t be afraid to stroke Pappy – he doesn’t bite.
8. Olympia Cafe
📍Kalk Bay. A popular cafe for breakfast, lunch or dinner in Kalk Bay.
9. Beau Constantia
📍Constantia. A beautiful winery and bar with amazing views. They also have a Chef’s Warehouse restaurant here.
10. The Pot Luck Club
📍Woodstock. The Pot Luck Club serves shareable, Asian-inflected plates, broken down on the menu into categories called Salty, Sour, Sweet, and Umami. The chic setting atop a silo at the Old Biscuit Mill also features 360-degree views of the city.
11. Jason Bakery
📍 Green Point. A popular spot for breakfast/brunch or a take-out coffee and pastry. The pastry selection is massive and all look really amazing. The Spanish Benedict in a croissant was really good too.
12. Mariams Kitchen
📍Cape Town City Centre. Mariam’s Kitchen, one of the most popular Cape Malay spots in town, is famous for their Gatsby (sandwich) loaded with your choice of chicken, sausage or steak (I went for steak), French fries, egg & cheese. It’s frickin’ massive. Easily big enough for two. Cape Malay is a cuisine unique to the Western Cape of South Africa which is a fusion of Malaysian, Indonesian and East African cooking from slaves, who were brought to Cape Town by the Dutch in the 17th and 18th centuries. I can see Indian influence in the dishes too. Cape Malay cuisine is particularly popular amongst the Muslim population.
13. Fyn
📍CBD. Lunch at Fyn where Japan meets South Africa. The dishes are very much Japanese, but using South African ingredients. The lunch menu at 1,075 rand (around £48) is slimmed down version of the dinner menu. Fyn is currently ranked at 37 on 50 Best. All the dishes were great but La Colombe is still my favourite fine dining experience in Cape Town.
14. Die Strandloper
📍Langebaan. Ok, not Cape Town at all but an incredible experience. 123km (around two and a half hours) up the coast from Cape Town you’ll find Die Strandloper. A ten course meal here will set you back only 370 rand (around £17). A bottle of the house wine is 100 rand (around £4.50) although it’s also BYOB. Dishes aren’t brought to you by a waiter, but are called out when they are ready for you to collect each course on a paper plate. The food is rustic but it’s more about the experience… Waves lapping in the background as the sun sets, the crackling of open fires whilst the smell of smoke fills the air, seagulls gather to be fed leftovers, and a guitarist performs table-side cover songs. Book ahead over the phone or via email. Bring cash. Remember to bring a jacket because as soon as the sun sets, the temperature dips. Also the toilet situation is portaloos.
James Dimitri 