Cape Malay kitchens, braai smoke and cold Atlantic seafood.
Free cancellation on most tours, with live prices on the partner's site.
Cape Town eats on three axes at once. In Bo-Kaap and Athlone the Cape Malay kitchen turns out bobotie, lamb bredie, samoosas and Sunday koesisters, a cuisine built by enslaved cooks from the Indonesian archipelago and Bengal and kept alive through the District Six removals. On the Cape Flats the fire does the work: shisanyama butcheries in Langa and Gugulethu grill what you have just bought, and Athlone still argues about who makes the best Gatsby. Then there is the coast and the farmland behind it. Snoek comes off the boats at Kalk Bay in winter, crayfish in high summer, and the Winelands and Constantia send wine and produce into the city from under an hour away. The chef-owned rooms on Bree Street and in Woodstock sit on top of all of it, and the good ones know it.
Day trip · 8 hours
Experience whale watching in Hermanus, visit African penguins, and enjoy wine tasting in the scenic Hemel-en-Aarde Valley on a full-day Cape Town coastal adventure.
Guided tour · 9 hours
Embark on a full-day safari from Cape Town to Aquila Private Game Reserve. Spot the Big Five, enjoy a buffet breakfast and lunch. Enjoy stunning views of Dutoitskloof ...
Day trip · 8 hours
Start with a convenient Pickup from your Hotel Accommodation before Embarking on a Safari from Cape Town to Aquila Safari Game Reserve. Enjoy a buffet lunch, spot the ...
The plates that define eating in Cape Town.
A full Portuguese roll split lengthwise and packed with slap chips, a hot filling and achar, then cut into wedges for a table to share. Cape Town's own sandwich, and still cheapest where it started.
Where Super Fisheries, Golden Dish, West Coast Fisheries
Taste itToboggan Park & Authentic Gatsby Food Experience$129Where to eat Gatsby in Cape Town →Spiced minced meat with dried fruit, baked under a set egg and milk custard with bay leaves pressed into the top. Served with turmeric rice, chutney and sambals rather than gravy.
Where Karibu Restaurant, Bo-Kaap Kombuis, The Fireman's Arms
Where to eat Bobotie in Cape Town →Cape Malay spiced dough balls, deep-fried, dipped in boiling syrup and rolled in desiccated coconut. Sold on Sunday mornings in Bo-Kaap, and not the same thing as an Afrikaner koeksister.
Where Bo-Kaap Deli
Where to eat Koesisters in Cape Town →Thin pastry triangles filled with spiced mince, chicken or potato and deep-fried to order. South African samoosas run smaller than Indian ones, which is why they are sold three to a bag.
Where Biesmiellah, Muizenberg Flea Market
Where to eat Samoosas in Cape Town →A spiced tomato, carrot and bean relish spooned beside stiff maize porridge, and the standard pair of sides at any Cape Flats braai. Good cold the next day, which is half the point.
Where Rands
Where to eat Chakalaka and pap in Cape Town →Butterflied chicken grilled hard and painted with a garlic, chilli and lemon oil until the skin blisters. Cape Town's Afro-Lusitanian standard, usually ordered with chips and a bottle of the sauce.
Where Petiscos, Dias Tavern
Where to eat Peri-peri chicken in Cape Town →A handful of the places we send friends to when they are in Cape Town.
Kloof Street House fills a candlelit Victorian home in Gardens, Cape Town, with Mediterranean plates carrying a Cape twist and live jazz over Sunday lunch.
OrderMoroccan-spiced lamb rump with tahini dressing
Mama Africa on Long Street in Cape Town serves plates from Nigeria, Ghana, Zambia and the DRC, with a live marimba band and drummers most nights.
OrderSmoky skewered goat layered with peppers, with pap and spinach on the side
Bukhara on Church Street in Cape Town has run a North Indian tandoor kitchen since 1995, best known for its butter chicken and its lamb rogan josh.
OrderButter chicken with tandoor-baked naan
Addis in Cape on Loop Street, Cape Town, has served a communal Ethiopian spread since 2007, with injera, doro wat and a traditional coffee ceremony.
OrderDoro wat with a double order of injera
Yindee's cooks tom yum, green curry and pad Thai in a Victorian house on Kamp Street off Kloof Street, Cape Town, with a floor-cushion room for groups.
OrderTom yum goong with extra chilli on the side
Willoughby & Co at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town takes no bookings, drawing a queue for its crispy rice sushi and grilled saikyo miso salmon.
OrderCrispy rice sushi topped with spicy tuna
The grid between the harbour and the mountain, where Bree and Loop Street carry most of the city's chef-owned rooms and late bars.
Best for: Chef-owned dinners, Cocktails, Coffee
Also: Foreshore
Pastel terraces on the slope of Signal Hill, and the home of the city's Cape Malay kitchens. Come for koesisters, samoosas and lamb bredie.
Best for: Cape Malay, Samoosas, Koesisters
A small grid of cobbled lanes above the docks, dense with wine bars, small plates and terraces that fill from five in the afternoon.
Best for: Wine bars, Small plates, Brunch
The residential shelf under Table Mountain. Kloof Street is its spine, and it runs on all-day cafes, neighbourhood bistros and small wine bars.
Best for: All-day cafes, Bistros, Wine bars
Also: Tamboerskloof
The old industrial belt east of town, where warehouse kitchens, roasteries and the Saturday market at the Old Biscuit Mill sit among the workshops.
Best for: Markets, Roasteries, Modern South African
Also: Salt River, Observatory
A long Atlantic promenade with the city's densest strip of everyday eating behind it, from kosher delis to late-opening noodle counters.
Best for: Delis, Late night, Seafood
Also: Mouille Point
Gatsby
A full Portuguese roll split lengthwise and packed with slap chips, a hot filling and achar, then cut into wedges for a table to share
Bobotie
Spiced minced meat with dried fruit, baked under a set egg and milk custard with bay leaves pressed into the top
Koesisters
Cape Malay spiced dough balls, deep-fried, dipped in boiling syrup and rolled in desiccated coconut
Samoosas
Thin pastry triangles filled with spiced mince, chicken or potato and deep-fried to order
Chakalaka and pap
A spiced tomato, carrot and bean relish spooned beside stiff maize porridge, and the standard pair of sides at any Cape Flats braai
City Bowl
The grid between the harbour and the mountain, where Bree and Loop Street carry most of the city's chef-owned rooms and late bars
Bo-Kaap
Pastel terraces on the slope of Signal Hill, and the home of the city's Cape Malay kitchens
Gardens
The residential shelf under Table Mountain
Woodstock
The old industrial belt east of town, where warehouse kitchens, roasteries and the Saturday market at the Old Biscuit Mill sit among the workshops
A sample of Cape Town hotels from our booking partner, who list 33,931 here. Live prices and availability open on their site.
Once in Cape Town
Located in Cape Town (Cape Town City Centre), Once in Cape Town is within a 5-minute drive of Long Street a...
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Cape Town Micro Apartments
When you stay at Cape Town Micro Apartments in Cape Town, you'll be in the suburbs, within a 10-minute walk...
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Cape Town Lodge Hotel
A stay at Cape Town Lodge Hotel places you in the heart of Cape Town, steps from Bo Kaap Museum and 4 minut...
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Road Lodge Cape Town International Airport
Located in Cape Town, Road Lodge Cape Town International Airport is within a 15-minute drive of District 6 ...
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Never at Home Cape Town
Located in Cape Town (Green Point), Never at Home Cape Town is within a 15-minute walk of Cape Town Stadium...
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Cresta Grande Cape Town
Located in Cape Town (Cape Town City Centre), Cresta Grande Cape Town is minutes from Africa Centre and St....
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Flintstones Guest House Cape Town
When you stay at Flintstones Guest House Cape Town in Cape Town, you'll be near the beach and 7 minutes by ...
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Cape Town Hollow Boutique Hotel
With a stay at Cape Town Hollow Boutique Hotel, you'll be centrally located in Cape Town, steps from South ...
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Protea Hotel Fire & Ice by Marriott Cape Town
Protea Hotel Fire & Ice by Marriott Cape Town is centrally located in Cape Town, a 4-minute walk from Long ...
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Protea Hotel by Marriott Cape Town Tyger Valley
With a stay at Protea Hotel by Marriott Cape Town Tyger Valley in Cape Town (Eikenbosch), you'll be within ...
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Fountains Hotel Cape Town
With a stay at Fountains Hotel Cape Town in Cape Town (Cape Town City Centre), you'll be steps from Adderle...
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Premier Hotel Cape Town
With a stay at Premier Hotel Cape Town in Cape Town (Sea Point), you'll be within a 5-minute drive of Cape ...
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Also compare: Booking.com in Cape Town · Expedia in Cape Town
Stays are listed by our booking partners, not editor picks. We earn a commission if you book, at no cost to you.
Every restaurant, cafe, market and bar we cover in Cape Town, pinned. Click a pin for the page.
Peak food season: November to April for markets, stone fruit, crayfish and long outdoor lunches. May to August is the snoek and bredie half of the year, and the best time for a table at short notice.
Local dining hours: Breakfast 07:00-11:00. Lunch 12:00-15:00. Dinner 18:30-22:00, with most kitchens taking their last order around 21:30. Many City Bowl rooms close on Sunday or Monday.
Tipping: Service is not included. Ten to fifteen per cent in cash or on the card machine is standard, and a party of six or more may see an automatic service charge on the bill. Car guards get R5 to R10.
Cape Town's signature dishes include Gatsby, Bobotie, Braaied snoek with apricot glaze, Koesisters, Cape Malay chicken curry. See our signature dishes chapter for where to eat each.
TableJourney editors map Cape Town by district. City Bowl, Bo-Kaap, De Waterkant, Gardens are among the strongest for food, each with its own guide.
Editor picks in Cape Town include FYN, La Colombe, Pier, plus the full fine dining chapter on TableJourney.
TableJourney covers 10 editor-picked food tours in Cape Town, with what each shows you and how much to budget.
TableJourney's Cape Town dietary chapter covers vegan, vegetarian, gluten_free, halal, kosher venues, each editor-picked with what to order and how to ask.
