40 editor picks in Cape Town.
40 mid-range places in Cape Town, editor-picked. the comfortable everyday-good restaurants in Cape Town, with real cooking and no surprise on the bill. All Cape Town food.
Truth Coffee, co-founded by Andrzej Janik and David Donde, roasts on Colossus, a vintage 1940s Probat, in a steampunk Victorian warehouse in the City Bowl.
TipThe takeaway deli opens just before 06:00 on weekdays for coffee and pastries, an hour before the steampunk cafe itself.
Devil's Peak Brewing Company pours its range at the Taproom in Salt River, Cape Town, from its Lager to King's Blockhouse, with a balcony facing the peak.
TipThursday from 18:00 brings two pizzas and two Devil's Peak Lagers for R320, and the balcony looks straight up at Devil's Peak.
Ferdinando's Pizza fires wood-fired pies in a quirky 70-seat room on Lower Main Road in Observatory, Cape Town, grown from a secret home pizzeria in 2011.
OrderThe Classic Diavola, spicy Italian salami on a Margherita base and the top-selling pizza.
TipTry the signature Turbanite with grilled baby marrow, caramelised onion jam and feta; diners voted the room second in a 2021 pizzeria challenge.
Jason Bakery on Main Road, Green Point, is a Cape Town institution for its bacon croissant and the doughssant, a flavour that changes every week.
TipThe doughssant flavour changes every week and can be pre-ordered up to Friday at 15:00; the bacon croissant is on the counter every trading day.
Espresso Lab Microroasters roasts small boutique batches at the Old Biscuit Mill in Woodstock, a Cape Town fixture known for precise Ethiopian single origins.
TipCome on a Saturday morning and pair a cup with the Neighbourgoods Market that fills the Old Biscuit Mill next door.
Kleinsky's Delicatessen brings New York-style Jewish deli food, bagels and pastrami included, to Regent Road in Sea Point, Cape Town, daily.
OrderThe pastrami sandwich, which the kitchen will upsize if you are really hungry.
TipBreakfast runs to challah French toast and a potato latke benedict, and as a non-kosher deli it will add bacon on request.
Kleinsky's Delicatessen has served New York style deli bagels on Regent Road in Sea Point since 2014, a Cape Town bagel landmark built on smoked salmon.
TipOrder the California bagel of smoked salmon, wasabi cream cheese, pickled ginger and sweet soya dressing, the one Food and Home singles out.
Olympia Cafe and Bakery has baked its sourdough on Main Road since 1997, the counter that anchors Kalk Bay's harbourfront strip south of Cape Town.
TipNo bookings are taken at the restaurant tables, but the Olympia bakery shop sells loaves to take away from 06:30 to 19:00.
Origin Coffee Roasting has hand-roasted speciality coffee in a working De Waterkant warehouse since late 2005, pouring single origins on Hudson Street.
TipThe brew bar runs Chemex and Aeropress alongside espresso, a good stop to taste a single origin two ways.
Rosetta Roastery roasts every single origin lot beside its Claremont cafe in Cape Town, sourcing specialty grade beans from Ethiopia, Colombia and Rwanda.
TipThe roastery sits next door to the Claremont cafe; it is a production space, but visitors may say hello to the roasters and catch a batch mid-roast.
Culture Wine Bar on Bree Street in Cape Town pours South African cult bottlings, natural wines and imports from France to Australia, with weekend live jazz.
TipGo at the weekend for the live jazz, and book a booth ahead; the R150 a head deposit comes off the final bill.
Woodstock Brewery pours Born Slippy Lager and Californicator IPA in the Beerhall above its Albert Road brewery in Woodstock, Cape Town, brewing since 2014.
TipBook a brewery tour and tasting to meet the brewers, or try the second taproom on Lower Main Road in Observatory.
Ferdinando's Pizza sells wood-fired Diavola and Turbanite pizzas to take away from Lower Main Road in Observatory, Cape Town, where it has baked since 2011.
OrderClassic Diavola pizza, boxed for takeaway
TipThe owners say pizza is best eaten hot and fuss-free, so eat it close by rather than carrying it far.
Biesmiellah cooked Cape Malay food in Bo-Kaap, Cape Town, for four decades under the Osman family; new owners now run it as a polished Muslim-owned eatery.
OrderA Cape Malay curry with roti, the cooking that built this corner's reputation.
TipNo alcohol is served here; it is a family room built around Cape Malay tradition, not a bar scene.
Ramenhead simmers broth for eighteen hours and cuts its own noodles at its Kloof Street izakaya in Gardens, Cape Town, every single service.
OrderA bowl of ramen on the 18-hour broth with noodles cut in-house, then a round of wood-fired small plates.
TipTables are booked in two-hour seatings with a R200 deposit; the high tables, bar and ramen counter for two or more are kept for walk-ins.
Mischu on Regent Road bakes sourdough, croissants and canneles in its own bakery beside an award-winning coffee bar in Sea Point, Cape Town, from 06:45.
TipGo early: the sourdough loaves are often gone by about 11:00, and the crookies can sell out before lunch on busy weekends.
Olympia Cafe and Deli is a no-bookings harbourside room in Kalk Bay, Cape Town, serving all day breakfasts, bread from its own bakery and simple deli plates.
TipYou cannot book, so join the line like everyone before you and read the chalkboard menu while you wait for a table.
Tannin on Bree Street stocks 430 purely South African wine labels across three floors, one of the most serious new wine rooms in Cape Town today.
TipThe ground-floor bar is first come, first served, but the first-floor restaurant needs a booking.
Shackleton Brewing Company brews Kolsch, golden ale and IPA at its new Paarden Eiland brewery in Cape Town and pours them fresh in the taproom there.
TipCheck the brewery's social media before a weeknight visit, since sport-screening nights extend the usual hours.
Snoekies is a fish and chips takeaway at the far end of Hout Bay harbour near Cape Town, where the brand began in a converted bus parked there in 1951.
TipHead upstairs if you have children: the Hout Bay branch has a big indoor play area with a jungle gym and sandpit beside the dining room.
Ferdinando's Pizza fires wood-fired Margherita pizzas on Lower Main Road in Observatory, Cape Town, a pizzeria Diego Milesi and Kiki Bisogno began in 2011.
OrderWood-fired Margherita pizza
TipStick to the Margherita or a plain topping to stay at the cheaper end of the pizza menu.
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
TipNo bookings are taken, arrive right at opening or expect to queue for a table at peak dinner hours.
Mykonos Taverna has served family-recipe Greek taverna food on Main Road in Sea Point, Cape Town, since first opening in the 1980s to today.
OrderPeter's kleftiko lamb shank, cooked to the original family recipe since opening.
TipAsk for the meze platter if your table wants to sample several dishes without committing to one main.
Yindee's serves Thai grills, curries and salads in a Victorian house on Kamp Street, at the top of Kloof Street's dining strip in Gardens, Cape Town.
OrderThe phad phed beef, a curry made without coconut milk, or the green curry.
TipChoose between low tables with floor cushions on one side and conventional tables on the other; the cushion side suits a relaxed group dinner.
Saigon Vietnamese Restaurant has served pho, spring rolls and fresh dumplings on Kloof Street in Gardens, Cape Town, since first opening in 1997.
OrderThe pho with beef short rib, the slow-simmered broth the restaurant built its name on.
TipBook through Dineplan, and ask for outdoor seating for the Table Mountain view from this Kloof Street corner.
Posticino has served family-style pizza and pasta from Albany Mews on Main Road in Sea Point since Jack Gasparre and Eric de Siena took it over in 1998.
OrderThe wood-fired pizza, the order most tables share alongside a plate of fresh pasta.
TipAsk for the terrace over Main Road, or sit inside among the trompe l'oeil murals and old family photos.
Four & Twenty Cafe bakes whimsical Parisian pastries, breads and cakes at its original cafe in Chelsea Village, Wynberg, with a deli of local produce.
TipTake something home from the deli counter, from handmade pastry doughs to farm cheeses, and book by WhatsApp for weekend brunch.
Kleinsky's Delicatessen is a New York style Jewish deli cafe in Sea Point, Cape Town, known for bagels, pastrami and all day breakfast plates.
TipOrder a pastrami sandwich or the smoked salmon bagel, which the kitchen prepares by hand over two days.
Deluxe Coffeeworks is a specialty coffee shop on Buitenkant Street in Gardens, Cape Town, roasting its own beans for espresso and filter brews.
TipPick up a bag of the house beans on the way out; the roasting itself now happens at the Deluxe base in Paarden Eiland.
Pauline's is a specialty coffee cafe behind the arched entrance of a former monastery on Somerset Road, Green Point, known for sourdough and cardamom buns.
TipGo on a weekday morning for a quieter visit, take the cloister courtyard when it is open, and ask about the daily pastry special.
Flatmountain Coffee Roasters roasts on site on Sir Lowry Road, pouring floral Ethiopian and Malawian lots at its Woodstock, Cape Town coffee bar.
TipThe tasting notes read like a wine list, ask the bar to run a single origin as both espresso and filter side by side.
Groot Constantia's tasting room pours from South Africa's oldest wine estate, in the historic Constantia valley a short scenic drive from Cape Town.
TipBuy the Visitors Route Experience ticket, which adds the Manor House Museum and Cloete Cellar to a five wine tasting.
Bao Down is a bao bun specialist on Main Road in Green Point, Cape Town, pairing short rib and fried chicken bao with small pan-Asian plates.
OrderShort rib bao bun glazed in hoisin
TipIt is on the first floor of the Exhibition Building; book for a weekend table and start with the gochugaru peanuts the waiters suggest.
Biesmiellah fries samoosas and chilli bites alongside its Cape Malay curries on the corner of Wale and Pentz Street in Bo-Kaap, Cape Town, now open daily.
OrderSamoosas and chilli bites
TipPair the samoosas and chilli bites with a mango lassi, since the Muslim-owned kitchen serves no alcohol.
Biesmiellah serves Cape Malay curry with yellow rice on the corner of Wale and Pentz Street in Bo-Kaap, Cape Town, at about R100 to R300 a head.
OrderCape Malay chicken curry with yellow rice
TipOrder a side of daltjie and samoosa to share; the starters are a cheap way to taste more of the menu.
Olympia Cafe & Deli serves an unhurried harbourside brunch in Kalk Bay, one of the Cape Town Peninsula's most loved no bookings breakfast rooms.
OrderA breakfast from the chalkboard menu, with bread from the Olympia bakery
TipYou cannot book, so join the line like everyone before you and read the chalkboard menu while you wait for a table.
Kloof Street House serves brunch with a two hour bottomless mimosa special in a candlelit Victorian house, and live jazz over Sunday lunch in Gardens.
OrderBaked whole Camembert to share before the Moroccan spiced lamb rump
TipThe bottomless mimosa window runs Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to noon; in winter, book the library lounge or a seat by the fireplace.
Clarke's Bar and Dining Room runs all day breakfast into a popular weekend brunch on Bree Street, a long standing City Bowl room in Cape Town.
OrderA burger on the butter-fried brioche bun, or anything off the all-day breakfast menu
TipArrive before 09:00 for the cheaper breakfast specials, or from 11:00 for the lunchtime sandwich special such as the sabich.
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
TipIn winter ask for the chesterfields of the library lounge or a table by the dining room fireplace, and book ahead for Sunday lunch with live jazz.
Saigon opened on Kloof Street in Cape Town in 1997 as South Africa's first Vietnamese restaurant, still booked out for its pho with beef short rib.
OrderPho with beef short rib, the dish that built the room's name
TipBook ahead, and ask for outdoor seating to take in the Table Mountain view from this corner of Kloof Street.
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