The fastest, cheapest, frequently best food on Cape Town's streets.
Vendors, food trucks and stalls: the cheapest, fastest, frequently best food in Cape Town.
Golden Dish is a halaal takeaway counter in Gatesville, Athlone, opened in 1969 and reopened in July 2024 after a fire, famous for Cape Town's giant gatsby.
TrySteak gatsby, a full loaf of bread packed with steak, chips and sauce
TipOrder the full house gatsby to share; a single one comfortably feeds two hungry people.
Kalky's is a self-service fried snoek and chips hatch on the working harbour wall in Kalk Bay, on Cape Town's southern peninsula, cash only daily.
TryFried snoek and chips, served on a paper plate at a harbour-wall bench
TipCarry rand notes, queue at the counter, then grab any free bench along the harbour wall to eat.
Teez @ 115 is a lounge, butchery and shisanyama on the Gugulethu site once famous as Mzoli's, grilling lamb chops for Cape Town crowds Thursday to Monday.
TryBraaied lamb chops bought at the butchery counter and grilled to order
TipBuy raw meat at the butchery counter first, then hand it straight to the grill team outside.
Rands is a Khayelitsha shisanyama and lifestyle venue on the eastern edge of Cape Town, grilling ribs and wings for big crowds from Thursday to Sunday.
TryBraaied ribs with chakalaka and pap
TipArrive by early afternoon on the first Sunday of the month, the busiest weekend of the calendar.
Super Fisheries is a cash only takeaway counter on Old Klipfontein Road in Athlone, Cape Town, run by the man credited with inventing the gatsby.
TryGatsby loaded with fish, calamari or polony, chips and achar
TipThere is a Capitec ATM next door if you arrive without cash for the counter.
Snoekies is a fish and chips takeaway at the far end of Hout Bay harbour, trading since Hans Mickeleit parked a converted bus there in 1951.
TryFried hake and chips, plus smoked snoek at the harbour counter
TipHead upstairs with children: the dining room there sits beside a big indoor play area.
Achla is a Middle Eastern street food counter near Roeland Square in Gardens, Cape Town, cooking fresh falafel and shawarma, with takeaways by WhatsApp.
TryFalafel and shawarma wrap with a deli-style salad bar
TipOrder the mixed falafel and shawarma wrap if you cannot decide between the two.
Sea Bar is a seafood stall inside Bay Harbour Market in Hout Bay, on the edge of Cape Town, grilling fresh calamari, prawns, mussels and oysters.
TryGrilled calamari and prawns by the plate
TipPair the calamari and prawns with a glass of sparkling wine, and ask whether the paella is on that day.
Stokkies Draai is a family-run biltong stall inside Bay Harbour Market in Hout Bay, on the edge of Cape Town, trading preservative-free dried meat.
TryBeef, kudu and dried ostrich biltong and droewors by the bag
TipAsk for the dried ostrich sausage the stall is known for, alongside its beef and kudu biltong and droewors.
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.
TryShort 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.
Nomzamo Butchery is a shisanyama and butchery on Washington Street in Langa, Cape Town, letting customers pick raw meat and have it braaied on site.
TryBasted chicken wings and braaied red meat, weighed at the butchery counter
TipPick your own cut at the butchery counter, then carry it straight to the braai grills out back.
Beach Buns is a burger shop on Victoria Road in Camps Bay, Cape Town, baking its own buns, making its patties and triple cooking hand-cut chips daily.
TryThe OG Beach Bun, a beef chuck patty with pickle and house sauce
TipAsk for the triple-cooked chips on the side; they hold up well for a walk down to the beach.
AA Paraatha is a halaal burger stall inside Mojo Market in Sea Point, Cape Town, wrapping flame-seared Wagyu beef patties in fresh paratha bread daily.
TryHalaal Wagyu beef patty wrapped in a fresh paratha bun
TipCome hungry; the paratha bun soaks up the signature sauce, so eat it fresh off the grill.
Monty's Spitbraai is a stall inside Mojo Market in Sea Point, Cape Town, rolling slow-cooked spitbraai lamb and beef for the city since 1985.
TrySpitbraai lamb roll on ciabatta with gourmet salad
TipAsk for the lamb roll on ciabatta; it comes with a side of house-made salad and wedges.
The Hood Kitchen is a build-your-own burger counter in Rocklands, Mitchells Plain, on the Cape Flats side of Cape Town, open Wednesday to Saturday.
TryDesign-a-Burger beef double, built at the takeaway hatch to order
TipThe Bison Tower challenge runs Thursdays and Saturdays from 13:00: finish it in 25 minutes to win R140 and naming rights, and book a day ahead.
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.
TrySamoosas and chilli bites
TipPair the samoosas and chilli bites with a mango lassi, since the Muslim-owned kitchen serves no alcohol.
Pizza Connection bakes Napoletana and Romana style pizzas in a wood-fired oven on Roodebloem Road in Woodstock, Cape Town, from noon until late every day.
TryWood-fired pizza on a Napoletana or Romana base
TipBook through Dineplan at busy times, and pick a pizza with the Italian-imported guanciale or mortadella.
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.
TryClassic 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.
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