37 editor picks in Cape Town.
37 upscale places in Cape Town, editor-picked. occasion restaurants in Cape Town: destination kitchens for celebrations and visits. All Cape Town food.
Klein Constantia's tasting room pours the revived Vin de Constance dessert wine on its historic Constantia estate, a drive from central Cape Town.
TipBook ahead, since capacity is small; the Vin de Constance Experience, a vertical of three vintages, costs R1000 a head.
Belly of the Beast is a thirty seat room on Harrington Street in Cape Town, serving a single no choice seasonal tasting menu to every table each night.
OrderThe set tasting menu, built entirely around whatever meat and seafood is in season
TipThere are no menu options, so tell the booking team about allergies ahead; lunch starts at 12:30 Tuesday to Saturday and dinner at 18:45.
Steenberg's tasting room pours a benchmark cool climate Sauvignon Blanc flight on its Constantia estate, a short drive from central Cape Town.
TipBook ahead, since the tasting room takes no walk-ins, and bring a card, because the estate is a cashless facility.
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
TipAdd the dal makhani, black lentils cooked overnight in the tandoor, and a naan hot from the clay oven.
The Pot Luck Club sits atop the Old Biscuit Mill silo in Woodstock, Cape Town, sending out small sharing plates styled on a 1950s American pot luck.
OrderTaco 2.0, linefish with black bean puree, charred corn salsa and avocado
TipBook well in advance, this Woodstock room is one of the hardest small-plates tables to get in Cape Town.
The Pot Luck Club tops the Old Biscuit Mill silo in Woodstock, Cape Town, Luke Dale Roberts's globally inspired sharing plate room since 2013.
OrderSharing plates from the Family Favourites menu, starting with the Taco 2.0 of linefish on black bean puree
TipA R450 per guest deposit secures the table and must be paid within 24 hours of the provisional booking; tables of nine or more pay R750 each.
The Foodbarn in Noordhoek, Cape Town, is French chef Franck Dangereux's cafe by day and tapas bar by night, with tapas dinners Tuesday to Saturday.
OrderTapas dinner sharing plates, order enough to cover the table
TipThe tapas dinner only runs Tuesday to Saturday, so come for breakfast or lunch on a Sunday or Monday; the deli shop next door opens daily until 20:00.
Maru Korean Steakhouse grills galbi and bulgogi tableside on Bree Street in Cape Town's City Bowl, open for lunch and dinner every single day.
OrderMarinated galbi grilled at your table over charcoal, with Korean fried chicken for the table.
TipCome for Magic Hour, daily from 16:00 to 17:30, when selected bubbles, wine and beer on tap are half price before the grills get going.
Cause Effect Cocktail Kitchen & Cape Brandy Bar runs from the Rocket Shed at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, built around South African potstill brandy.
TipAsk for the potstill brandy flight before ordering a cocktail, owner Kurt Schlechter built the bar's reputation on that pour first.
Cause Effect Cocktail Kitchen & Cape Brandy Bar serves cocktail kitchen snacks from the Rocket Shed at Cape Town's V&A Waterfront until midnight.
OrderCocktail kitchen snacks built around the brandy list
TipAsk for the potstill brandy flight before ordering a cocktail, owner Kurt Schlechter built the bar's reputation on that pour first.
Codfather in Camps Bay, Cape Town, skips a formal menu, with waiters helping each table build a meal from the day's fresh fish, seafood and sushi.
OrderThe day's fresh linefish and sushi, put together with your waiter rather than off a printed menu
TipFrom October to April dinner runs in set seatings from 16:30, 18:00, 18:30 and 21:00, so book a slot through Dineplan.
Harbour House has sat over the water at Kalk Bay harbour, Cape Town, since 1996, plating seafood platters and grilled linefish with a False Bay view.
OrderSeafood platter for two, split between grilled and fried
TipAsk for a window table when booking, the harbour view is the reason regulars keep coming back.
The Hussar Grill in Camps Bay, Cape Town, is a branch of the steakhouse group founded in 1964, serving aged fillet and ribeye in a dark-wood room.
OrderRibeye on the bone with a side of peppercorn sauce
TipIn winter a fireplace warms the old-world dining room, and the wine list carries a Diners Club Diamond award, so ask about the select vintages.
The Waterside sits on Pierhead Deck at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, a two star Eat Out harbour dining room from the La Colombe Restaurant Group.
OrderThe R1,695 tasting menu, with prawn dim sum and linefish with nduja and smoked mussel
TipTables run indoors and out on the ground floor deck; the R995 Spring Special is the lighter way in at lunch or the 18:00 dinner seating.
OneEighty dines inside the Edwardian mansion of Ellerman House above Bantry Bay in Cape Town, a seasonal lunch and dinner room looking over the Atlantic.
OrderThe seasonal menu, paired from a cellar of more than 9,000 bottles
TipThe kitchen closes at 21:00 though the room stays open to 22:00, and children aged 12 and older are welcome at the table.
Loading Bay is an all day cafe on Hudson Street in De Waterkant, Cape Town, cooking organic produce into breakfasts and lunches for a design-led crowd.
TipIts sister grocery, Sans Community on Main Road in Sea Point, sells the same organic produce, and the kitchen closes an hour before the doors.
Cafe Caprice has anchored Camps Bay's beachfront strip in Cape Town since 2001, a sundowner bar that fills up as the sun drops over the ocean.
TipGrab a table on the front deck for sunset, and expect the crowd and the music to pick up fast after dark on weekends.
Talking to Strangers has run a hip hop soundtracked cocktail room on Loop Street in Cape Town, its walls signed by bar owners from around the world.
TipAsk the bar for the current seasonal cocktail rather than a printed classic, since the list changes week to week.
Talking to Strangers is a Loop Street cocktail room in Cape Town's City Bowl, serving African inspired street food tapas until two in the morning.
OrderAfrican inspired street food tapas for sharing
TipAsk the bar for the current seasonal cocktail rather than a printed classic, since the list changes week to week.
Patina Steak & Wine in Newlands Quarter, Cape Town, keeps a short list of dry-aged cuts, including Kalahari wild beef, in a small walnut-lined room.
OrderDry-aged Kalahari beef, whichever cut the kitchen has that week
TipAsk what dry-aged cut is in that week, the Kalahari wild beef does not always make the printed menu.
The Bungalow at The Glen Country Club looks straight over Clifton 4th beach in Cape Town, a sunset room built around sushi, carpaccio and cocktails.
OrderSushi platter, shared while watching the sun go down over Clifton
TipBook a deck table for golden hour, when live DJs spin the sunset soundtrack; the kitchen runs until the 23:00 close.
Pigalle in Green Point, Cape Town, is a 350-seat supper club under custom chandeliers, pairing nightly jazz, swing and salsa with Chalmar steak and seafood.
OrderChalmar steak, or the fresh seafood the room is known for
TipLive jazz, swing and salsa play from the central stage every night, and DJs take over at weekends, so book for a long evening on the dance floor.
Hacienda on Bree Street in Cape Town cooks coastal Baja Mexican food since 2022, with guacamole mashed table-side and tortillas made fresh daily.
OrderTempura lobster tacos with table-side guacamole
TipAsk for the guacamole made table-side, and try the tequila or mezcal flight if the group is sharing.
Heirloom took over the main dining room at the Cape Grace hotel on the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, reworking heritage Cape recipes nightly.
OrderMozambiquan peri peri lobster or the Cape Malay chicken curry, finished with a traditional Cape dessert
TipThe marina view seats fill first at dinner, ask for a table by the window when you confirm the booking.
Chinchilla is the rooftop cocktail bar above the Camps Bay strip in Cape Town, a sunset room looking straight over the Atlantic to the Twelve Apostles.
TipNo under 18s are admitted after 16:00; it opens at noon from Friday to Sunday and at 16:00 on Wednesday and Thursday.
Beluga pours from a whiskey lounge and wine emporium beside its sushi and seafood dining room at the Cape Town Cruise Terminal, V&A Waterfront.
TipAsk for the whiskey lounge if it is just drinks; the dining room serves handcrafted sushi and seafood until 22:00.
Simon's Restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner with weekend live music on the Groot Constantia wine estate, a short drive from Cape Town.
OrderA breakfast or lunch plate on the terrace, with a glass from the estate wine list
TipChoose the terrace for the vineyard views in summer or the seat by the enormous fireplace in winter, and book ahead for a weekend with live music.
Marco's African Place in Bo-Kaap, Cape Town, plates springbok, kudu and crocodile alongside traditional Xhosa dishes, with live local music most nights.
OrderPan-African platter of springbok, kudu and ostrich
TipThis is a 220-seat room built for groups; book ahead, and note a cover charge applies on nights with live marimba bands.
Beluga at the Cruise Terminal, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town, has run an Asian-leaning sushi and dim sum menu since 2000, first opened in Green Point.
OrderHandcrafted sushi platter, split between rolls and nigiri
TipIt sits on the first floor of the Art Deco Cruise Terminal, with a wine emporium and a whiskey lounge beside the sushi and seafood dining room.
The Peach Tree Restaurant at Southern Sun The Cullinan in Cape Town runs a nightly Cape Malay inspired dinner buffet served from live chef stations.
OrderThe dinner buffet, a South African spread served from live chef stations every night.
TipBook the dinner buffet ahead on weekends, since birthday parties and hotel guests fill the room fast.
Mama Africa has served pan-African game meat and stews on Long Street in Cape Town since 1995, with nightly marimba bands and drum performances.
OrderCrocodile cooked in a peanut stew with vegetables, one of the game dishes gathered from across the continent.
TipBook ahead on weekends; the marimba band, drummers and dancers start around 19:00 every night.
The Whisky Lounge is the Taj Cape Town's vintage styled bar on Wale Street, pouring from one of the city's most extensive high-end whisky collections.
TipThe hotel sets a smart casual dress code here, and the lounge stays open until 02:00 for a late nightcap after dinner nearby.
Grand Africa Cafe & Beach sits on its own stretch of sand in Granger Bay, Cape Town, a beach cafe with five bars, ocean view decks and on-beach dining.
TipWalk down to the ocean view decks and the beach itself rather than staying inside, for the view across to Robben Island and back to Signal Hill.
La Perla has served Italian food and seafood on the Sea Point beachfront in Cape Town since 1957, with a bar and a pool deck looking over the promenade.
TipFor just drinks, take a seat on the bar and pool deck rather than in the dining room, and time it for sunset over the Atlantic.
Grand Africa Cafe & Beach serves pizza, seafood and Mediterranean plates on its own stretch of sand in Cape Town's Granger Bay, until midnight nightly.
OrderPizza, seafood and Mediterranean plates
TipWalk down to the ocean view decks and the beach itself rather than staying inside, for the view across to Robben Island and back to Signal Hill.
Grand Africa Cafe & Beach serves brunch from noon on its own stretch of sand in Granger Bay, near Cape Town's V&A Waterfront, with five bars and ocean decks.
OrderPizza or a seafood plate, eaten on the beach with your feet in the sand
TipWalk down to the ocean view decks and the beach itself rather than staying inside, for the view across to Robben Island and back to Signal Hill.
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
TipGo on a night with the marimba band and drummers, and book ahead, the room fills fast on weekends.
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