29 editor picks across South Africa.
29 casual dining worth the trip across South Africa, editor-ranked by TableJourney. All South Africa guides.
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.
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.
Fish on the Rocks sits at the far end of Hout Bay harbour in Cape Town, frying hake and chips to order at a walk-up counter over the Atlantic.
OrderThe battered hake and chips, the order most tables at the harbour wall are eating.
TipSeating is outdoors on the rocks; bring a jacket since the wind off the harbour can turn cold fast.
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.
Kalky's has served battered hake and snoek with chips from a cabin on the Kalk Bay harbour wall since 1996, with calamari, kingklip and crayfish too.
OrderThe fried snoek and chips, cut fresh from the day's catch at the harbour.
TipIt is cash only and self-service; carry notes and expect to queue at the counter before finding a bench.
Wembley Roadhouse is a halal drive-in in Athlone, Cape Town, the eatery Wembley added after 1973 to a family store opened on Belgravia Road in 1931.
OrderThe Wembley Whopper, a steak roll piled with braised onion, chips and sauce.
TipGo on a weekend evening when the garden and play area fill with extended families ordering trays of food to share.
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.
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.
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.
El Burro serves hand-pressed corn tortillas, fresh salsas and margaritas on Main Road in Green Point, Cape Town, and takes no reservations at all.
OrderSoft tacos on hand-pressed corn tortillas, filled with grilled prawns in arbol chilli and cumin.
TipIn summer take a table on the balcony, or in winter one by the fireplace or on the upper level looking over the room.
Seoul Pocha brings Korean street food, tabletop grills and soju pairings to Main Road in Rondebosch, Cape Town, in a social, casual setting.
OrderThe tteokbokki, chewy rice cakes in a spicy sauce that anchors the street food menu.
TipIt is named for the pojangmacha, Korea's covered-wagon street stalls, and the Korean fried chicken with soju is the crowd favourite for groups.
Pizza Connection fires Napoletana and Romana style pizzas in a wood-fired oven on Roodebloem Road in Woodstock, Cape Town, with San Marzano tomato sauce.
OrderA Margherita on either base, the clearest test of the San Marzano sauce and imported fior di latte.
TipThe cured meats, from guanciale to mortadella, are imported from Italy, so order a pizza that shows them off.
Timbuktu Cafe is an affordable Ethiopian favourite on Lower Main Road in Observatory, Cape Town, serving shiro, tibs and doro wot on teff injera.
OrderThe shiro wot, a chickpea stew that anchors the vegetarian side of the injera platter.
TipVegetarians can build a plate of shiro with fried cabbage and beetroot wrapped in injera, which is made from teff and is gluten-free.
Golden Dish is a halal takeaway in Gatesville, Athlone, opened in 1969 opposite Athlone Stadium and known across Cape Town for its giant gatsby sandwiches.
OrderThe masala steak gatsby, a French baguette of steak, twice fried chips and the signature masala gravy.
TipOrder the large to share or the mini on your own; it serves until 01:00 Monday to Thursday and 02:00 on Fridays and Saturdays.
Teez @ 115 grills braaied meat from its own butchery counter on the Gugulethu site once famous as Mzoli's, on Cape Town's Cape Flats side of the city.
OrderLamb chops bought at the butchery counter and braaied to order by the grill team.
TipBuy your meat at the butchery first, then hand it to the braai team; that is how the whole system works here.
The Hood Kitchen is a Rocklands, Mitchells Plain burger counter near Cape Town, built around a build-your-own gourmet beef and chicken patty menu.
OrderThe Design-a-Burger beef double, stacked with four toppings of your choice.
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.
HeSheng Chinese Restaurant keeps a no-frills menu of dumplings, xiao long bao and noodle soups on Main Road in Sea Point, run by new owners since 2023.
OrderThe xiao long bao, made fresh and consistently named as the reason regulars return.
TipThe kitchen closes between 15:00 and 17:00 and all day Tuesday, and a 10 percent service charge is added to the bill.
Romeo and Vero Vegan Butcherie sells mushroom-based meat alternatives from its own shop on Dixon Street in De Waterkant, Cape Town, Monday to Saturday.
OrderThe vegan boerewors roll, grilled to order from the shop's own mushroom-based sausage.
TipIt doubles as a butchery counter, so buy a few frozen packs to take home alongside your meal.
Petiscos has grilled Luso-Mozambican prawns and peri-peri chicken in Parklands near Table View, on the northern edge of Cape Town, since 2006.
OrderThe grilled lemon-butter prawns, the dish that built this no-frills room's following.
TipThe kitchen closes at 21:00 from Tuesday to Thursday, 21:30 on Friday and Saturday and 16:00 on Sunday.
Rands is a Khayelitsha shisa nyama and lifestyle venue outside central Cape Town, known for braaied meat, cheap drinks and weekend afrobeat sets.
OrderThe ribs, which co-owner Mfundo Mbeki tells first-timers to try, with creamy spinach and Buffalo wings.
TipThe first Sunday of the month draws the biggest crowd; arrive early afternoon to get a table before the dancing starts.
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.
Eastern Food Bazaar is a canteen-style food court in Cape Town's City Bowl, serving affordable Indian, Turkish and Cape Malay stalls every day.
OrderA giant bunny chow from the Punjabi counter, or a dosa from Madras.
TipEat with your hands like the locals and use the basin halfway through the hall; the upstairs seating off the Darling Street entrance is quieter.
West Coast Fisheries fries fresh West Coast catch, chips and gatsby sandwiches daily on Koeberg Road in Milnerton, on the edge of greater Cape Town.
OrderThe fried snoek and chips, the West Coast staple this counter is named for.
TipIt also sells fresh uncooked fish over the counter if you want to cook the catch yourself at home.
Free Bird Muizenberg fries halaal certified, free-range chicken burgers a block from the surf beach in Muizenberg, on the edge of greater Cape Town.
OrderThe buttermilk fried chicken burger, the sandwich the whole menu is built around.
TipIt is a short walk from Muizenberg's surf beach, so it is an easy stop after a morning in the water.
Eziko Restaurant trains unemployed Langa residents for hospitality careers while serving township meals to visitors in Cape Town, Monday to Saturday.
OrderThe lamb or chicken plate with samp and pap, cooked to order for your group.
TipCall ahead before visiting; meals here are cooked fresh to order rather than kept warming.
Brash is a halaal-certified smash burger joint on Regent Road in Sea Point, Cape Town, with a 1970s retro room and two burgers built on the same patties.
OrderThe Mack Daddy smash burger, two beef patties with the house mayo sauce, cheese and pickles.
TipThere are no cola drinks, so order the house 50:50 mix of ice tea and lemonade, which the Hungry for Halaal reviewer recommended.
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