Cape Town is a city we keep thinking about for its food. The combination of ambitious restaurants, relaxed neighbourhood cafés, specialty coffee and brilliant markets makes eating here feel endlessly varied. These are the places that left the strongest impression on us and that we’d recommend without hesitation.
Best Restaurants in Cape Town
La Colombe
La Colombe is one of those restaurants we had wanted to experience for years, and it completely lived up to the expectation. Set high above Constantia on Silvermist Wine Estate, chef James Gaag combines local ingredients with French and Asian influences in an elaborate tasting experience where presentation is very much part of the story. The vegetarian menu receives the same attention as the regular menu, which we particularly appreciated.
The Waterside
Part of the La Colombe group, The Waterside offers a more relaxed interpretation of the group’s elaborate style of cooking, right on the V&A Waterfront. The setting is beautiful, but we especially remember the playful presentation, incredibly warm service and how seriously the vegetarian menu was treated. They offer a complete vegetarian tasting experience rather than a few adjusted courses, which makes this an especially good choice for us.
Ariel
Ariel is a modern Italian restaurant in Sea Point built around generous food and the idea of sharing the table. Italian restaurants outside Italy can sometimes leave us unconvinced, but Ariel was an exception. The cooking feels contemporary without trying to reinvent everything, and the atmosphere makes it equally suitable for dinner with friends or a longer evening over wine.
Una Más
Across the road from Ariel, Una Más brings Mexican food, tequila and mezcal together in a lively little mezcaleria. The menu stays rooted in Mexican flavours rather than becoming another generic taco concept, while the drinks are a major part of the experience. It has since expanded beyond its original Sea Point location, but that small neighbourhood restaurant is where we discovered it.
Asoka
Asoka is as much about the evening itself as it is about dinner. Built around a century-old olive tree on Kloof Street, the restaurant combines sharing dishes, cocktails and regular live music in one of the more atmospheric interiors in Cape Town. It’s a place where dinner can easily turn into drinks afterwards, which is exactly how we remember it.
Breakfast & Lunch in Cape Town
Hemelhuijs
Hemelhuijs has been part of Cape Town’s food scene for years and still feels completely distinctive. Chef-patron Jacques Erasmus combines food, design and seasonal details in a space that changes throughout the year. The menu moves between indulgent and vegetable-focused dishes without fitting neatly into a standard brunch formula. One of the daytime restaurants we would return to first.
JARRYDS
JARRYDS is a Sea Point institution for breakfast and lunch, and its popularity hasn’t faded. The menu is broad, with everything from more indulgent brunch dishes to lighter options, and the café still works on a first-come, first-served basis. It’s busy for a reason: reliable food, good coffee and the kind of energy that makes it feel very Cape Town.
Arthur’s Mini Super
Arthur’s Mini Super feels more like a neighbourhood hangout than a conventional café. The retro-inspired space combines breakfast, lunch, pantry products and wine, with a relaxed Sea Point crowd coming and going throughout the day. We particularly like that it can move naturally from morning coffee to lunch and a glass of wine without ever changing personality.
The Ladder on 136
The Ladder combines coffee and daytime food with art and community in a bright space on Bree Street. What originally attracted us was the light lunch menu and good coffee, but the gallery element gives the café more personality than the average breakfast spot. Exhibitions and creative events are also part of the concept.
Wild Eatery
Wild Eatery has evolved since our visit and now operates as a completely vegan food-truck concept. The focus remains on colourful, uncomplicated plant-based food rather than trying to imitate meat-heavy dishes. We liked it originally for exactly that reason: vegetables, herbs and bold flavours are allowed to be the main event.
Wildsprout
Wildsprout combines a health-focused café with a substantial grocery concept, which makes it useful for much more than breakfast or lunch. The menu is generous and plant-forward, while the shop carries a wide range of healthier, vegan and gluten-free products. It’s particularly good if you enjoy browsing food stores almost as much as eating in restaurants.
Best Coffee in Cape Town
Rosetta Roastery
Rosetta has been roasting specialty coffee in Cape Town since 2010 and has become one of South Africa’s most respected roasters. Their focus is on carefully sourced single-origin coffee, with serious attention given to roasting and brewing. One for people who genuinely care about what is in their cup.
Ground Art Caffè
Ground Art is a coffee bar and micro gallery in De Waterkant, combining specialty coffee with rotating exhibitions from local artists. The art isn’t simply decoration: exhibitions and creative events are an ongoing part of the space. It’s a good example of a coffee bar having an identity beyond the beans it serves.
Heaven Coffee
Few coffee shops have a setting quite like Heaven. It sits inside the entrance of the Central Methodist Mission near Greenmarket Square, where coffee and church quite literally share the same space. It remains one of the more unusual places for a cup of coffee in central Cape Town.
Simple Bru
Simple Bru started small but has grown into a more established specialty coffee operation, including its own roastery. We originally discovered it through one of their more unusual iced coffee creations, but the reason to keep it on this list is the coffee itself. Their approach is serious without making specialty coffee feel overly complicated.
Truth Coffee
Truth is probably Cape Town’s most theatrical coffee address. The steampunk-inspired space gets plenty of attention, but behind the spectacle is a genuine coffee roastery that has been part of the city’s specialty scene for years. Come for the extraordinary interior once, but the coffee is good enough to justify returning.
Naked Coffee
Naked Coffee in Sea Point works equally well for specialty coffee, breakfast or lunch. The space is polished but uncomplicated and has become a reliable neighbourhood address rather than somewhere people visit purely because it looks good. A very easy stop if you’re spending time around Sea Point.
Black Box Coffeeworks
Black Box is a little different from the other coffee addresses on this list. Rather than operating a conventional café, they now serve specialty coffee from mobile trailers that move between some of Cape Town’s scenic outdoor locations. That outdoor focus has always been part of what makes the concept interesting.
Food markets in Cape Town
Oranjezicht City Farm Market
Oranjezicht is the more polished of Cape Town’s two markets on this list, with an enormous mix of fresh produce, artisan food, baked goods, flowers and prepared dishes. The emphasis remains on food and producers rather than simply souvenirs, making it a great place to discover a wide range of South African products in one stop.
Neighbourgoods Market at The Old Biscuit Mill
For a completely different market experience, head to Woodstock. The Neighbourgoods Market takes over The Old Biscuit Mill every weekend, bringing together food stalls, independent makers and live music in a much more urban setting. It was the atmosphere that stayed with us most: busy, energetic and unmistakably Cape Town.
