Perhaps best known for the imposing Table Mountain and for Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for many years, Cape Town is also an outdoor enthusiast’s dream. Those in the know consider Cape Town food a drawcard too, with a clutch of good restaurants and wineries. Here are some of my favourite foodie things to do in Cape Town and on the Cape Peninsula, many of them not too tough on the wallet.
1. Enjoy fresh fish in a romantic setting
Delicious fresh fish at Live Bait comes with views of the sea
Fresh fish at Harbour House or Live Bait restaurants at Kalk Bay harbour comes with a great outlook over the sea. Arrive before sunset to make the most of glorious views of boats bobbing in the harbour and waves crashing against the rocks.
Alternatively, visit the Chapman’s Peak Hotel in Hout Bay for the best calamari served in a pan. The view of the Atlantic Ocean from the balcony is a clincher. If you don’t have the budget for a meal here, it’s worth just having a drink to enjoy the sunset.
2. Get take-away fish and chips
Alternatively, visit the Chapman’s Peak Hotel in Hout Bay for the best calamari served in a pan. The view of the Atlantic Ocean from the balcony is a clincher. If you don’t have the budget for a meal here, it’s worth just having a drink to enjoy the sunset.
2. Get take-away fish and chips
The kind of views of Kalk Bay harbour you get from Kalkys
If sit-down restaurants are too expensive, get takeaway fish and chips from Kalkys in Kalk Bay harbour and enjoy them on the pier while you watch the fishing boats come and go. Or buy some in a packet from Fish Hoek Fisheries in Main Road, Fish Hoek, and go to the beach to scoff them.
3. Visit a food market
3. Visit a food market
Lots of choices at the Neighbour Goods Market at the Old Biscuit Mill
Try the Neighbour Goods Market in the Old Biscuit Mill on Albert Road, Woodstock on Saturdays for funky, delicious food from bread, cheese and olives to honey, wine and baked goods.
Or pop in at the Oranjezicht City Farm Market for lots of options for vegetarians, vegans and raw foodies. You’ll also find wheat, gluten, sugar and dairy-free products, indigenous plants and heirloom seeds if you want to grow your own veg.
3. Visit a world-class coffeeshop
Or pop in at the Oranjezicht City Farm Market for lots of options for vegetarians, vegans and raw foodies. You’ll also find wheat, gluten, sugar and dairy-free products, indigenous plants and heirloom seeds if you want to grow your own veg.
3. Visit a world-class coffeeshop
Good coffee and steampunk vibes at Truth Coffee
Twice voted the best coffeeshop in the world by The Daily Telegraph, Truth Coffee in Cape Town’s Buitenkant Street is a fabulous experience both for its coffee and for its fascinating steampunk vibe. Enjoy a selection of coffees from around the world and some good grub too if you’re hungry.
They also offer a coffee appreciation course, designed to inform you about everything including growing, harvesting, blending and roasting as well as how to make a perfect cuppa.
5. Find the best croissants
They also offer a coffee appreciation course, designed to inform you about everything including growing, harvesting, blending and roasting as well as how to make a perfect cuppa.
5. Find the best croissants
Fresh croissants at Coco Safar in Sea Point
For the best croissants in town, pop into Coco Safar in Main Road, Sea Point. My fave is the almond croissant, which has a generous hit of almond paste inside and toasted almonds on top. They also have freshly baked breads and patisserie, including macarons.
Other places to try in search of perfectly flaky, layered croissants are Loaves on Long in the City Bowl and Jason’s Bakery in Main Road, Greenpoint.
6. Enjoy a sumptuous high tea
Other places to try in search of perfectly flaky, layered croissants are Loaves on Long in the City Bowl and Jason’s Bakery in Main Road, Greenpoint.
6. Enjoy a sumptuous high tea
A host of choices for high tea at the Mount Nelson Hotel
Indulge yourself – if not your pocket – with an elegant high tea in the conservatory or lounge at Cape Town’s grande dame, the Mount Nelson Hotel on the lower slopes of Table Mountain. Affectionately known as the Nellie, this is where the rich and famous have come for more than a century, from Winston Churchill and the British royal family to Hollywood celebs like Leonardo Di Caprio. For a set fee, you can pig out in style on everything from dainty smoked salmon sandwiches to miniature savoury quiches, éclairs or decadent chocolate cake.
For somewhere more modern but equally lavish, enjoy high tea at the Table Bay Hotel at the V&A Waterfront.
7. Picnic on the lawns at Kirstenbosch
For somewhere more modern but equally lavish, enjoy high tea at the Table Bay Hotel at the V&A Waterfront.
7. Picnic on the lawns at Kirstenbosch
Picnic at Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden surrounded by fynbos and mountain views
Pack a picnic to enjoy on the lawns of Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden, one of the best botanical gardens in the world, on the eastern slopes of Table Mountain. It’s particularly delightful during the summer music concert series from November to April when you can picnic to the strains of anything from the Cape Town Philharmonic and Cliff Richard to The Parlotones or Prince Kaybee. Get there early to wander around the gardens first. The concert series was postponed in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic but all of Cape Town was pleased to see it return from March 2022.
8. Window-shop and eat at the V&A Waterfront
8. Window-shop and eat at the V&A Waterfront
Many restaurants at the V&A Watefront have views of Table Mountain
Drop in at the V&A Waterfront for a vibey window-shopping experience followed by a laid-back meal with the choice of sea or mountain view. There are more than 80 restaurants so it doesn’t matter whether you want linen-napkin fancy or paper-napkin casual, there’s something for everyone. Stroll around in the sunshine and feast your senses before you make your choice.
If you’re a chocoholic, book a chocolate making and appreciation class at the Lindt Chocolate Shop in the Silo district.
9. Visit farmy Noordhoek
If you’re a chocoholic, book a chocolate making and appreciation class at the Lindt Chocolate Shop in the Silo district.
9. Visit farmy Noordhoek
Sit inside or outside at the Food Barn Cafe & Tapas in rustic Noordhoek
Find epicurean delights in farmy, horsey Noordhoek thanks to French chef Franck Dangeroux of the Food Barn Café & Tapas, who really loves what he does. It’s open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with a wide choice of delicious treats to delight your sophisticated palate without being pretentious. There are plenty of plant-based choices for vegetarians too.
Leave room for one of the decadent desserts or else pop in to Kristin’s Ice Cream in the same centre for a feast of great flavours.
10. Go wine tasting at Cape Town wine farms
Leave room for one of the decadent desserts or else pop in to Kristin’s Ice Cream in the same centre for a feast of great flavours.
10. Go wine tasting at Cape Town wine farms
Enjoy wine tasting at one of Cape Town's peaceful wine farms
Love wine and visiting wine farms? Go sniffing and spitting – or even better, swallowing – at one of the historic Constantia Valley’s wine farms, where wine making in South Africa was born in the 17th century, or along the Durbanville Wine Route north of Cape Town. You’ll always find something to please your palate, whether you’re into bubbles, rosé, whites or reds, or even sweet dessert wines. Many of the wine farms also have restaurants.
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