Hungry in Cape Town ?

Best or cheapest restaurants and pubs in Cape Town

You will need something to eat and drink, the question is where you will do it and what food and drinks you should and should not try. Look at our suggestions or ask others in the forum via the disqus form in the bottom of this page. Here you also can read or write restaurant recommendations / reviews.

Below you can see some restaurant suggestions from other sources:

Recommendations, suggestions from other sources, you can read and write your own suggestions or reviews in the disqus field below.:

Eat

Cafe Eco, 90 Long Street. Cheap, relaxed, environmentally-friendly coffee shop. A favourite with backpackers.

Table Mountain Restaurant, On top of Table Mountain, close to the Upper Cable Station. A 120 seat, self service restaurant. No booking required.The restaruant is closed when the Table Mountain Cable Car is not operating. From R20 for a simple breakfast.

A Tavola, Wilderness Road, Claremont. A casual, glass-fronted Italian restaurant popular with locals. Daily specials; book reservations online or phone.

Africa Café, 108 Shortmarket Street. Affordable and very good. Maybe the best restaurant in Cape Town for African cuisine. Lower to medium price range. Serves fixed menu, all you can eat of 12 – 15 different dishes.

Bayfront Blu, Two Oceans Aquarium. Offers breakfast and coffee all day and also serves good seafood, like Swahili prawn curry. Tables offer view on water and Table Mountain

Biesmiellah, Corner Upper Wale and Pentz Street. One of the oldest restaurants around, known for its Malay kitchen. No alcoholic drinks are available.

Col’Cacchio Pizzeria, 42 Hans Strijdom Avenue Foreshore. Italian dishes made to order. Midrange.

Five Flies, 14-16 Keerom Street. Enjoy a wonderful, multi-course meal in a stylish restaurant housed in one of Cape Town’s oldest still-standing buildings. Favourite of local diplomats. Menu changes regularly; book reservations online.

Hildebrands, V&A Waterfront. Offering standard Italian fare of pizzas and pastas, but the quality is not up to par.

Jewel Tavern, 101 St Georges Mall Street, City Bowl. Increasingly popular Chinese restaurant. Preferred destinations for Cape Town’s bon viveurs. Guest can watch how their meals are prepared. Note this is a local spot for fisherman/boat workers coming in and spending a few days into the harbour. It is a very authentic spot with no frills. Most of the staff do not speak English, but the food is delicious. 

95 Keerom, 95 Keerom Street. A top class Italian restaurant with modern décor and a trendy atmosphere.

Lolas, (Across from Long Street Café). Vegetarian food with local colour and great karma. Good conversation and even better meals. Mingle with dreadlocks, artsy types and brooding poets.

Long Street Café, 259 Long Street. Very popular, European kitchen, which serves up tasty drinks.

Mama Africa, 178 Long Street. Open Monday to Saturday. Restaurant is open 7PM till late, the bar is open 4:30PM till late. African style tourist restaurant offering local and African meals, like Bobotie and Potjiekos, but also springbok, kudu and crocodile steak. Good range of wines at affordable prices. Live marimba music some nights.

Renaissance Cafe, Mainstream Centre, Main Road, Hout Bay. Best coffee in Hout Bay, set in a stunning courtyard. Open 8:30AM to 6PM every day. Well worth a visit!

Rhodes Memorial Restaurant, Rhodes Memorial. Situated in the Table Mountain National Park directly behind the famous Rhodes Memorial. The restaurant has stunning views over the northern and eastern Cape Town suburbs and the Hottentots Holland mountain range. The menu is diverse and caters to all tastes, but its the desserts that really rate a mention, be sure to tuck into some scones!

The Ritz Hotel, corner. Camberwell Road and Main Road, Sea Point. Has a revolving restaurant on the top floor of the hotel. Good food, good views, soft background live piano. A bar and smoking room is available one floor below the restaurant. You do not have to be a resident at the hotel to get a booking at the restaurant. NB(The floor has a small non revolving ledge next to the wall. Do not put your valuables on it as your table will be half way around the building before you realize that you have been separated from your belongings.)

Sunflower Health Café, 111 Long Street. Vegetarian restaurant, with a limited range of satisfying warm meals.

Tasca de Belem, Victoria Wharf, shop 154, Piazza Level, V&A Waterfront. A very good Portuguese restaurant that offers some exquisite meals.

Tong Lok, 10 Link Rd Parklands, Parklands Centre. The best Chinese restaurant and take-away that serves anything from vegetables, to seafood, sushi and other Japanese foods.

Bistro, 69 Victoria Road, Camps Bay, Cape Town. The tender signature Chalmar Beef Fillet is the ever popular dish – either cooked on the grill, or over open fire during the summer months. R90 Lunches feature sandwiches, salads and pastas showcasing imaginative combinations of only the finest ingredients .

Ashton’s Restaurant at Greenways, 1 Torquay Avenue Upper Claremont. World class fine dining restaurant that offers international cuisine with a South African twist.

Drink

169 on Long, 169 Long Street. This place is a local legend, pumping out a range of jazzy retro beats between Wednesday and Saturday nights. There’s also a nice restaurant attached that serves Mediterranean cuisines, so you can line your stomach before you hit the dance floor

Blushlounge, 43 Somerset Road, Greenpoint. Blush Lounge is a bar lounge and nightclub that caters for the young professional. Quality service by well trained bar staff and efficient and stylish door and security staff, patrons can relax into an evening of wellness brought on by a socially accessible environment

Caveau Wine Bar & Deli, 92 Bree Street, Heritage Square. Has over 300 wines by the glass and an award-winning wine list at that. In Heritage Square, city centre.

Club Georgia, 30 Georgia Street. Popular with over 25-year olds. Music from all over Africa is played, especially Kwassa-kwassa, Kwaito, Ndombolo and Rai.

Rafiki’s, 13 Kloof Nek Rd, Tamboerskloof. Popular with locals living in the area, cheap drinks and a very laid-back environment. Great bar food and pizza aswell.

Sandy B, 69 Victoria Road, Camps Bay, Cape Town. Open to the public at The Bay Hotel over summer, Sandy B is a unique cocktail venue, accentuated by its glorious views of Camps Bay beachfront.

Zanzi-Bar, 255 Long Street. 5PM-2AM. Good meeting place for other travelers visiting Cape Town. Live Jazz on Sundays, DJ’s on Friday & Saturday nights.

Fiction Bar, 226 Long Street. renown club with weekly indie-, drum’n’bass- and minimal-electro-nights mostly around R30 admission.

Era Night club, 71 Loop St, Cape Town City Centre. Electronically based and aims to mentor and uplift the local electronic music scene.

HQ, 100 Short Market Street, Cape Town, Parisian styled steakhouse, and bar is situated in the busy historic heritage square.

Aces and Spades, 62 Hout Street, City Centre, Cape Town, Rock – themed pub situated in the city Centre, they offer karaoke.