What are the must eat restaurants in the Cape Town/Winery area?
Oct 15th, 2005, 09:01 PM
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Dr.Andrea,
Have to agree with Roccco about Bukarra in that they serve wonderful Indian food and the establishment is a very enjoyable one to visit be it in Cape Town or their second venue in Stellenbosch. With that said my personal choice for Indian food which I feel is even better than Bukarra is an establishment called Bibis. The is a big secret in Cape Town as far as I am concerned for Indian food as not too many locals know of this venue for wonderful spicy food is Bibis (7618635). Fabulous Indian cooking. This venue is about 25 minutes out of the city centre and is situated in lower Kenilworth This is where our local Hindu community eat and the food is simply out of this world. Fair warning, no alcohol is served or allowed in this establishment.
Also have to agree with MPKP's recomendation of Baia. Great venue for fish. (4210935) Excellent fish restaurant and first class dining facility however on the expensive side (by local standards)
Another fish restaurant you could look at is Tank. Great sushi and nice atmosphere in this restaurant.
A couple of other good restaurants to visit in Cape Town are The Africa Cafe, Ginga and The Blue Danube
In Stellenbosch I would suggest that you visit Tokara (just outside of Stellenbosch). Great food in a wonderful setting. You HAVE TO book for this restaurant. If you are looking for authentic type Afrikaner cuisine a visit to Die Volkskombuis would not be out of place. This is the sort of place that you will either love or hate depending on how you take to Afrikaner cuisine like Bobotie. Die Wijnhuis is another good place to eat. Good selection of food and wine.
A place that the Stellenbosch locals frequent in a huge manner is The Fishmonger. If you want to visit this fish restaurant you simply HAVE TO book as it represents excellent value for money when it comes to fish meals.
I have posted part of the next part of this mail on the Fodors board before am am now adding it to this response so as to save you the effort of having to go through the Fodors archives.
If you are looking for a Cape Town fish restaurant my suggestions would be:
Willoughby's in the Waterfront (no pre-booking at this restaurant)
The big hidden secret fish place in Cape Town is Tangos (7126631) This is a venue that locals seem to have kept to themselves. You will hardly ever see tourists at this local family type fish venue. It is rather far out of the city center (25 minutes away in Kendall Road) but imho this is the very best fish restaurant in Cape Town. When you are in this restaurant you soon realize that fresh fish is being brought through the door minutes after being caught in the local Kalk Bay harbour. Furthermore if you want to find great varieties of local fish Tangos is the place to eat. My favorite fish that I generally eat at this venue is musslecracker. You will have to go hunting all over Cape Town for to find in another local restaurant serving this delicious fish variety.
If you have a lunchtime restaurant opportunity may I suggest that you stop at Kalkies in the Kalk Bay harbour. Now here’s a real typical Cape Town experience to want to savor with fresh fish being served that was caught on the day in the Kalk Bay harbour. Furthermore you wont find tourists at this venue as it seems to be too down market from the outside so what you finds is that all the locals eat there because it is such a treasure. Try and experience this great culinary experience when in our city.
Btw when it comes to eating fish most establishments will serve you local fish in the form of Cob (Kabeljou, Kingklip (Local to Cape Town, Cape salmon, Yellowtail and if you are lucky Musslecracker. When it comes to the shelled variety of fish you will be able to find crayfish (smaller than American lobster but definitely more substance to the meat and sweeter), prawns (Shrimp in the USA) and maybe giant prawns (prawns in the USA). All in all when it comes to shelled fish I say again be forewarned against being ripped off and DONT think in Dollar terms when ordering, think in Rand terms relative to what you will have already learnt as far a local values are concerned.
You might ask well where do the local eat? Two places where you generally wont find a tourist in sight due to locals booking out the venues are The Bayside Cafe in Camps Bay (438 2650) and Millers Thumb in the Gardens area. (424 3838) Both these establishments are great places to eat at and the reason as to why locals eat at these venues are simple: Great food, excellent prices and wonderful local atmosphere. Be aware that if you dont pre-book you wont get in to these restaurants on week nights as well as weekends.
Theres another interesting new kid on the block in Cape Town in the form of the Caveau Wine Bar & Deli. This is not a full blooded restaurant in that it is a wine bar and meeting place. If you want to meet some friendly locals this is the place to go to in Cape Town. The the wines and snacks are excellent. Great place. http://www.caveau.co.za/
Besides Bibis seeing that your husband likes spicy foods could also land up in the following places:
Wangthai is a Thai restaurant that serves very spicy foods.
Zorinas Cafe (4249301) at 172 Loop Street is a little hidden gem. It is actually a take-out venue with a little hidden restaurant behind it. No bookings, just arrive. Unquestionably the best samoosas and curry in town. Only open at lunch times and certainly worth the visit.
If you are looking for a quality dining type restaurant take a look at 95 Keerom Street. (4220765) Quite a new place on the block but definitely excellent dining at slightly higher than normal prices. Nice atmosphere too.
If you are looking for wonderful atmosphere then one of the best places to visit is one of the oldest restaurants in Cape Town viz. The Pizzeria Napolitana (4345386). This restaurant has been in Sea Point as far back as I can remember as a school kid growing up in Sea Point. The reason as to why this venue is still around under the same ownership of a third generation of the same original starting out family is that it offers great Italian foods and fish dishes at incredibly reasonable prices with a marvellous atmosphere in the eaterie thrown in too. Till today if one wants to visit this restaurant one generally needs to book about 3-4 days in advance. If you are looking for pasta in the Sea Point area then The Pizzeria (the name by which we all know it in Cape Town) is a great place to visit.
Talking about pasta if you are in the Gardens area there is a new place by the name of "The Pasta Factory" that is well worth visiting. The restaurant is unique in the manner that it operates. The system that this family concern uses is unique and difficult to describe in a mail however rest assured you will be surprised by the pleasant ways of the establishment inclusive of the excellent food. Reasonably priced too. The "Pasta Factory" works on a first come first serve basis. Btw the only reason as to why I am suggesting pasta places is because I have noticed that when visitors travel to Cape Town for lest say 4 nights on one night somebody in the touring group always somehow or other asks for pasta or pizza. Personally I would not advocate this because Cape Town has so much to offer in terms of local foods and especially fish but its a case of horses for courses so just in case you have an interest in pasta I have made the above two suggestions.
Make no error there are many other wonderful restaurants in Cape Town that are well worth visiting. The above restaurants are NOT the normal run of the mill recommendations that will be made in most "eat out book" recommendations. Willoughbys, The Africa Cafe, The Blue Danube, Baia and maybe 95 Keerom Street could well come in for mentioning in some of the travel books available or possibly by others writing to this page. The restaurants mentioned in my list are the ones that locals frequent and my advice always remains "when in Cape Town do eat what the Capetonians eat".
As a sideline an interesting website where you can see some whacky Cape Town restaurant reviews is at http://brianberkman.com/?ToDo=rest Go read the site and have Brian Berkman entertain you with his foodie writings.
OK Dr.Andrea that shoud keep your tummies reasonably happy when you visit us in Cape Town or the Winelands region.
Enjoy our great city when you visit us .
Very proudly part of the wonderful
nation of South Africa
Have to agree with Roccco about Bukarra in that they serve wonderful Indian food and the establishment is a very enjoyable one to visit be it in Cape Town or their second venue in Stellenbosch. With that said my personal choice for Indian food which I feel is even better than Bukarra is an establishment called Bibis. The is a big secret in Cape Town as far as I am concerned for Indian food as not too many locals know of this venue for wonderful spicy food is Bibis (7618635). Fabulous Indian cooking. This venue is about 25 minutes out of the city centre and is situated in lower Kenilworth This is where our local Hindu community eat and the food is simply out of this world. Fair warning, no alcohol is served or allowed in this establishment.
Also have to agree with MPKP's recomendation of Baia. Great venue for fish. (4210935) Excellent fish restaurant and first class dining facility however on the expensive side (by local standards)
Another fish restaurant you could look at is Tank. Great sushi and nice atmosphere in this restaurant.
A couple of other good restaurants to visit in Cape Town are The Africa Cafe, Ginga and The Blue Danube
In Stellenbosch I would suggest that you visit Tokara (just outside of Stellenbosch). Great food in a wonderful setting. You HAVE TO book for this restaurant. If you are looking for authentic type Afrikaner cuisine a visit to Die Volkskombuis would not be out of place. This is the sort of place that you will either love or hate depending on how you take to Afrikaner cuisine like Bobotie. Die Wijnhuis is another good place to eat. Good selection of food and wine.
A place that the Stellenbosch locals frequent in a huge manner is The Fishmonger. If you want to visit this fish restaurant you simply HAVE TO book as it represents excellent value for money when it comes to fish meals.
I have posted part of the next part of this mail on the Fodors board before am am now adding it to this response so as to save you the effort of having to go through the Fodors archives.
If you are looking for a Cape Town fish restaurant my suggestions would be:
Willoughby's in the Waterfront (no pre-booking at this restaurant)
The big hidden secret fish place in Cape Town is Tangos (7126631) This is a venue that locals seem to have kept to themselves. You will hardly ever see tourists at this local family type fish venue. It is rather far out of the city center (25 minutes away in Kendall Road) but imho this is the very best fish restaurant in Cape Town. When you are in this restaurant you soon realize that fresh fish is being brought through the door minutes after being caught in the local Kalk Bay harbour. Furthermore if you want to find great varieties of local fish Tangos is the place to eat. My favorite fish that I generally eat at this venue is musslecracker. You will have to go hunting all over Cape Town for to find in another local restaurant serving this delicious fish variety.
If you have a lunchtime restaurant opportunity may I suggest that you stop at Kalkies in the Kalk Bay harbour. Now here’s a real typical Cape Town experience to want to savor with fresh fish being served that was caught on the day in the Kalk Bay harbour. Furthermore you wont find tourists at this venue as it seems to be too down market from the outside so what you finds is that all the locals eat there because it is such a treasure. Try and experience this great culinary experience when in our city.
Btw when it comes to eating fish most establishments will serve you local fish in the form of Cob (Kabeljou, Kingklip (Local to Cape Town, Cape salmon, Yellowtail and if you are lucky Musslecracker. When it comes to the shelled variety of fish you will be able to find crayfish (smaller than American lobster but definitely more substance to the meat and sweeter), prawns (Shrimp in the USA) and maybe giant prawns (prawns in the USA). All in all when it comes to shelled fish I say again be forewarned against being ripped off and DONT think in Dollar terms when ordering, think in Rand terms relative to what you will have already learnt as far a local values are concerned.
You might ask well where do the local eat? Two places where you generally wont find a tourist in sight due to locals booking out the venues are The Bayside Cafe in Camps Bay (438 2650) and Millers Thumb in the Gardens area. (424 3838) Both these establishments are great places to eat at and the reason as to why locals eat at these venues are simple: Great food, excellent prices and wonderful local atmosphere. Be aware that if you dont pre-book you wont get in to these restaurants on week nights as well as weekends.
Theres another interesting new kid on the block in Cape Town in the form of the Caveau Wine Bar & Deli. This is not a full blooded restaurant in that it is a wine bar and meeting place. If you want to meet some friendly locals this is the place to go to in Cape Town. The the wines and snacks are excellent. Great place. http://www.caveau.co.za/
Besides Bibis seeing that your husband likes spicy foods could also land up in the following places:
Wangthai is a Thai restaurant that serves very spicy foods.
Zorinas Cafe (4249301) at 172 Loop Street is a little hidden gem. It is actually a take-out venue with a little hidden restaurant behind it. No bookings, just arrive. Unquestionably the best samoosas and curry in town. Only open at lunch times and certainly worth the visit.
If you are looking for a quality dining type restaurant take a look at 95 Keerom Street. (4220765) Quite a new place on the block but definitely excellent dining at slightly higher than normal prices. Nice atmosphere too.
If you are looking for wonderful atmosphere then one of the best places to visit is one of the oldest restaurants in Cape Town viz. The Pizzeria Napolitana (4345386). This restaurant has been in Sea Point as far back as I can remember as a school kid growing up in Sea Point. The reason as to why this venue is still around under the same ownership of a third generation of the same original starting out family is that it offers great Italian foods and fish dishes at incredibly reasonable prices with a marvellous atmosphere in the eaterie thrown in too. Till today if one wants to visit this restaurant one generally needs to book about 3-4 days in advance. If you are looking for pasta in the Sea Point area then The Pizzeria (the name by which we all know it in Cape Town) is a great place to visit.
Talking about pasta if you are in the Gardens area there is a new place by the name of "The Pasta Factory" that is well worth visiting. The restaurant is unique in the manner that it operates. The system that this family concern uses is unique and difficult to describe in a mail however rest assured you will be surprised by the pleasant ways of the establishment inclusive of the excellent food. Reasonably priced too. The "Pasta Factory" works on a first come first serve basis. Btw the only reason as to why I am suggesting pasta places is because I have noticed that when visitors travel to Cape Town for lest say 4 nights on one night somebody in the touring group always somehow or other asks for pasta or pizza. Personally I would not advocate this because Cape Town has so much to offer in terms of local foods and especially fish but its a case of horses for courses so just in case you have an interest in pasta I have made the above two suggestions.
Make no error there are many other wonderful restaurants in Cape Town that are well worth visiting. The above restaurants are NOT the normal run of the mill recommendations that will be made in most "eat out book" recommendations. Willoughbys, The Africa Cafe, The Blue Danube, Baia and maybe 95 Keerom Street could well come in for mentioning in some of the travel books available or possibly by others writing to this page. The restaurants mentioned in my list are the ones that locals frequent and my advice always remains "when in Cape Town do eat what the Capetonians eat".
As a sideline an interesting website where you can see some whacky Cape Town restaurant reviews is at http://brianberkman.com/?ToDo=rest Go read the site and have Brian Berkman entertain you with his foodie writings.
OK Dr.Andrea that shoud keep your tummies reasonably happy when you visit us in Cape Town or the Winelands region.
Enjoy our great city when you visit us .
Very proudly part of the wonderful
nation of South Africa
Oct 16th, 2005, 02:56 AM
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Here are some useful recent threads:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34658365
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34674362
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34658365
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34674362
Oct 16th, 2005, 11:37 AM
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Selwyn, great post (I have cut-and-pasted it into another document for future reference).
What do you think of Bismillah, which is my favorite restaurant in Cape Town, mostly because Cape Malay food is not found in many other places, and is not found in NY.
Thanks, Michael
What do you think of Bismillah, which is my favorite restaurant in Cape Town, mostly because Cape Malay food is not found in many other places, and is not found in NY.
Thanks, Michael
Oct 16th, 2005, 11:59 AM
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I recently spent 3 nights in Cape Town and ate at Baia ( on the waterfront, excellent fish, top service), Africa Cafe (touristy, but lots of fun) and Balthazaar ( also on the waterfront - great wine selection and giant prawns).
Oct 17th, 2005, 01:22 PM
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The best fish we had was probably at The Fishmonger in Stellenbosch. Straightforward and great value for money. For sure not a 'tourists only' place. This was the first restaurant we saw people bring in their own wine.
We also liked the African cuisine at Volkskombuis.
You will need reserations at both.
We also liked the African cuisine at Volkskombuis.
You will need reserations at both.
Oct 18th, 2005, 01:40 PM
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I took a day trip up to the Delhiem Vineyard for some wine and a lunch...it was fabulous. Great garden patio setting, cheap good wine and after finishing a cheesecake dessert, i actually ordered a second because it was so good.
