98 Best Restaurants in Cape Town, South Africa

Set in a 19th-century building at Groot Constantia, the Cape's oldest wine estate, this family- and group-friendly restaurant provides a hearty taste of the Cape's culinary heritage, as well as crowd-pleasers of the salads, burger, pasta variety. Traditional Cape Malay dishes worth trying include bobotie (spiced minced beef studded with dried fruit and topped with a savory baked custard), the karoo lamb curry, and smoked snoek (fragrant Cape oily fish) pâté. The South African dessert melktert, or milk tart—similar to baked custard—is both traditional and delicious, and the cheesecake is legendary.

An upmarket gem in the lower end of Kloof Street, this eclectic restaurant in an old Victorian house has a simple but great French-inspired menu, with meat, fish, and vegetarian dishes, and impressive cocktails. The decor is vintage opulence meets modern accents, with different seating areas, including outdoors for warmer days.

New to Newlands is Noordhoek's famous ice cream shop. You can find a variety of signature and seasonal flavors ranging from standards like vanilla bean to more comfort food favorites like rocky road, to kid-friendly mermaid and T-Rex flavors. This playful cafe caters to dairy-free, vegan, and sugar-free eating preferences and has a small seating area outside in the busy restaurant hotspot, the Cardiff Castle. 

This cozy cafe has a prime spot on the promenade, where you can enjoy freshly baked pastries, great breakfasts, or a heartier meal with beautiful views of the beach. French toast, eggs Benedict, and buttermilk pancakes are crowd favorites, as are the smoothies, freshly pressed juices, and good selection of teas. 

A charming cafe in the Alphen Boutique Hotel, La Belle Constantia has fresh bakes, salads, and more filling lunches, though they are known for their cakes and pastries—be sure to try the lemon meringue or the berry frangipane. In warmer weather take advantage of the delightful outside seating. 

Serving hearty unpretentious Mediterranean fare and tapas at reasonable prices, this unassuming wine bar and bistro on Sea Point's Main Road is often packed. The menu changes frequently, but focuses on Mediterranean-inspired dishes like ostrich meatballs and tagliatelle in a spicy Neapolitan sauce, sesame-crusted fish cakes with a chunky Greek salad, and a good selection of classically Spanish-style tapas. Choose the great-value two- or three-course prix-fixe menu, or order à la carte if you're less peckish. The restaurant's interior is comfortable, if unremarkable, but most will try to nab one of the busy outside tables (heat lamps keep things cozy in winter). With more than 60 wines by the glass, this is also a great venue in which to acquaint yourself with some new South African wines while watching the world go by.

La Mouette serves an extremely reasonably priced tasting menu of modern French-fusion-style cuisine in a beautiful old Sea Point home that is all sash windows, working fireplaces, and bold color. With a choice of three or six courses, you'll be treated to inventive and delicious seasonal fare such as tuna tartare or duck breast with fermented red cabbage. Split into several different rooms, each of which seats only about 20 people, the restaurant allows for lingering conversation even on the busiest evenings. Friendly, competent service and a beautiful courtyard that is very popular in the summer complete the picture. Not all courses are winners, but at these prices, the overall experience is well worth a visit.

This quaint sidewalk café in the charming and pedestrian-friendly De Waterkant neighborhood above Green Point serves good coffees and teas, not to mention tasty breakfasts and lunches, both available all day. The quiches and savory pies are all flavorful, and the carrot-walnut cake remains deliciously moist. There are also more hearty options on offer—Karoo lamb shank, sticky spare ribs, and mac 'n' cheese—as well as a full bar and dinner service.

A more casual offering at the old Roundhouse, the Lawns has the same beautiful views and greenery, and there's lovely outdoor seating perfect for summer cocktails, lunch, or snacks. While food isn't the main draw, you can order decent pizzas, salads, pastas, burgers, fish and chips, and lovely desserts. The parking is treacherous so plan to take a taxi or Uber and get ready to enjoy long hours of lounging in the sun. 

At this unassuming hole-in-the-wall restaurant, chef and owner Yeshi Mekonnen has a deep love for her cuisine which is evident in the traditional and fresh Ethiopian food she prepares from scratch. Meals are served on large sharing platters or individual plates and come with the traditional injera (naturally gluten-free flatbread); meat and vegan options are available. The quaint spot is decorated with trinkets from Ethiopia, making you feel worlds away from the street you just left. 

The smells of freshly baking bread will immediately whet your appetite at this friendly café serving delicious breakfasts, lunches, and treats daily except Sunday.

A traditional family-run Italian restaurant that has held a firm spot in the heart of Newlands. Expect classic Italian pasta, grilled fish, meats, and a lot of local favorites too. Although the restaurant is in the Dean Street Arcade - so no views - it is somewhere to get a generous and quality Italian meal. 

Delivering great and unfussy café food from a gorgeously casual space, Mantra's second-floor vantage provides sweeping views of the beach and sea while also lifting you above the street-level irritations of cars and hawkers. The scones and smoothies are fantastic at breakfast (it’s quickly become a favorite local breakfast joint), while tapas, salads, pizzas, and heartier mains from mussels to burgers to pork ribs are available from 11:30 till closing. The clean and bright interior of natural wood, lovely artwork, and Moroccan-inspired tiles creates a spacious and tasteful ambiance that invites lingering. The desserts are excellent, and the service is extremely friendly.

A cozy and friendly little Tanzanian restaurant in the bustling CBD, the Meeting Point aims to bring people together, hence the inspiration for the name. The menu features all sorts of tasty poultry, meat, fish, and vegetarian East African classics, but you must try the mandazi, a Tanzanian donut that's crispy, spiced, and not too sweet. They also host storytelling, poetry, and other events, and have a stall at the Neighbourgood's Market at the Old Biscuit Mill on Saturdays. 

This cozy home-style seafood restaurant is a neighborhood classic, owned by a husband-and-wife team who are very friendly and knowledgeable. With a small menu, you can expect simple but consistently good fresh fish dishes inspired by Cape flavors, but the meat and vegetarian options are also great. 

This stylish and centrally located Bree Street bistro draws diners with exquisitely rendered food in an elegant heritage building where exposed brick and ancient yellowwood beams contrast with chartreuse velvet banquettes and sleek furnishings. The menu is small and changes regularly, but the inspiration is modern European served in three courses; expect dishes like risotto arancini, duck confit with braised cabbage, and crème brûlée. Everything is made daily by the co-owners/chefs (who were also the masterminds of Birds, the beloved café that previously occupied the same space). A handpicked selection of boutique local wines which you can also enjoy at the gorgeous old oak bar completes the picture.

This Greek taverna has been a Sea Point classic since the '80s, although it has been refurbished with modern Greek decor and bright white interiors, and it's a great place to watch the comings and goings on the busy Main Road. The large menu features mezzes, souvlaki, and hearty main dishes like moussaka and kleftiko (slow-cooked) lamb. They often have Greek celebration nights with music, dancing, and plate breaking, which is always fun to experience. 

A four-generation family-run business, this fuss-free bagel shop and deli specializes in traditional boiled and baked New York–style bagels that are made fresh daily, with a number of delicious toppings—go with a simple schmear of cream cheese on a poppy-seed bagel or try the brisket, smoked salmon, or pastrami. They also serve great coffee, pastries, and an amazing New York cheesecake. 

If you've always wanted to try Nobuyuki "Nobu" Matsuhisa's famous Japanese cuisine, but were put off by the potential bill in New York or London, Nobu Cape Town offers a chance to sample what may not constitute exactly the same level of cuisine, but will nonetheless make for a highly enjoyable experience. A vast modern space in the Waterfront's One&Only resort provides a fitting backdrop for the splurge of the Omakase multicourse tasting menu, which will likely include dishes such as the signature Alaskan black cod with miso. Service is gracious, and the selection of sake and local wines is stellar if costly by local standards.

Very popular sister restaurants located side by side, offering great noodles and sushi, with a minimalist modern Japanese decor. Service is fast and friendly and dishes are made with quality ingredients. The sushi can rival some of the best sushi in Cape Town and the noodles are flavor-packed and fresh. 

This all-white café on trendy Bree Street is the go-to place for delicious, creative, and relatively healthful Middle Eastern–style fare, which is heavy on salads like quinoa with roasted vegetables and cranberries, pesto potato with peas and olives, or green beans with orange and hazelnut. The few mains options like butter chicken or lamb-and-lentil biryani are also stellar. For a set price, you can load up with three or four salads plus one main, and eat at the counter inside, a handful of tables outside, or take away. Don't forget to save space for the fantastic desserts like date balls or poppyseed cake with white chocolate ganache.

A new cozy cafe in Cardiff Castle known for great croissants and other French pastries. Breakfast and light lunch options are also on offer and there is pleasant seating outside, tastefully decorated with pretty pot plants, bougainvillea flowers, and greenery. 

This stylish restaurant is one of the only dinner and dance venues in Cape Town; expect a big menu with well-made meat, seafood, and vegetarian dishes with a Portuguese flair. A lively band performs all sorts of classical tunes from Frank Sinatra to George Michael, and there are lots of sing-alongs, but more importantly, music to dance to, which diners do in between courses.

What started in Bo-Kaap as Cape Town's first vegan cafe, can now be enjoyed with views of Camps Bay. This tiny but bright cafe is perfect for breakfast or a takeaway to enjoy as a beach picnic; everything is freshly prepared and they guarantee 15 minutes to make your order. 

Known for its exceptional natural beauty, Cape Town is surprisingly short on restaurants with killer views; The Roundhouse, serving modern South African cuisine, is helping close that gap. Converted from its origins as an 18th-century Table Mountain–side hunting lodge, this unique fine-dining restaurant overlooking Camps Bay specializes in applying creative flavor combinations to local ingredients—think Karoo ostrich with a fennel seed glaze or hake with carrot and cashew puree. All three connected dining rooms exude a romantic warmth with their white tablecloths and copper hurricane lamps, with the Somerset Room enjoying the best sea views, and the private whiskey room being ideal for larger parties of up to eight guests.

Check out the adjacent "Rumbullion" picnic area, an excellent place to while away a summer's afternoon enjoying breathtaking mountain and sea views and a more casual burger-and-pizza-style menu. Opening hours vary with the season, so best to call and check.

An upmarket and modern Vietnamese restaurant, Saigon has a superb and extensive menu with dishes that include spicy beef basil with chili sauce and Saigon ginger fish. Views of Table Mountain and an inviting atmosphere, have made this a popular spot so make sure you book ahead. Complimentary shoulder massages are a dinner perk. 

Serving locally and sustainably caught seafood, SeeBreeze has become the go-to spot on Bree Street for oysters, cocktails, and a well-made light dishes. Bringing a contemporary take to traditional seafood dishes, expect to find things like fish and chips, prawn linguine, creamy mussels, and grilled whole fish. In the warmer months, sit outside in the sunshine and enjoy some bubbly with your meal. 

Serving yummy, organic fare from breakfast through lunch, this minimalist designer café is a popular downtown option where you will often find locals on laptops enjoying items like raw muesli with Greek yogurt or coconut quinoa porridge. Lunch includes several salad and sandwich options, and healthy mains like zucchini linguine.

A tiny restaurant that packs a punch. Sundoo offers a South Indian-style menu (not as common in Cape Town) and creative twists on popular street foods. Order a few tapas to share or go with an individual main meal, you can't go wrong, either way, go early or make sure to reserve a table because the restaurant doesn't have many tables and they get full quite quickly. 

During the warm summer months—and on the many good winter days—Capetonians are fond of taking picnic baskets up the mountain; the best time to picnic is after 5, as some say sipping a glass of chilled Cape wine while watching the sunset from Table Mountain is one of life's great joys. If you fail to bring your own provisions, this large self-service restaurant at the top of Table Mountain serves reasonable hot breakfasts, sandwiches, buffet-style meals, and local wine. The adjoining Wi-Fi Lounge dishes up a spectacular view along with free Wi-Fi, nonalcoholic beverages, beer, bubbly, and bar snacks.