9 Best Restaurants in Cape Town, South Africa

Named for the year the Steenberg wine estate on which it sits was established, this not-to-be-missed bistro serves dishes intended to be paired with the estate's vintages, but remains the opposite of hoity-toity fine dining. Dishes like beef tataki with shimeji mushrooms or sustainable fish with kimchi and umami cream are the perfect foil to a minimalist environment of bleached wood, metallic accents, and high ceilings. The outside terrace with its gorgeous mountain views is the perfect setting for brunch or lunch. If you miss lunch, you're in for a treat with a tapas menu that includes the likes of polenta frittes with baba ganoush, sticky harissa lamb ribs, and rosti with goat feta.

Enjoy soaring views of the Constantia Winelands from this elegant space of carved wood and huge glass windows, where a fantastic chef's menu reminds you why long lunches were invented. A variety of dishes—all marked by freshness of ingredients and a globe-trotting host of inspiration—are served tapas-style, according to various menus which in turn are determined by what's available at market, what's in season, and what's inspired chef Ivor Jones's creativity in the kitchen. Expect items like coal-fired tuna with Namibian crab and a North African dressing or a pecorino risotto with goat cheese mousse. Everything sounds simple, but the tastes are expertly elevated, ensuring that this is perhaps the city's favorite destination for off-duty chefs.

Serving a range of exquisitely prepared international fusion cuisine in a casually elegant-industrial setting, this restaurant and bakery in the heart of leafy Constantia is a true gem. The extremely seasonal menu changes often, but includes about a dozen mind-blowing tapas options—incorporating flavors from harissa to ponzu to smoked garlic—as well as a half dozen more traditional mains, such as chalmar beef with duck fat fries and café au lait sauce, or pan-seared line fish with mussel chowder. The gorgeous presentation would have you expect a much costlier bill, but is probably inevitable given that the chef-owners both hail from La Colombe, one of Cape Town's most lauded fine-dining establishments. An amazing wine list and in-house bakery where you can pick up fresh croissants, macaroons, and exceptional pastries complete the picture.

Super-stylish Hemelhuijs is both a showcase for a range of exquisite and fanciful ceramicware, and a centrally located restaurant serving equally fanciful and exquisite food. Though a little pricey for lunch, the owner-chef's inventive seasonal dishes burst with freshness and flavor (think pear-and-celeriac salad with hazelnuts and trout, or a crispy panfried veal of sublime flavor and texture) are well worth it. On one of Cape Town's few pedestrian walkways (near the footbridge crossing busy Buitengracht Street), this tiny designer space, where food is served in gold-painted bowls under chandeliers hanging with beads, driftwood, and star-shape seedpods, is truly a treat. Needless to say, breakfast and brunch are also divine.

With great harbor and mountain views from its position on the sixth floor of a renovated silo, this hip tapas-style restaurant serves an eclectic but clearly Asian-influenced array of small plates. Helmed by the young and highly creative Greek-born chef, Jason Kosmas, the regularly changing menu contains dishes like smoked beef fillet with truffle café au lait; ceviche avocado tacos; and fish sliders. You'll want to order about three plates per person, and be sure to ask about whatever fish is most recently off the boat (Kosmas is a fisherman who takes marine sustainability very seriously). Drink service is excellent, too, with imaginative and delicious cocktails and a well-curated selection of wines from the Cape. The atmosphere, enhanced by tip-top servers, is pleasantly relaxed, and stepping into the handsome space is always a great treat.

Consistently rated South Africa’s top restaurant and on the top 50 restaurants in the world list, this industrial-elegant boutique eatery in Cape Town’s trendy Woodstock neighborhood is a struggle to get a table at, but the fantastical sensory and culinary journey that awaits you is a worthy and potentially life-changing reward. Since opening in 2009, TTK, as it’s known, has led fine-dining trends in foodie-mecca Cape Town. Keeping one step ahead of the game, chef-owner Luke Dale Roberts has curated a food-theater experience that, in a manner at once playful and artful, employs all five senses to transport you through a mind-blowing array of courses, with an end result that feels simply magical. Come with your best appetite, as the richness of the meal—starting with canapés like a shortbread-foie-gras with gold-leaf, moving on to dishes like lamb sweetbread with liquorice liver jus, and finishing with the likes of duck breast with duck liver stuffing and sour cherry—is also superlative.

Booking system has become month-to-month, so instead of planning months in advance, log in very early on the morning of the 1st.

At the top of the Helshoogte Pass with absolutely amazing views of the valley and mountains, Tokara is a Winelands must-visit. Chef Carolize Coetzee grew up in small-town South Africa and honors local ingredients and cooking methods in her wide range of dishes. Lunch is à la carte, while dinner guests choose between four- or six-course set menus, each with a wine-pairing option.

Although Azure's blue-and-white nautical-theme decor may feel a bit outdated to some, the restaurant's jaw-dropping sea and mountain views are reason enough to experience the mostly inspired menu. Signature dishes like the crayfish-and-prawn cocktail, beef Stroganoff, and rice pudding have a classic old-school bent and are divinely comforting, while more contemporary dishes like the prawn dhal in a coriander yogurt with pineapple salsa, or nouvelle mushrooms on watercress panna cotta are also true winners. While the à la carte menu is full of crowd-pleasers, the tasting menus—though sometimes excellent—do not always hit the mark. However, with this level of exquisite service, fairly reasonable pricing for fine dining, and such breathtaking views, diners are in for a treat overall. Come when you can enjoy the view, and inquire about specials like the "wine journey" or family Sunday lunches.  Ask for a window table.

Claiming a sweet spot at the V&A Waterfront with fabulous harbor and mountain views, this versatile eatery focuses on updated versions of global classics. From fish tacos to a Wagyu beef cheeseburger to salade Niçoise, dishes that you wouldn’t normally expect to see on the same menu are harmonized by shared traits of freshness, flavor, and quality. With a sleek, warehouse-inspired interior and outside seating that maximizes its position overlooking both Table Mountain and the harbor, Mondiall is a highly agreeable culinary stop. Open all day, this modern brasserie is a welcome addition to the Waterfront's often ho-hum offerings.