18 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.

A cozy yet elegant restaurant with a select seasonal menu posted on a chalkboard, Black Sheep features food inspired by all of the Cape’s culinary influences: indigenous, North African, Asian, Middle Eastern, and more. Ingredients are locally and ethically sourced, and the restaurant has a nose-to-tail food philosophy. Expect dishes like roast Cape Bream fish with Asian greens, crispy pork trotters, lentil, and coconut curry, rabbit puff pastries, slow roast pork shoulder with gingerbread sauce, or game meat like kudu and springbok when available. Come early or make a booking as the restaurant gets full quickly in the evenings.

Though unfortunately inside the mall, this buzzing hive of activity consistently churns out what many say is the city's best sushi along with a surprisingly good array of other Japanese dishes as well as seafood favorites like English fish-and-chips and a prawn pasta. It is probably fair to say that South African sushi was defined by Willoughby & Co., with its fanciful and decadent signature rolls, such as the creamy rock-shrimp maki (a tuna-style roll graced with large chunks of tempura-fried crayfish in a spicy mayo-based sauce) and the rainbow nation roll (salmon, avocado, and tuna topped with caviar and a few squizzles of delicious sesame-oil and sweet chili sauces). More traditional sushi is also very good, thanks to the fact that this shop promises nothing is ever frozen (multiple weekly shipments of fresh Norwegian salmon help make this so). The Japanese Kitchen menus are also extremely tasty. There will almost inevitably be a line during normal dinner hours; however, it goes quickly (especially if you sit at the sushi bar, which is the place to be) and you're likely to be offered free tastes of various new vintages while waiting.

Located near the top of Kloof Street, this Thai restaurant has an extensive menu full of flavorful grills, curries, and salads. Whether you sit on the romantic side where guests can dine at low tables while sitting on cushions on the floor, or at a table on the side with elegant traditional decor, you're bound to have a delicious meal and warm service.

With its superb cuisine and excellent service, diners adore this French bistro located in an old Cape Dutch building on Heritage Square. Using classic French techniques but drawing on local produce and adding some fusion twists, dishes like the signature raw Norwegian salmon salad with ginger, soy, and shallots are served in a warm wood-floored dining room with a vertical garden feature, as well as in a lovely outside courtyard. The culinary magic is mostly found in the form of daily specials presented chalkboard-style, including dishes like a duo of tuna with avocado wasabi-and-jalapeño dressing, or the veal tongue with Gruyère and local waterblommetjies (water lily). Lunch is buzzier than dinner, but the food is splendid every time. In the summer enjoy a tapas and drinks menu from 3 to 6 during the week in the courtyard.

This once-great Italian restaurant is still a pleasant stop, but with all the other fabulous food in Cape Town, it no longer rates as a must-do. Expect classic Milanese cuisine, including fresh salads, a whole section of carpaccio options (perhaps the stars of the menu), fresh pasta like butternut-squash-filled ravioli with brown sage butter, and plenty of fish and meat dishes. The upstairs interior is Eames-inspired with its bentwood chairs; downstairs, the exposed stone reveals the building's ancient history, which began in 1682.

Located in a historic manor house, this restaurant serves tasty and hearty Italian fare from multiple dining rooms whose white walls are adorned with an impressive collection of contemporary South African art. Classics like white anchovies in a shallot-and-olive-oil dressing, escalopes of veal, and fresh ravioli are all pleasing, filling, and reasonably priced, if not culinary events. But this place is more about unpretentious food that allows you to focus on good company and the stylish but laid-back environment—and with several dining rooms to choose from, you can always find an attractive nook to do exactly that. It's also a child-friendly venue where kids often play in the small park outside the restaurant.  On a summer's day it's worth coming early for a drink at the lovely outdoor Rose Bar in the garden adjacent to the restaurant.

Serving good, unpretentious fare in an elegantly quirky space with lovely views across the historic Steenberg wine estate, this is a decent fine-dining go-to no matter the time of day. An oak-shaded terrace overlooking manicured lawns makes for a lovely, lazy lunch spot, and the restaurant's interior with its origami swans hanging from high ceilings and huge windows is a stylishly bright space. The lunch and dinner menu feature dishes like pork belly with butternut puree and a cashew-crusted fillet. A Sunday lunch buffet with a South African theme and accompanying live music is a family affair, and various canapé platters are also available throughout the day and can be taken in the delightfully plush bar and lounge area. A private dining room seats up to 24 and is a gorgeous and intimate venue for a special occasion.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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. 

Tjing Tjing House is a four-venue Japanese cuisine marvel that shares skilled chefs and bartenders, great design style, and a 200-year-old heritage building in the heart of Cape Town. On the ground floor you have Torii, serving meals and snacks comprised of crowd-pleasing Japanese bar food—think deep-fried sushi rice, excellent tempura, baos, hot-dogs, and karaage chicken; there's also a rooftop bar and the excellent and more high-end Momiji, which serves refined tasting style menus on the middle floor. Next to Momiji is a sophisticated lounge bar, where you can enjoy cocktails and a range of Japanese whiskeys. Midnight blue walls and white floors are offset by sparkling chandeliers and graphics that aim to combine hints of both old and modern Tokyo. Service is friendly and efficient (in fact you may want them to slow things down if you plan to linger), and the cocktails are fantastic (note the bar upstairs). Mochi Mochi is a recent 5th addition to the venue, found next to Torii, a cafe serving great coffee, simple sandwiches, and all sorts of flavors and types of mochis.

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.