22 Brilliant Restaurants To Try in (Almost) Every Suburb in Cape Town!
It’s summer time, which means plenty of socialising with friends and family. And, we all know that the best way to spend quality time with loved ones is over a good meal. If you live in Cape Town then you no doubt know that we are spoiled for choice when it comes to great eateries. Of course, we all have our favourite places to tuck into something delicious but it doesn’t hurt to try something new every now and then, especially when the spot is right on your own doorstep. To help you discover some exciting new eats this summer we’ve put together a list of brilliant, must-try restaurants in (almost) every suburb in Cape Town. And, before you think all this eating out and enjoying yourself is going to cost you a pretty penny, might we suggest you check out the equally brilliant Socialite Cape Town? Sign up now and get up to 25% off your ENTIRE bill at some of the best restaurants in and around Cape Town – you can find out more about Socialite here.
Southern Suburbs
Newlands:
Italian Kitchen: Newlands
Robust, aromatic and flavourful are the words often used to describe the splendour of Italian cuisine – and that’s exactly what you can expect at Italian Kitchen. Located in the lifestyle centre in Newlands, this charming Italian eatery on the ever-popular Dean Street, offers a warm and cosy retreat to enjoy the best of Italia on a plate! Tuck into comfort foods in the form of their famous traditional, wood-fired square pizzas, burgers, seafood, pasta dishes, and so much more.
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Tai Ping
The ever-popular Tai Ping is considered a real hidden gem by those in the know. Deliciously located in a secluded cul-de-sac on the buzzing Dean Street, this simple, unpretentious Chinese restaurant is rated as one of the Top 10 Chinese restaurants in Cape Town, and for good reason! Diners are treated to a fabulous menu, boasting traditional Chinese fare, authentically prepared and designed to be enjoyed alone, or as a feast shared between friends and family! From their famous hot pot dishes and their Honey & Garlic Ribs to yummy Crispy Aromatic Duck, foodies are spoilt for choice at Tai Ping.
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Kenilworth:
Jakes on Summerly
While Jakes on Summerly already enjoys a huge fan following and needs no introduction if you haven’t experienced this delightful spot then now is the chance to give it a try. This stylish and trendy eatery offers seating both, indoors and outdoors in the courtyard for heavenly al-fresco dining! Designed around the inspired idea of bringing family, friends and foodies together to enjoy nourishing, mouth-watering and wholesome meals, Jakes has certainly made its mark, with the place always abuzz with excitement and appreciation!
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Claremont:
The Avenue Restaurant and Grill
This trendy eatery in the mini-suburb of Harfield Village in Claremont enjoys somewhat legendary status amongst those in the neighbourhood. The simplistic and cosy eatery is renowned for its steaks but they also offer superior seafood, vegan and vegetarian dishes, tickling the taste buds of their diners in true gourmet style! This Halaal-friendly establishment utilises Halaal-certified meat and chicken in their kitchens and churns out the most innovatively delicious dishes, using fresh ingredients and a know-how that comes from years of expertise!
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Café Nood
If you’re craving some really good, wholesome and flavourful food then Café Nood, in the leafy suburb of Claremont, is the place to be! This European-styled café offers a selection of mouth-watering, innovative dishes, ready to astound those fortunate enough to dine here. The spot is well known for their outstanding levels of service as well as their focus on deliciously healthy food options, bursting with flavours and textures, sure to please the most ravenous of appetites. And before you leave, a cup of coffee from Café Nood is an absolute must and arguably the best coffee you’ll ever consume!
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Observatory:
Eat on Main
This family owned restaurant invites guests to succumb to the absolute pleasure of fabulous food savoured in the way it should be! The space is relaxed and comfy, with dynamic pops of colour, lots of charming character, and fresh and exciting accents. Their vast menu caters to all tastes, with wholesome and hearty continental breakfasts, lunch and dinner feasts, light meals, scrumptious sandwiches, salads and subs, as well as their famous home-baked delicacies!
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Rondebosch:
Al’s Place
Rondebosch is finally ready to share it best-kept-secret with the rest of us! Located in the perfect hiding place opposite the train station, Al’s Place offers diners a warmth and hospitality unlike anywhere else in Cape Town. The atmosphere is relaxed and laid-back and regulars love that the spot takes them back to a time when dinners were family affairs, meant to be relished over great company and mouthfuls of wholesome comfort food! You are sure to find the best steaks at Al’s but their well-balanced menu also includes authentic wood-fired pizzas, the freshest seafood dishes, appetising chicken dishes, pork dishes and vegetarian dishes bursting with flavours!
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Woodstock:
Woodstock Grill and Tap
A stone’s throw away from the popular Old Biscuit Mill, the uber-trendy Woodstock Grill and Tap is well-known as the place to be in Woodstock for great steak. This upmarket steakhouse is also conveniently situated above their partners, Woodstock Brewery, and the eatery offers diners the opportunity to get a first-hand view the origins of their craft beer, as they make their way up to this gorgeous eatery! This stunning, contemporary steakhouse deviates from the traditional steakhouse concept, sporting an uncharacteristically light-filled space, matched by the warmth of sophisticated cuisine, savoured in the classy, but modern, seating area, with inviting wood and rich leather conveying a sense of distinguished company.
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La Bottega
This vibey, trendy, and laid-back Italian eatery pays homage to Italia and all her gourmet magnificence, with dishes drenched in the saucy luxury of fresh ingredients, age-old techniques and modern spins on old favourites! South African dishes also feature on their menu and reviews praise a variety of their dishes and their famous Origin Coffee! If you fancy a rooftop meal, then La Bottega will help you rise to the occasion, with rooftop seating atop the middle of Sir Lowry Road, or opt for the indoor seating if that tickles your fancy instead! Pizza, Pasta, Salads and the rest of the menu draw throngs of foodie fans.
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Crawford:
Tashreeqas
Tashreeqa’s was founded in 1997 and is a unique and independently owned Cake and Coffee Emporium situated in suburbia Cape Town. The Coffee Shop is a complimentary mingling of international cuisine on a single menu. The food is of the finest quality and is prepared with exotic flair – pop in for a quick coffee and a slice of cake or spend an afternoon relaxing with friends and family at this cosy spot.
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Northern Suburbs
Durbanville:
Gatooh
Inspired by the famous French confectionary and claiming its name from this famous dessert, Gatooh is where the good food is at! Durbanville plays host to this fabulous restaurant, where friends hang out, families become closer and foodies rejoice! The menu is uncluttered, and wholesome, with culinary all-day breakfasts and lunch options encompassing traditional favourites, like omelettes, wraps, flapjacks, and muffins as well as burgers, savoury pancakes and salads – all made using the freshest ingredients available and with the utmost attention to detail! Their resident barista prides himself on creating coffee masterpieces, using only the best beans from one of the oldest coffee roasters in South Africa, and hails their Cup-A-Gatooh – a delicious concoction of condensed milk, coffee and whipped cream – as the ultimate in luxurious beverages!
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Chun-Rui
Tickle your taste buds with the best in Chinese cuisine and traditional sushi at Chun-Rui. A simple, functional and fuss-free dining space allows their authentic chefs to focus on the most important element at this popular restaurant – their yummy food! Hailed as one of the very best in Asian food options, their regular diners relish every menu item with zeal and enthusiasm! Catering to all appetites, Chun-Rui offers everything from spring rolls and chop suey, to soups and salads in a variety of choices, that include vegetarian, poultry, seafood and so much more, there isn’t a diner who won’t find exactly what they’re seeking!
Click here for more information.
Brackenfell:
Blasters, Cape Gate Décor Centre
Conveniently located within the Cape Gate Décor Centre in Brackenfell, Blasters offers families multiple treats all under one roof! This spot offers meals of the utmost quality, focussing on breakfasts, lunches and suppers filled with the wholesome, hearty goodness of meals that are well-made and certain to please the fussiest of tastes. Being a primarily family-oriented restaurant, Blasters offers the children a dream come true with a huge kids play area with trained attendants on duty at all times! Children are tagged with hi-tech tags – and play areas are disinfected and cleaned every day to ensure their safety and security! Blasters also offers a drop-off option, where parents can drop off their kids and collect them later!
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Blouberg:
Captain’s Kitchen
Entice your taste buds at uber-popular seaside eatery, Captain’s Kitchen, where you can feast on a variety of scrumptious meal choices, including wholesome breakfast options, scintillating grills, tantalising seafood, piping hot pizzas, sensational sushi, bursting burgers to delight every diner! Indoor seating offers a relaxed, comfortable setting, perfect for sports enthusiasts, while outdoor seating offers gorgeous, panoramic views of our iconic Table Mountain, pristine beaches, and of course our world-famous Cape horizon!
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Tygervalley:
Ton Khoon Restaurant
This gorgeous, up-market restaurant offers its discerning guests the opportunity to dine in style, with warm wooden flooring, crisp white tablecloths and contemporary crockery and cutlery all lending their sense of class and tasteful grace to the experience of fine dining! Serving authentic Thai and Japanese cuisine, Ton Khoon, receives rave reviews and plenty of praising for excellent quality, flavours and beyond all else – the masterpieces reflected in the flawless presentation of their dishes, that tease with their beauty and excite with their flavours! From the entrance, where guests are greeted in Traditional Thai custom, to the time that they are seated and ordering their meal and right up until that bitter-sweet moment when they leave, every diner can expect only the best in authentic Thai dining!
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Tableview:
The FUE (Festive Underground Eatery)
Capetonian foodies find the ultimate culinary delight at the uber-cool Festive Underground Eatery, or rather, the FUE, as it is affectionately known! This owner-run restaurant boasts a relaxed ambience, along with a few quirky elements and is conveniently located on Marine Drive in the beautiful Table View area! Priding themselves on consistently offering their diners fabulous food, made from only the freshest artisanal ingredients, along with top quality bean-to-cup coffee, sporting their very own blend to appreciative locals and tourists alike! Serving resplendent feasts for breakfasts and lunches, their fans celebrate their gourmet sandwiches, bursting burgers and their sensational salads, but most of all, it’s their Monster milkshakes, garnished with homemade doughnuts, that keep them coming back for more – and more!
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CBD & Atlantic Seaboard
Hout Bay:
Ragafellows
The Mother City’s beautiful coastal suburb of Hout Bay is home to the uber-cool Ragafellows – where each diner is brought into a surreal setting, with mind-blowing food and an ambience reminiscent of a movie set! Renowned for their amazingly wholesome comfort food and their tantalisingly innovative gourmet burgers and grills, Ragafellows knows exactly which flavour combinations to celebrate to elicit the greatest taste sensations from their guests! Old-school cuisine, dotted with fresh new twists, await you at this unique spot that is well worth the drive.
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Simon’s Town:
Saveur
A firm foodie favourite, Saveur Restaurant is renowned for their consistent attention to providing good, fresh food and the highest quality service standards. Diners are encouraged to savour a leisurely meal, relishing every bite while gazing out upon the Simonstown Harbour, the endless horizon offering the perfect backdrop! This modern, European-styled eatery prides itself on their commitment to their environment and community, reassuring their clients that they’re in good company! Contemporary décor, gourmet cuisine and gastronomic experiences await culinary aficionados at the uber-stylish Saveur Restaurant!
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Kalk Bay:
Outspan
Located in the picturesque Kalk Bay area, Outspan Restaurant specialises in preparing fresh seafood on the grill, ready to devour, with the salty scent of the sea making its way to diners as they tuck into their steaming hot meal!
Beneath the visible simplicity of this restaurant, is the delicious surprise of amazingly scrumptious cuisine, with a careful selection of herbs, spices and, of course, the best in fresh seafood, often exceeding all expectations! Their meals are cooked to perfection on an open fire, infusing each piece of seafood with a tantalisingly smoky, spicy and sensational set of flavours, treating their diners to the pinnacle of seafood cuisine!
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Sea Point:
Sundoo Indian Tapas & Bar
Celebrated Chef and restaurateur, Seelan Sundoo, has a knack for adding his Midas touch to every idea he sees through, the most recent of which, stands as firm testimony to the fact that this man’s genius is pure magic! Seelan shares his own Kerala culture with this latest venture, boasting South Indian cuisine, but in a stylish, typical New-York-style gourmet tapas bar, with a streamlined, chic and elegant setting! This restaurant houses a traditional Tandoori oven, ensuring their guests indulge in the most succulently tender chicken, duck and quail dishes, with yoghurts and spices adding to the aromatic allure of good Indian food! Adding credence to this glorious eatery, is the sheer ambience of old-world charm, directly contradicted by the modern, minimalistic décor, perfectly lending itself to any palate, any mood – and certainly, any occasion!
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Tamboerskloof:
Beleza Restaurant and Bar
Tuck into a hearty meal at the famous Beleza Restaurant and Bar in the eclectic area of Tamboerskloof – and you’ll be hooked! This Portuguese and Italian inspired restaurant is perched between Burnside and Kloofnek Road in Tamboerskloof and enjoys being the melting pot for the diverse tastes of the area and surrounds! Their menu reads like a global fairy-tale with dishes from Mozambique, Lisbon, Madeira, Goa and of course, Italy and Portugal – certainly able to cater to every taste!
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CBD:
Galbi
Fancy yourself as a bit of an adventurous diner? Galbi is where you need to be! Tucked away in a fairy-light-lit alley between Loop and Long Street in the Mother City’s CBD, adventure-seekers will find Galbi, conceptualised around the concept of the popular Korean Barbeque style of dining! Capetonians have taken to the idea with excited enthusiasm, relishing the opportunity to design their own meals – and having so much fun preparing it themselves, that they don’t mind the wait, as they watch their meal prepared by themselves on a table-top barbeque at their own table!
Click here for more information.
**Top Foodie Tip**
Save up to 25% off your ENTIRE BILL at all of these Cape Town restaurants with Socialite. The exclusive and affordable membership gives you between 20 and 25% off at some of the best restaurants, spas, activities and getaways in and around Cape Town and there are no restrictions to what you can order – click here to find out more! PLUS for a limited time only you can get a 1-year Socialite membership for 50% less at R145! Simply use the code “SUMMER2017” on checkout to score big! Visit the Socialite website to sign up with Socialite now.