If you are searching for restaurants, Cape Town offers incredible fine dining and creative culinary experiences. Thanks to South Africa’s favourable climate, you can sample some of the tastiest fresh produce while dining alfresco.
While cost-effective airlines like Lift Airways make travelling to Cape Town on business more affordable, a shared meal at the best restaurants in Cape Town can be an expensive experience. A few hundred rands is no reason to shy away from booking a table, as these culinary privileges are worth their weight in gold.
11 Best Cape Town Restaurants
These restaurants are easily accessible from the city, all within a half-hour drive. Whether your visit is for business or pleasure, we suggest you arrange transport for this special occasion to enjoy pairing your meal with some of the world’s best wines.
La Colombe – Best Fine Dining in Cape Town
This award-winning fine dining restaurant is considered the best in South Africa. Chef James Gaag’s menu takes inspiration from French cuisine. Located on the Silvermist Wine Estate above Constantia, you’ll find the food and views to be equally breathtaking.
You can expect uniquely South African flavours slipping into the menu, like the Malay style snoek and sweet potato bread.
Aubergine
This long-standing restaurant in Cape Town offers award-winning fine dining in a spacious 19th-century house. Chef and owner Harald Bresselschmidt opened Aubergine in 1996 to provide innovative food in the suburb of Gardens. His team continues to grow in strides, with a professional sommelier bringing in the best wine from around the country.
Visit Aubergine for a sensational dinner or a flavourful al fresco lunch.
Photo by Lasse Bergqvist on Unsplash
Belly of the Beast
With a nose-to-tail approach, no part of the animal is going to waste at this fancy restaurant in Cape Town’s East City Precinct. Equally interesting, there is no menu at Belly of the Beast. The twenty-four seater restaurant offers an intimate lunch and dining experience with chefs Anouchka Horn and Neil Swart preparing a menu to match the seasonal produce available.
Blanko
Located in South Africa’s oldest wine region on the property of The Alphen Boutique Hotel, Blanko restaurant has a tranquil setting. Simple food made well is the order of the day, with a three-course summer specialities menu worth tasting too. The venue hosts a Jazz evening in the cocktail bar every Thursday.
Consider booking a spa treatment next door before treating yourself to a scrumptious meal at Blanko.
Photo by Bon Vivant on Unsplash
Chefs Warehouse Beau Constantia
With floor-to-ceiling windows providing views over the Constantia wine route, this restaurant is in an ideal setting. Chef Ivor Jones provides a ‘tapas for two’ menu with seasonal produce from Soil for Life and sustainable seafood from Abalobi. The exceptional food is paired with the areas finest wines, making this a memorable experience.
Foxcroft Restaurant
This restaurant in the High Constantia Centre offers a set menu with reduced size or plant-based options. It is part of the La Colombe group and is the brainchild of chefs Scot Kirton and Glen Williams. While the setting is more relaxed and casual, each dish is prepared and plated with the attention to detail expected from fine dining restaurants.
Gold Restaurant
This restaurant in the suburb of Green Point is extravagant and provides African cuisine alongside live performances. If you are travelling with kids or simply love to learn new skills, the interactive drumming covers the basics of playing a djembe drum before a breathtaking live performance.
Experience the African Continent through its traditional dishes with a culinary experience at Gold Restaurant.
Photo by Luz Mendoza on Unsplash
Pot Luck Club
Experience a culinary journey at Luke Dale Roberts’ restaurant, Pot Luck Club. The Silo in the Old Biscuit Mill is the perfect location for a sophisticated tapas-style meal after a day of exploring. Previously voted the best restaurant in Africa, this is one you don’t want to miss.
The chef, Luke Dale Roberts, is also responsible for some of the top restaurants in Johannesburg. If you loved Pot Luck Club, consider The Short Market Club for modern Asian-influenced cuisine.
Reverie Social Table
Chef patron Julia Hattingh brings a social, culinary experience to the characterful lower main road of Observatory. The eighteen seater table offers quick, simple lunches and delicious dinners that last well into the night. You can expect five courses, six wines, and a menu focused on sustainably sourced, seasonal ingredients.
If you like the idea of a family-style meal shared with like-minded diners, then Reverie Social Table may be for you.
Thali
From the same creator of Chef’s Warehouse comes this modern Indian restaurant serving tapas-style dishes. The head chef Nate Coe serves a heavenly eight-course meal, including poppadoms and tandoor.
If you have ever visited India, Thali will immediately transport you back, with the smells and tastes typical of restaurants in Delhi.
Photo by Duane Mendes on Unsplash
The Food Barn Noordhoek Farm Village
Award-winning chef Franck Dangereux joined with Pete de Bruin to bring fine dining into a rustic location in the Noordhoek Farm Village. This café by day and tapas-style restaurant by night serves decadent seasonal cuisine with hearty flavours. The kitchen aims to use ingredients sourced from within 80 km of its doors.
This is the perfect spot to stop for lunch if you plan to travel along the dramatic Chapman’s Peak Drive.
The Test Kitchen Fledgelings
Another great initiative in the culinary world from Chef Luke Dale Roberts is this training ground for up-and-coming chefs. Partnered with his wife Sandalene, the team offers an ever-changing menu from Woodstock’s trendy Old Biscuit Mill venue. You can expect beautifully presented sushi, homemade ravioli, and even classics like a grass-fed beef burger and chips.
Supporting the upcoming chefs in South Africa is a culinary experience and a tremendous boost to the post-Coronavirus hospitality industry.
Zenzero
With a view of the iconic Camps Bay beach and two wood-fired ovens standing centre stage, this restaurant always has a vibrant atmosphere. A world-class chef and an inspired team result in a gastronomic experience you won’t soon forget.
If you like smells of the ocean and char-grilled flavours, then Zenzero in Camps Bay may be for you.
Photo by Jenifer Deacon on Unsplash
The Best Restaurants Cape Town Has on Offer
Treating yourself to an indulgent meal from one of the above Cape Town restaurants is an experience you will not soon forget. With many of South Africa’s best chefs garnering worldwide acclaim for their use of sustainably sourced foods in creative ways, you may need to visit more than one restaurant.
Did you enjoy your meal at the above establishments? Share your experience below.