Best Restaurants in Cape Town

Here are our Top Restaurants in Cape Town

The Pot Luck Club

A lot of work goes into being this effortlessly cool! The Pot Luck Club is one of the most talked-about places in Cape Town. Located on the top floor of a flour silo, which formed part of an old biscuit mill, it has wonderful views of Table Mountain, the city, and the harbor. Breezy, informal, and all-welcoming, it’s a place for lunch and dinner alike, serving exquisite tapas-style plates. The studio-lit, open-plan kitchen is centrally placed and definitely the star of the show. Excitingly, the levels of artistry here go beyond the food. Bespoke cocktails made from homemade syrups and purées, served in antique glassware, are a real highlight. The restaurant offers more than 20 wines by the glass, and knowledgeable staff can advise on what options pair well with your dishes. From the moment you enter the glass elevator, it’s a first-class dining experience that feels like a theatrical event.

Salon

Elegant and sophisticated, Salon is a new offering from world-renowned chef and owner, Luke Dale-Roberts. Located in the Woodstock area near Table Mountain, this is creative, refined, and immersive fine dining. You are encouraged to place yourself in the hands of the staff and sample the ‘Global Tasting Menu’, which transports you on a culinary voyage around the world. The service is exemplary, and staff will also advise on wines that pair perfectly with the many courses, as well as explaining the inspiration that lies behind each dish. As soon as you walk through the golden portal, you are on a sensory journey, with a few surprises along the way! Salon certainly delivers a meal that lives long in the memory.

FYN

A sleek, Manhattan-style loft in the bustling heart of the city, this restaurant was voted 82nd in The World’s Best Restaurant Awards. A seat at the counter can be fun, as you can watch the chefs precisely constructing their wondrous creations. The food is African-inspired with a heavy nod to Japanese influences, coming in kaiseki-style, 5-course menus. You have the option of choosing pescatarian or plant-based menus, or the classic ‘experience’ menu, complete with an African game course! Staff operate with a huge commitment to sustainability, both within the restaurant and in how ingredients are sourced. We definitely recommend opting for the wine-pairing menu to accompany your chosen food menu, as their choices are original and spot on.

La Colombe

This is another restaurant that has been lavished with accolades, voted 55th in The World’s Best Restaurant Awards. The head chef’s pursuit of perfection is on show with every dish. The staff specialize in 8- and 11-course set menus. These set menus will take you on a culinary journey that can sometimes be theatrical, exploring the different senses, not just taste. Each dish is a work of art. The atmosphere is refined and sophisticated, featuring white tablecloths and an air of privacy. La Colombe is located at Silvermist Wine Estate, at the end of a winding road amid beautiful vineyard scenery, with lovely views of Constantia Valley and Hout Bay. The highly creative menus take inspiration from French, Italian, and Asian influences. This is a restaurant that people tend to revisit when they come to Cape Town.

Salsify at the Roundhouse

The Roundhouse has a rich history dating back to 1786, when it was first built as a guardhouse for the Dutch East India Company. Several iterations later, including a period when it served as Governor Lord Charles Somerset’s hunting lodge, it is now home to award-winning Salsify. It has a magnificent location with views of the Atlantic coastline and Lion’s Head from the light-filled dining room. Guests begin their dining experience in ‘The Preservation Chamber’, with a welcome cocktail and nibbles from the kitchen. The chamber is full of great stories and initiates your culinary adventure with an appreciation of the history of this national monument. The menus are highly seasonal with an emphasis on seafood, using locally sourced ingredients and what has been caught on the day. This keeps the menus vibrant, fresh, and always evolving.

COY

Located at the V&A Waterfront in the heart of the marina, this restaurant is a design masterpiece with views of Table Mountain. Open-plan and airy, this comfortable and chic setting is chef Ryan Cole’s second addition to this list! The emphasis here is the exploration of ancient African cooking methods and indigenous ingredients, fused with a modern twist. The à la carte menu is available at lunchtime, with the evening giving way to the 7-course, seasonal tasting menu. Vegetarian and vegan menus are available on request. Cool yet down-to-earth, COY has surprising and innovative menus full of exceptional flavours. No meal here is ever the same, as the changing seasons define the ingredients. We love the marina setting, next to impressive super-yachts and the ‘clink-clink’ of ropes hitting masts.

Belly of the Beast

This restaurant is a real one-off. It’s calm, convivial, and without any pretense, and you will be greeted like an old friend on arrival. The chef’s team work with a smile on their face from the open kitchen, as everyone is having a great time putting these spectacular dishes together! The menu is, well, brief – and purposefully so. They don’t have menu options or a set amount of courses to choose from – you simply arrive and put yourselves in their hands. It’s all rather mysterious and exciting. And they certainly don’t disappoint. This is seasonal produce, locally sourced and prepared inventively. All restaurants in Cape Town offer good value compared to their western counterparts, but Belly of the Beast really is remarkably well priced for the outstanding quality of the food.

Kloof Street House

In the heart of the bustling city center lies an establishment that will transport you back in time. This unique, multi-room Victorian townhouse is like entering a secret world. Exquisite décor that oozes class makes this a wonderfully romantic venue. Artefacts are dotted around the bar and dining areas, and the attention to detail is remarkable. The menu can be a welcome relief from all the tasting menus too, featuring contemporary classics with a twist. There’s a warm, homely feel at Kloof Street House, with the cozy fireplaces making it perfect for the cooler nights of the year. Excitingly, food isn’t the only thing on offer at Kloof Street House – you can visit for cocktails in their garden adorned with fairy-lights, there’s live jazz on Sundays, and it’s excellent for family celebrations. Eclectic and stylish, this could well become your favorite place in Cape Town.

Upper Union

This is the MORE Family Collection’s first venture into the world of fine dining – and much like their exceptional safari lodges, they’ve arrived with aplomb! The restaurant is located in a beautiful heritage building in the Kloof Street area (a must-see part of town). Upper Union specializes in exceptionally crafted small plates, so you can share a wide variety of flavours. There are two set ‘sharing menus’, with the option of a wine-pairing menu. The décor is trendy and elegant, with a hint of zebra stripes – which we, of course, approve! There’s also an outside terrace, an enclosed conservatory, and a private dining room that can fit a party of eight. The restaurant’s sister property, Cape Cadogan Boutique Hotel, is just over the road and one of the best places to stay in Cape Town.

Chefs Warehouse at Tintswalo

We’ve saved the most wonderful setting for our final entry! This restaurant is perched above the Atlantic seaboard, giving you amazing views over the ocean and the surrounding mountainous landscape. The location is just south of Cape Town, and you have to venture down a winding cliff road to reach this wild, rugged shoreline. The location is so good, it almost doesn’t matter what the food’s like! But it just happens to be superb. You will be greeted with a tapas-style, 5-course sharing menu with a heavy emphasis on sustainably caught seafood. There are vegetarian and vegan options too. This is a piece of unspoilt, isolated, wild Atlantic seafront all to yourselves. For those on honeymoon, or if you’re after a rather impressive date night, it’s a truly spectacular romantic dining destination.

Other Notable Mentions

We hope some of the above take your fancy. However, with so many high-quality dining options in The Cape, there are some great places that inevitably just missed out on the list. Here are a few more options offering an excellent meal out in Cape Town.

• Chefs Warehouse at Beau Constantia – The sister restaurant to Chefs Warehouse at Tintswalo, with a similarly stunning setting, this time with vineyard views.
• Grub & Vine – A lovely modern bistro in a beautiful winelands location, with excellent wine pairings and a lively, local atmosphere.
• GOLD Restaurant – A vibrant, interactive night, filled with drumming, dancing, and a 14-dish tasting menu inspired by Africa.
• Hacienda – Immersive, authentic Mexican street food, where they make the guacamole right at your table, with amazing cocktails.
• Baia Seafood Restaurant – Some may wish to launch an enquiry as to how this didn’t make the main list! This is a premium venue on the V&A Waterfront for seafood dining.