Food & Cuisine in Cape Winelands

Food info sections | Eating locally

South Africa's Cape, with its diverse ethnic mix, offers a range of cuisine to satisfy a variety of tastes. From spicy Cape Malay curries to the traditional township fare, unique meats and fresh seafood, eating out in the Winelands is bound to be one of highlights of your South African holiday. Food in the Cape is generally reasonably priced, high quality, and well prepared.

Make sure you experience as many of the different dining opportunities as possible, to get a real appreciation for the flavours of the Cape!

This Cape Winelands Restaurants Guide gives a breakdown of what type of cuisine you could expect to find, as well as listing a few Winelands restaurants which you may like to try. More general information about food in South Africa can be found in our South Africa Restaurants Guide. And to help burn off some of those calories, why not enjoy some of the fantastic shopping in shopping in Cape Winelands; check our our Winelands shopping guide, which will give you some hints and tips about souvenirs you make like to take home, and where to find them.

Cape Winelands Restaurants & Food Guide

The Cape Peninsula in South Africa is reknowned for its diverse and delicious cuisine. Whilst in the Cape, you may wish to:

- Savour the fragrant spices and powerful flavours of Cape Malay cooking.
- Experience traditional township meals such as morogo and samp and beans at places like Igugu le Africa or one of the Township B&Bs in Khayelitsha.
- Sample some unique African meat, such as the low fat ostrich steaks or even springbok or kudu.
- Travel along the West Coast where you will find the very best seafood in the Cape, although anywhere along either coast normally offers something fresh and tantalising.

Cape Malay Cooking

Curries and pastries are two of the most popular features of Cape Malay cooking, which is a popular cuisine in South Africa. Fragrant spices are a key ingredient, and give the cuisine its distinctive taste. Particular favourites include:

Bobotie - ground beef and raisins, covered in a creamy crust made of egg
Breyani - with a spicy base made of rice and lentils, breyani also features fish, meat or poultry
Samoosa - minced meat or vegetables in a covered pastry, a popular snack
Koeksister - normal taken with tea or coffee, this is a sweet plaited pastry

African Food

African restaurants abound in Cape Town, and a number of them are excellent locations to try local African food. Unique dishes are created by combining and experimenting with African ingredients and recipes. There is a tremendous amount of variety available on the menus, and something to please everyone. Established, well-known African restaurants in the Cape include Mama Africa, on Long Street, and the Africa Café, located in the City Bowl.

The Township Culinary Experience

If you'd like to try something a bit more authentic in terms of the types of meals eaten daily by locals, your best option is to try local Cape dishes. As mentioned previously, dishes such as morogo (wild spinach) and samp'n beans are popular, as are various wood fired meats. A boisterous shebeen (township bar/restaurant) is the best place to enjoy one of these meals.

Meat and Braai (BBQ)

As is the case everywhere in South Africa, meat is both popular and plentiful. Whether it's the juicy lamb from the Karoo, low fat ostrich steaks from Oudtshoorn, springbok, kudu or even the huge beef steaks on offer, carnivores will find themselves spoilt for choice. The quintessential braai, a South African barbeque, is an absolute must if you are offered the opportunity - less a meal than a way of life in South Africa. If its game meats you're after, you'd be best served going to restaurants specialising in them, such as Lobst's in Paarl and Lapa Lanterfanteer in Gansbaai. One local snack which you may also wish to try is biltong, dried meat. Normally made from beef, it is also made from kudu, springbok and ostrich meat. It's especially popular as padkos, which translates from Afrikaans as 'food for the road'.

Cape Town is famous for its wonderful choice of restaurants catering to all budgets and palates. Check out our Eating Locally section for sampling of the Cape Winelands best restaurants (and some of our personal favourites).