Dining out in Cape Town – the best restaurant recommendations
Dining out in Cape Town isn’t that easy. Cape Town’s cuisine combines a wide variety of influences and styles. This has to do with South Africa’s long history, so that typical South African cuisine today is characterized by Dutch, English, German and Asian elements.
It is therefore a challenge for tourists to find the right restaurants from the innumerable restaurants. We spent 5 days in Cape Town and can recommend the following restaurants for dinner in Cape Town:
Dining out in Cape Town – Hussar Grill
Hussar Grill Restaurants is a chain of steak restaurants that has been operating in the Western and Eastern Cape region for over 50 years. Hussar Grill Restaurants stand for excellent steaks and a great range of wines at affordable prices.
We have visited the Hussar Grill Mouille Point, located directly on the Atlantic coast and about 10 minutes away from the recommended Hotel Winchester Mansion. Mouille stands for the lighthouse of the same name, 100m away and comes from the French word for “anchorage”.
The restaurant welcomes its guests in a cosy ambience with large windows facing the Atlantic Ocean. Outdoor seating is also available, but Mouille Point is on a busy road. The menu corresponds to the Hussar standard and includes a range of steak, fish and pasta dishes and an extensive wine list.
Our Ribeye steak was very good and roasted to the point. The same goes for the salmon fillet. The South African red wine was also convincing.
The service was friendly and there were no waiting times. Hussar grills are very popular and a reservation is necessary. This can be done comfortably via the homepage.
Dining out in Cape Town – Sea Breeze
The highly recommended address for fish lovers is Sea Breeze on Bree Street. Bree Street is one of the central restaurant and bar spots in Cape Town and should definitely be visited.
Sea Breeze is a specialty fish restaurant with the charm that makes it stand out from the Waterfront restaurants with a very good price/performance ratio. The design and furnishings are rather puristic. Outdoor seating is also available.
The dishes deserve special praise. The oysters as a starter were just as convincing as the grilled scampis. The same goes for the Seafood Curry and the Tagliatelle with Scampis as main course. A sweet conclusion was the cheesecake. The wine list is well sorted and offers something for every taste.
The visit took place on a Saturday evening and it was accordingly full. This had no influence on the service, which was very friendly and courteous. The Sea Breeze is popular and should be reserved in advance. This is possible without problems on the homepage. It is recommended to use a taxi for the return trip.
Dining out in Cape Town – Harbour House – V&A Waterfront
The V&A Waterfront is one of Cape Town’s tourist hotspots, with a shopping centre, harbour, hotels and restaurants. The Harbour House, which is located directly on the waterfront, is one of them. The restaurant is upscale and has two large outdoor terraces in addition to indoor seating. Due to its location in the V&A complex, the Harbour House is well visited and one would do well to reserve it in advance.
Unfortunately, the food cannot keep up with one’s own high standards. The scallops, seafood pasta and the catch of the day were tasty, but there was a certain something missing before the view of the self-chosen claim. The prices for Cape Town are rather high and are probably due to the location.
The restaurant was well attended at the time of the visit, Monday evening, the service was fast, friendly and attentive. In direct comparison we would prefer the Sea Breeze.
Dining out in Cape Town – Chinchilla Rooftop Cafe & Bar
Camps Bay is one of Cape Town’s hippest neighborhoods. Situated in a beautiful, sheltered bay, Camps Bay can be called in the same breath as Miami Beach or Cannes. The density of bars, restaurants and hotels is correspondingly high.
A popular location is the Chinchilla Rooftop Cafe & Bar. From a large roof terrace you have a wonderful view of the bay. The Chinchilla offers snacks on a small menu. Besides, high-quality wines and cocktails are offered. Lounge music perfectly mixed by local DJs complete the offer. We visited the bar on a Sunday evening for a sundowner and were impressed by the atmosphere. Drinks and snacks should not be the focus of the visit, but the ambience and the view.
Especially at sunset the Rooftop Bar is an extremely popular meeting place and it is almost impossible to get a seat without making a reservation in advance.
Cape Town Tips
The Most Popular Tours in Cape Town*
Discover Cape Town with the Cape Town City Pass*.
The most popular Cape Town travel guides 2019*
We mainly use the Canon Canon G7X Mark II* for our pictures. ( review )
For optimal connection in South Africa we used the Skross World Travel Adapter in combination with a Skross World to South Africa Country Travel adapter and were very satisfied. ( test report ).