Eating out in Cosmopolitan Cape Town

South Africa’s Mother City is home to some truly global gast­ro­nomy — Cape Town’s CBD is a ver­it­able melt­ing pot of dif­fer­ent cul­tures. Not only are its loc­als far from homo­gen­ous them­selves, there’s also the mul­ti­tude of ex-pats from far-flung nations who’ve fallen in love with the city of Cape Town and made it their home. The res­ult­ing mix­ture of dif­fer­ent cus­toms, cloth­ing and cuisine makes for a vibrant and eclectic city — not to men­tion a mouth-watering res­taur­ant scene. On any night of the week you can sample culin­ary arts from around the world, with a side serving of South African hos­pit­al­ity and a sprink­ling of Cape Town flair ...

There are few things bet­ter dur­ing a tor­ren­tial Cape Town winter than some good old com­fort eat­ing – and nobody does com­fort food like the Italians. Bacini’s (upper Kloof Street), with its soc­cer banner-draped walls and ceil­ing, is an old favour­ite. The food is unfal­ter­ingly deli­cious, the prices good value for money and the ser­vice excel­lent. (Find Bacini's at 177 Kloof Street, Gardens, Cape Town. Telephone +27 (0)21 423‑6668).

Zucca, Kloof Street

A little down the road is Zucca. A rel­at­ive new­comer (it’s only about two years old), this res­taur­ant has non­ethe­less made its mark on city dwell­ers with its authen­tic fare – watched over by the equally authen­tic, roun­ded shape of its owner, Ricky Turilli. Reasons to go include their lunch­time spe­cials and for a peek at the walls, which are covered with cork­screws of vari­ous shapes, sizes and ori­gins. (Find Zucca at 84 Kloof Street, Gardens. Telephone: +27 (0)21 423‑7331).

And one can’t leave out Col’Cacchio (which trans­lates to ‘up yours’!) in the fore­shore, whose loyal cli­en­tele and con­stantly buzz­ing interior are a test­a­ment to the excel­lent din­ing exper­i­ence it offers. The choice between a wood-fired pizza, a bowl­ful of pasta and a moun­tain­ous salad is harder than you might think ... (Find Col'Cacchio at 42 Hans Strijdom Avenue on the Foreshore, Cape Town. Telephone: +27 (0)21 419‑4848).

Fancy a Chinese? No card­board takeout boxes for Capetonians. Head over to Mr Chan’s, a Sea Point insti­tu­tion, for an extens­ive menu of mouth-watering dishes in a tra­di­tional set­ting. (Find Mr Chan at 178 Main Road, Sea Point. Telephone: +27 (0) 439‑2239). Also cer­tainly worth a stop is the recently relo­cated Jewel Tavern, pre­vi­ously in a bland, cafeteria-style har­bour loc­a­tion, now reborn as a slick town eat­ery. The one thing that hasn’t changed is the incred­ible food. You just can’t stop your­self from hav­ing three help­ings of everything. (Corner of Duncan & Vanguard Roads, Cape Town. Telephone: +27 (0)21 448‑1977).

Mexican Kitchen

Or you could join the Mexican wave. Fat Cactus in Park Road (the ori­ginal is in Mowbray) is enjoy­ing wild pop­ular­ity thanks to its prime loc­a­tion, Margarita jugs and simple menu of tasty tapas (think quesa­d­il­las and nachos) and great bur­gers. (5 Park Road, Gardens, Cape Town. Telephone: +27 (0)21 422‑5022). In Long Street, the long-standing Mexican Kitchen might never die, its gaud­ily painted interior and fam­ous chilli pop­pers still pulling punters through its doors. (13 Long Street, Cape Town. Telephone: +27 (0)21 423‑1541).

And the Cuban-themed Buena Vista in Green Point is almost a no-brainer if it’s deli­cious Mexican-inspired meals in a cosy, rus­tic loc­ale you’re after. (1^st Floor Exhibition House, 81 Main Road, Green Point. Telephone +27 (0)21 433‑0611).

Portuguese? Pigalle, the dinner-dancing, live-music host­ing, 300-seater converted-ice rink of a res­taur­ant in Green Point is cer­tainly din­ner with a dif­fer­ence, as well as provid­ing a great Portuguese-inspired sea­food menu. (57A Somerset Road, Green Point. Telephone: +27 (0) 421‑4848). Or for a more familial sup­per visit Toni’s in Kloof Street for Mozambican-Portuguese fare. (88 Kloof Street, Gardens, Cape Town. Telephone: +27 (0)21 423 7617).

Buena Vista, Green Point

How about Indian? Bukhara in Church Street is hands-down the best curry, set­ting, ser­vice and gen­eral din­ing excel­lence you’re likely to find any­where. The but­ter chicken is butter-soft, the vin­da­loo will blow your head off and the hot, but­tery naan bread has me sal­iv­at­ing at the very thought of it. (33 Church Street, Cape Town. Telephone: +27 (0)21 424‑0000).

Of course, if you’re look­ing for some­thing a little off the beaten track, how about some Lebanese baba ghan­oush and Hummus at Cedar House, watch­ing the world go by on Sea Point’s Main Road? (Courtyard Building, 100 Main Road, Sea Point. Telephone: +27 (0)21 433‑2546). Or sample some Kurdish allnazik, zozan or a shish Kebab while enjoy­ing the sen­su­ous move­ments of a belly dan­cer at Mesopotamia on the corner of Church and Long Street. (Telephone: +27 (0)21 424‑4664).

And if it’s Pacific Rim cuisine or sushi you’re after ... well you can’t swing a chop­stick in Cape Town without hit­ting a spot to get your fix. (see our pre­vi­ous art­icle on where to eat Sushi in Cape Town).

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