Café restaurants in South Africa
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A
Café 41
A beautifully designed bistro-style restaurant serving Mediterranean fare from an extensive menu (the great big meze platters are good value). There’s a large outdoor deck, and a hidden section that makes you forget you’re in a shopping village. Service is a little on the slow side though.
reviewed
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B
Table Mountain Café
Hallelujah! Table Mountain finally gets the café it so deserves. This self-serve place offers tasty deli items and meals, compostable plates and containers, and good coffee. They also sell wine and beer so there’s no need to cart your bottle up the slopes to toast the view.
reviewed
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C
Empire Café
The surfies’ favourite hang-out is a great place for a breakfast or lunch of well-made pasta dishes and salads. Local art exhibitions enliven the walls. Call to see if it’s open for dinner on Thursday and Friday, November to March.
reviewed
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D
Vida e Caffé
Considered by many the best coffee fix in town, with tasty snacks and beautiful people moving in and out all day. Come just after closing time (17:00) and score a free leftover muffin; they're huge.
reviewed
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E
Sandbar
One of Camps Bay’s better-value options is this less self-consciously fashionable café with street tables, serving good sandwiches and light meals. They also serve cocktails.
reviewed
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F
Deer Park Café
Families love this relaxed café, fronting onto a playground. The chunky wooden furniture gives it the feel of a big nursery, but the tasty food is anything but child’s play. There’re some great vegetarian options and a kids’ menu. Yum, next door, is also worth checking out.
reviewed
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G
Speakers Corner
The spirited debate of politicos from nearby parliament rings through this smart café. The menu is delicious: the cakes and desserts are especially yummy. Here's hoping it survives the redevelopment of the building - if not, try the sister operation Bread, Milk & Honey across the square.
reviewed
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H
Queen of Tarts
Images of a young Queen Elizabeth II gaze out over customers from cake tins and trays at this charming café. The sweet and savoury tarts and other confections are delish and, if you like the grandma’s kitchen-chic décor, nip across the road to their pre-loved goods emporium.
reviewed
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Kirstenbosch Tea Room
On Table Mountain’s lower slopes is Kirstenbosch Tea Room where you can order English Tea for two (R120), including cucumber and cream-cheese sandwiches, mini quiches and homemade scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream, packed and ready to enjoy in the gardens.
reviewed
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Orchid Café
To the rear of a boutique is this lovely place, a favourite of the ladies who lunch in Little Chelsea. Sit in the courtyard draped with bougainvillea and enjoy scrumptious egg dishes, sandwiches, salads and cakes, and consider taking the nearby Wynberg Village Walk.
reviewed
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J
Spiros
This cheery cafe is popular with the local bohemian set, who flock here for coffee and breakfast - there is a huge, varied selection. They have an extensive menu of salads and though the food is still inexpensive, the scene factor probably makes it a tad dearer than it should be.
reviewed
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K
Meeting Place
A recent renovation has left the trendy deli-café, a foodie’s delight, on the ground floor with a laid-back restaurant upstairs with a balcony overlooking Simon Town’s main drag. Build your own sandwiches for R50 or try the three-course lunch deal for R85.
reviewed
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Vida e Caffé
Need a caffeine fix? Sprouting like wild poppies across Cape Town have been branches of Vida e Caffé serving freshly brewed coffee, orange juice, Portuguese-style pastries and filled rolls – it’s ideal for breakfast or a quick lunch.
reviewed
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Africa Beat Caterers
This area is packed with cutesy, historic villas and this vibey little place - popular with amakwêre-kwêre (foreign Africans) - is in one of them. There's a sun terrace out front and it serves up a regular mix of cheap, tasty food and live music.
reviewed
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L
Sinnfull
In need of a sugar rush or something to cool the tongue? Head to this haven of delicious ice creams and cakes tucked away upstairs in the Promenade Centre. If you can’t make it out to the beach there’s also a branch in Wembley Sq.
reviewed
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M
Vida e Caffé
Need a caffeine fix? Sprouting like wild poppies across Cape Town have been branches of Vida e Caffé serving freshly brewed coffee, orange juice, Portuguese-style pastries and filled rolls – it’s ideal for breakfast or a quick lunch.
reviewed
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St Tropez
Housed in a former power station, this pleasant sidewalk café-cum-bistro gives a pleasant shock - it has good coffee! Great for a Saturday brunch recharge (it's next to the Essenwood market on Berea Park), it has jazz on Sunday afternoons.
reviewed
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N
Second Avenue
It’s kind of tacky looking, with galvanised-steel light fixtures and slate tiles, but this student diner-cum-bar gets rocking when university is in session and crowds pile in to socialise and tackle the ‘tower of beer’.
reviewed
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O
Mr Pickwick's
Few places in Cape Town keep hours as long as raucous Mr Pick's, which explains its long-running appeal to the clubbing set. At all times, though, this licensed, deli-style café is worth dropping by for the good snacks and meals.
reviewed
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Capers
Head into the business park to find this extremely good breakfast and lunch place, staffed by graduates from the nearby chefs academy. The chic pink-and-white décor is lovely, and the food is great value and of a high standard.
reviewed
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Q
Kariba Restaurant
Based in the beautiful former Capitol Theatre next door to the Tshwane Cultural Centre, and decorated with quirky curios, this place attracts the local office trade, and serves big plates of mainly West and South African food.
reviewed
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R
Millstone
Head to Oude Molen Eco Village for this rustic café and farm stall specialising in organic produce and hand-crafted breads, preserves and jams. Kids will love the treehouse in its garden and the pony rides next door.
reviewed
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S
Frieda’s on Bree
Hung with paper lanterns and plastered with technicolour Indian posters, jumble-sale chic is the look at this huge, convivial café. It does a fine line in sandwiches, salads and comfort food, including lasagne.
reviewed
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Birds Café
The sophisticated, rustic style (think milk-bottle crate seats in a grand old Dutch building) of this delightful café matches the artisanal food including delicious homemade pies, strudels and chunky scones.
reviewed
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U
Mimi
This pleasant café is a good place for a snack or lunch. There are plenty of magazines to browse and a wide range of sandwiches and wraps available, including a decent selection of vegetarian ones.
reviewed
