Ultimate Guide to Cape Town | South Africa wine route

Updated March 2021

Best places to taste wine and eat in Cape Town

Table of Contents

1. Where to eat
2. Where to taste
3. Where to stay
4. Other Activities

Chances are if you’re visiting South Africa, you’ll spend at least a few days in Cape Town–and you should! South Africa’s waterfront gem is a very hip and beautiful city, teeming with trendy restaurants, underground art shows, and plenty of outdoor activities.

Here is the Wine Scribes’ can’t-miss spots when in Cape Town:

Where to eat

Hint: Most restaurants require reservations if visiting in the summer months, so plan ahead!

Restaurants in Cape Town are delicious and pretty cheap relative to US or EU prices. Here are some of our favorite restaurants to feast at:

• The Pot Luck Club – We will just go ahead and assume you won’t be able to get into The Test Kitchen, South Africa’s most in-demand restaurant. If you can, great for you; let us know how it is! For the rest of us, The Pot Luck Club is a less formal dining option run by the same Chef only a few hundred meters away. The restaurant has a small plates, dim-sum style menu with the best by-the-glass wine list amongst South African restaurants. We were more than pleased to be able to created our own tasting and pairing menu.
• Belly of the Beast – A fantastic tasting menu for a mere 20 people at each lunch or dinner seating daily. The kitchen is completely open so there is a bit of theater with the meal.
• Chef’s Warehouse – Several locations but we enjoyed the downtown Cape Town the most. The menu is a shared plate experience which is awesome if you have at least one friend, but a little difficult if riding solo. They have a basic wine list, including some in-house options.
• FYN – Is there such thing as a speakeasy restaurant? You walk into an unsuspecting office building, give your name to the host, and you’re led 3 levels down into this beautifully decorated modern food mecca with a sea of floating wooden discs hanging delicately from the ceiling. Try to sit at the bar to best experience the course tasting menu.
• La Colombe – Situated in Constantia, this is a tasting menu done to perfection. Every dish was creative, beautiful and most importantly, delicious! Based on the food alone, we believe it’s the best restaurant in Cape Town. Unfortunately the wine list and service leaves something to be desired, but we had a much better experience with the latter two at the sister restaurant, La Petite Colombe (seafood focused) in Franschhoek near Stellenbosch.
• Mojo Market – A food and lifestyle market open every day of the week! Vibe to the live music of the day, while popping in to the numerous restaurants, craft breweries, and wine bars. It’s also a lively spot to catch a rubgy or football match.

Where to taste

Short on time and can’t make it out to the Wine Farms in Stellenbosch, Swartland, Hemel-en-aarde? No worries! Pull up a stool at these fine establishments for a taste of the area.

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• Leo’s Wine Bar – This spot is hard to find at first. It’s a bagel shop by day and wine shop by night (closed Mondays and Tuesdays). We loved the by-the-glass list (heavily weighted with rare Swartland gems), the personal attention and the fact that you can nibble on grown up pizza bagels. Leo’s Wine Bar gets our vote for best wine bar in Cape Town.

• Frogtt & Vonkel Wine Bar – Located nearby Leo’s Wine Bar is another wine bar worth visiting. You can construct a tasting of choice from any of the open bottles. The lineup wasn’t as great as Leo’s but still respectable. You can also order a tasty charcuterie board to pair.
• Openwine – You’ll find are a few locations of this wine shop scattered throughout Cape Town and on weekends they hold tastings. However, approach this as more of a store with a great collection of local wine as well as some imports.
• Publik Wine Bar – This tapas and wine bar is like Leo’s Wine Bar in that their menu leans towards the Swartland region (natural wine, skin contact whites, low sulfur etc..). We believed Leo’s overall menu to be superior, but Publik’s menu is always changing so it is worth a shot if you’re in the area. One special gem is that Publik has an exclusive label made by “one of the Swartland legendary producers” – they’re not allowed to disclose who that is. We weren’t swooned by the taste, but it’s a fun playdate for your tongue and imagination to try and work out the answer.

Where to stay

There are a variety of neighborhoods and different vibes depending on what interests you; below, we’ve identified three distinct areas to stay. Airbnb’s are the way to go when it comes to booking.

• Camp’s Bay – for the beach bum who wants a sun-soaked relaxing holiday. The prices are higher than most places in Cape Town, but if beach is one of the reasons you’re in town, this is the spot. Additionally, you’re within walking distance to hiking trails on the famous Table Mountain. On the downside, Camp’s Bay is a bit far from the action downtown (20 minute Uber ride) and during the summer months can get packed with tourists.

• Downtown – If you’re on a mission to eat and drink your way through Cape Town, locate yourself in the center of the action anywhere near Wale and Bree street. You’ll be in walking distance to some of the city’s finest dining establishments and watering holes. Plenty of modern high-rises with gyms & pools are available on Airbnb at reasonable rates even during high season. The downside to this locale is that it can get a bit rough; muggings and assaults are not uncommon and if you do stay in this area, don’t walk around alone at night and keep your head up at all times.
• Constantia – A bit on the outskirts of the city towards the Cape of Good Hope is an upscale suburb and the country’s oldest wine region. You’ll find some of the nicest Airbnb’s and Wine Farm stays in this region and the prices are a fraction of Camp’s Bay. Additionally, it’s only a 15-20 minute Uber ride to downtown Cape Town. We stayed at an incredible spot whilst in town for the Constantia Fresh Wine Festival; this was one of the best Airbnb’s we’ve ever stayed at.

Other Activities

While we’d highly recommend spending some days outside the city touring wine regions or driving the famous Garden Route, here are some ideas of how to fill the time when not eating and tasting:

• Coffee tasting @ Rosetta Roastery – Jono, the owner is a coffee savant and fellow wine scribe. Jono will take you on a coffee journey, stimulating your mind and taste buds while tasting some tremendous local African brew.
• Hike Table Mountain – A massive mountain next to the city that has many different routes to take. For an all-day hike, try the Platteklip Gorge to Upper Cable Station (and either take the cable car down or walk down). Make sure to check the weather as they’ll shut down the Cable car with high winds so you’ll have to hike back down. You’ll hear sirens if they’re planning to close down. Also look up tips for hiking this safely as there have been attacks and muggings of tourists over the years. For good 2-3 hour hikes, Skeleton Gorge and Lion’s Head are good options.

• First Thursdays – On the first Thursdays of every month, the downtown area of Cape Town turns into a huge block party, filled with music shows, art exhibits, pop up restaurants and bars & nightlife galore.

• The Neighbourgoods Market – Every Saturday at the Old Biscuit Mill is a showcase of Cape Town’s local merchants, designers and restaurants with small popup stands. This is a tradition that’s been going on for nearly 15 years and is open 9 – 3pm every Saturday. Go hungry!

• Sailing the Cape – If you have a little sailing knowledge and a sense of adventure, cruise by the Royal Cape Yacht Club on Wednesdays around 4pm to sign up to crew on one of the races. The members are will welcome you aboard and give you a role as you race for nightly bragging rights against other sailors.

• Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens – Botanical Gardens can be hit or miss but these are worth checking out. Go on a Summer Sunday and you may be lucky enough to catch a concert in the late afternoon. As an added bonus, the trailhead for Skeleton Gorge begins in the back of the Gardens, allowing you to combine a tough hike with a peaceful walk.
• Penguins – You can catch a glimpse at some native African penguins with no safari necessary! The best spot to see penguins near cape town is either Boulder’s Beach or Seaforth Beach. Boulder’s is more famous and have a larger population of penguins, but you have to pay for an entrance and there is usually a lot of tourists. Nearby is Seaforth Beach which has no entrance fee and much fewer tourists; we recommend the latter to scope the quirky little birds.

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