The Cape Region: A Foodie's Paradise

The Cape Region: A Foodie's Paradise

South Africa’s Cape Region is well known for its stunning scenery, breathtaking beaches, picturesque wine estates and sights such as Table Mountain & Cape Point, but did you know it is also a foodie’s heaven and home to some outstanding eateries?

Leading the way for many years has been La Colombe, the breeding ground for renowned South African chefs such as Franck Dangereux and Luke Dale-Roberts. Now under the stewardship of Scot Kirton, the 8-course lunchtime tasting menu offers outstanding value at under £70.00 per head. La Colombe’s portfolio also includes three off-shoots in Franschhoek – Protégé, Epice & La Petite Colombe, as well as two venues on the city’s Waterfront, including the award-winning PIER.

The inspiration behind the world-beating Test Kitchen, Dale-Roberts is arguably the country’s most famous chef, and within his Cape Town stable are now The Pot Luck Club, Salon and TTK Fledgelings, all of which are well worth a visit, (although reservations are most definitely recommended!)

Many of the region’s wine estates are rightfully lauded for their extraordinary wines, but some of them also play host to a selection of wonderful restaurants. There is Chorus on the Waterkloof Wine Estate and Geuwels at the Vergenoegd Low Estate, both under the careful control of the imaginative Bertus Basson, Liam Tomlin’s Chef Warehouse at Beau Constantia, (he also has an offering on the Maison Estate), as well as newcomer Arkeste which is hidden away on the Chamonix Wine Farm.

It doesn’t all have to be fine dining though – Cape Town is full of terrific, independently-owned venues such as Hemelhuijs, Ouzeri & Black Sheep, and for something a little different ask us to arrange for you to have a cooking lesson with the local chef Zainie Misbach, who will teach you how to prepare a traditional Bo-Kaap lunch of bobotie, a fruity curry dish unique to the area.

Outside the city, the adventurous should head to the gourmet enclave of Paternoster, a small fishing village up on the West Coast boasting a disproportionate number of excellent eateries, including the supreme Wolfgat, which was voted the best restaurant in Africa and offers a 7-course locally-foraged tasting menu.