Top Restaurants in Cape Town

Savoy Cabbage
 
Creative contemporary cooking in a visually exciting venue. Historic brick, complemented by glass and concrete. Savoy Cabbage is located in central Cape Town on the Hout Street side of the historic Heritage Square.

The menu changes daily, using the freshest local produce. Cabbage chandeliers and salt dishes, fine table appointments and impeccable service reflect outstanding attention to detail. Gracious and elegant without stuffiness and no piped music! Watch the open plan kitchen and enjoy the hum of good conversation.

Savoy Cabbage appeals to all ages and is the ideal choice for intimate occasions, business dining, a large party or just and impromptu supper. Acclaimed locally and internationally. Three "Top Ten" awards in two years and Wine magazine's "Top 100" for every year since 1998 as well as chosen as CNN's only "Hot Spot" for Cape Town. Air conditioned, secure day and evening parking.

Tel: 021 424 2626
 
Web: www.savoycabbage.co.za/
 
Subarshi
 
Situated in the heart of Cape Town's vibrant CBD, Subarshi is renowned for its stylishly creative Sushi and Vietnamese cuisine as well as its equally chic decor. Business lunches are met with class and efficiency, supplying convenient location with excellent service. Summer time offers a sunlit patio section where guests are invited to bask in the Cape sun while devouring some of the city’s finest Sushi and arguably the most interesting Asian aperitifs. Winter brings a covered outdoor area or a warm, bustling interior in which to melt all senses and lose any frosted chills.

Thai chef Larry Hai Yang and Sushi chef Li Zhang are expertly equipped to ensure that your food is nothing short of extraordinary. A well-managed waitering staff makes for a comfortable meal with little effort on your behalf other than to sit back and enjoy it all.

Subarshi isn’t just a clever name either - with its comprehensive cocktail list and talented barmen, you can be sure to match a fine-dining experience with sumptuous sippings of exotic mixes and melodies. Simply said, Subarshi is Asian Innovation at its best!

Tel: 021 421 3366/88
 
Web: www.subarshi.co.za

Jardine
 
Jardine Restaurant is the result of years of pondering, planning and perseverance by two individuals born nine days apart in April 1972 - one in Edinburgh, Scotland and the other in Cape Town.

George Jardine and Wilhelm Kühn met each other some ten years ago through George's wife Louise, a former law school class mate of Wilhelm. None suspected then that the friendship of a rising culinary star and a tax lawyer would one day lead to the birth of a restaurant called Jardine in the heart of Cape Town.

Accolades have followed George wherever he has worked as a chef, albeit in Europe, Asia, Australia or South Africa. This success streak has also rubbed off on the restaurant bearing his name. Since opening its doors in May 2006, Jardine has established itself as one of the leading fine dining restaurants in South Africa.

Within six months of opening, Jardine was included in two authoritative South African Top 10 lists, while George was celebrated as the Johnny Walker Chef of the Year for 2006 in November. More accolades followed in 2007, including a third place, Africa and Middle East region of the San Pellegrino World Top 50 Restaurant List and also being included in the Conde Naste Worldwide Hot Tables list in May. In October 2007 it was the only restaurant from Cape Town included in dine magazine's SA Top 10 list - smart casual dining, for 2008.

George prefers not to typecast or label his style of cooking, but admits that it is founded upon contemporary European techniques and South Africa's finest seasonal produce. His cuisine is complemented by a small and ever evolving selection of boutique South African wine estates handpicked by George and Wilhelm.

The main dining area of the restaurant upstairs offers seating for some 65 guests, most of which offers a view of George and his team of chefs preparing and plating the dishes on order. Tables on the wrap around balcony are slightly removed from the hustle and bustle of the kitchen, but offers views of cosmopolitan Cape Town on the street level below.

The ground floor level of the restaurant has a modern but homely atmosphere where guests can enjoy wines by the glass, pre-dinner drinks or an unique Jardine cocktail, which may well contain a home made ingredient such as prickly pear syrup or sweet balsamic jelly. Two semi-private dining rooms are located at the back of the bar, where groups of up to 10 people can enjoy the same fare as upstairs.

Apart from the casual diner, Jardine also caters for a wide variety of functions and celebrations - from very small corporate strategic planning sessions to large functions with live entertainment.

Tel: 021 424 5640
 
Web:  www.jardineonbree.co.za

 
Haiku
 
The Haiku concept is exotic Asian cuisine. Chinese dim sum, wok and barbeque; Japanese robata grills and sushi, served tapas-style, are some of the dishes to be shared and enjoyed in a stylish setting.

The restuarant interior features a state-of-the-art open kitchen where diners can watch food being artfully prepared by a group of talented, proffesional chefs. The restuarant exudes trendy sophistication, with walls and floors of beautifully polished granite. Our stylish bar serves delicious cocktails to a discerning clientele.

The combination of superior produce, luxurious surrounds and friendly service ensures a unique experience of refined taste and unforgettable dining.

Tel: 021 424 7000
 
Web: www.bukhara.com/haiku/
 
Dias Tavern
 
The theme at Dias Tavern, an informally decorated Portuguese taverna, was inspired by the 17th century explorer Bartholomew Dias. Open for lunches, with a beautiful view of Table Mountain, as well as dinner, there is an extensive menu with a wide choice of meals.

Included in the menu are fresh linefish & other seafood specials; meat dishes & charcoal grilled steaks; spicy trinchado or Portuguese fillet steaks; peri-peri baby chicken or prawns; smoked eisbein, espetada (traditional braaied steak on a skewer), vegetable platters & salads.

The list goes on & on ... If you decide to experience this continental atmosphere, you will also be tempted by an array of desserts. Then fiesta & dance the night away to live music playing your favourite golden hits.

Tel: 021 465 7547
 
Web:www.kapstadt.de/dias-tavern/index.htm
 

Five Flies
 
Five Flies is a sassy upmarket dining venue situated in the hub of Cape Town's legal and financial district. Great care has being taken with the interior renovations of this historic building in order to create one of the unique dining experiences in the Cape.

The venue comprises an 80-seater restaurant, together with exclusive private dining rooms, a bar opening out onto an enclosed courtyard which serves light lunches, and a sophisticated cigar lounge.

There is much excitement about the team that has worked towards making Five Flies one of the most stylish and popular restaurants in Cape Town. The revolutionary menu combines local and international elements with true cosmopolitan flair. General Manager, Alex van Nes, comments 'the emphasis is on unique flavours and exquisite presentation, using the finest and freshest ingredients.' For starters, try the duck carpaccio with rocket, pecorino and orange confit or, a salad of mixed bitter greens, bosc pear, gorgonzola with roasted pinenuts and red wine vinaigrette. Main courses include baked kingklip and prosciutto with peas and lemon grass butter sauce, or try the slow roasted leg of Iamb with roasted parsnips, oxtail croquette, and a tomato jus.

The layout of the menu encompasses unique features such as a choice of different set menu's listed within price categories plus the freedom to order specialities. The wine list is also presented in a similar vein.

'We strive to have an incredible mix of good food, a great ambience and outstanding service', comments Alex. 'We have a highly experienced and motivated team that has assisted in bringing about a new dining culture in this unique part of the city.'

Five Flies is open from Monday to Friday for lunch and dinner, Saturdays & Sundays for dinner only. Secure street parking is available.

Tel: 021 424 4442
 
Web: http://www.fiveflies.com/
 
Mesopotamia Kurdish
 
Come and have a fabulous night of good Kurdish Food and great entertainment at Mesopotamia!

The first Kurdish restaurant in South Africa. You can share in a selection of meze and dine on dishes specially prepared on a traditional tandoori wood fire, our food is also Halaal. Take off your shoes and recline on kilim cushions around antique copper tables, in a venue that is richly decorated with genuine hand-made kilims and Kurdish artefacts that create the ambience and conviviality of Mesopotamia, one of the world’s greatest civilisations.

Enjoy the congenial atmosphere while sipping fragrant tea poured from a samovar or enjoy a lavish meal and be entertained by mesmerising Kurdish folksong and the sensuous enchantment of a belly dancer.

Hire the restaurant for a special occasion, wedding, birthday party, anniversary celebration and business meeting.

After dinner relax with hookah pipe and cigars and listen to cultural music in our venue upstairs - Shisha (Nargile)

Shisha smoking is a new experience in Cape Town and follows the cosmopolitan trend around the world. It's quite common at restaurant’s and cafés in the Middle East, from Turkey to India, and is flourishing in Northern Africa, Europe and the United States. It originated in Turkey more than 500 years ago and, in different parts of the world, the shisha is known by a variety of names: water pipe, hubbly-bubbly, hookah and nargile (the Arabic name). It is smoother than smoking a cigar or cigarette, and takes on the flavour of the additives mixed in the tobacco.

Tel: 021 424 4664
 
Web:  http://www.mesopotamia.co.za/