subject: Restaurants To Try In South Africa [print this page] When it comes to South Africa, there are plenty of restaurants to choose from from Cape Town to Johannesburg. We've rounded up some of the hippest hotspots to frequent on your visit to South Africa.
Eating out is something of a local hobby in Cape Town, and even travellers staying at all inclusive hotels, take the opportunity to explore the citys many excellent bars and restaurants. Mzolis in the suburb of Gugulethu is an experience you wont find anywhere else in the world. First, select your meat from the butchery counter, then entrust it to the chefs, who will whisk it away to be braaied (barbequed) to your liking. Enjoy with plenty of the special sauce and do stock up on paper table napkins, as cutlery is not provided! Its a favourite with local and international celebs, including Jamie Oliver.
One of Cape Towns most enduringly popular fine dining restaurants is Savoy Cabbage. The menu is packed with classic favourites like chicken liver parfait, rack of lamb, smoked salmon and roast pork, but it also features uniquely South African dishes like grilled wildebeest, springbok loin and fennel-crusted warthog for more adventurous diners. If youre not feeling hungry, you can enjoy a few glasses of fizz in the bar.
There cant be many restaurants more stunningly located than the Brass Bell, a traditional pub in the Cape Town suburb of Kalk Bay. Its on a train line, so you can leave your hire car at home and take a leisurely trip along the coast, marvelling at the scenery as you work up an appetite for your meal. The food is basic but tasty: ribs, fresh prawns, fish and chips, burgers and the like, and theres a sensibly priced wine list. But its really the location people come here for the opportunity to eat fresh fish while looking down at the sea just a few feet below you is priceless.
If you arrive in Johannesburg late in the evening and find most of the local restaurant closed, dont despair head for happening Melville and the 24-hour bistro Catz Pyjamas. For well over a decade, Catz has been providing hungry revellers with pizza, pasta, poultry, puddings and more at all hours of the night. The emphasis here isnt on watching ones waistline, as the presence on the menu of dishes like deep-fried mozzarella sticks and deep-fried ice cream attests!
The chilled-out enclave of Parkhurst is home to The Loft, a relaxed neighbourhood bistro with a come-as-you-are vibe thats nonetheless getting noticed for its outstanding cuisine. Chef Tom Hughes serves up mostly meat-based treats using local speciality ingredients think springbok wrapped in bacon, and ostrich carpaccio. The dcor is charmingly quirky too, and theres an excellent wine list featuring some of South Africas rising stars.
Back in the day, the centre of Johannesburg was something of a no-go area, but its been successfully rejuvenated in recent years, and is now a safe and attractive place to visit. Unsurprisingly, new bars and restaurants have sprung up to meet the needs of hungry locals and tourists but its worth knowing that the oldest of them all is still in business. The Guildhall has been dispensing pints of beer since 1888, and is still thriving today. The downstairs area os a bar where you can enjoy local beers and wines and even a game of darts; upstairs, theres a restaurant serving mostly Mozambiquan-style food, with a balcony offering a fine view over Jozis bustling streets.
