Cape Town Restaurants

Although Coi’s décor exudes a soothing calm in shades of earthy minimalism, its cuisine is a jolt of culinary electricity. Chef Daniel Patterson’s tasting menus take diners on a sensuous adventure reflective of his diverse culinary background, which includes a stint at the infamous El Bulli. A meal at Coi is an exercise in the revelry of the unexpected: a starter might include the application of essential oils to the wrist, while a dessert might be couched in smoked yogurt. The result is an experience that embodies the doe-eyed wonder of childhood with the poise and refinement of haute cuisine.

Located in the Westin Hotel on Market Street, Ducca presents an innovative menu featuring many of Italy’s culinary staples. Guests can dine under the sparkling chandeliers or enjoy the popular style of bar dining, as seen in the Veneto region. Chef Erica Holland-Toll crafts a variety of mouth watering dishes that are geared to leave even the most discriminating foodie satisfied. The wine list highlights the dual regional influence, with a focus on Italian and California vintages offered by the glass and bottle. The Venetian inspired décor (take note of the gold forks), combined with impeccable service and delicious cuisine, …

With colorful flower boxes, large picture windows, and a sunny saffron-colored sign, La Folie exudes a charming Frenchness. Inside, a luminous dining room in warm hues and lush fabrics is an elegant canvas for the presentation of Executive Chef Roland Possat’s French and California-inspired creations. The prix-fixe menu whimsically explores the interplay between tradition and experimentation: classic French ingredients like foie gras, frog legs, and snails mingle with dishes featuring lobster vanilla sauce and oxtail stuffed calamari. While, as its name suggests, La Folie has a playful streak of madness, it is more the result of a masterful and supremely …

Rustic Italian cuisine takes root on California soil, and shines with a perfect balance of Old World charm and contemporary sophistication. Every aspect of the dining experience Incanto offers is a thoughtful expression of bettering the meal for all involved. The water is filtered and carbonated in-house, and the produce and meats used are sustainably grown and harvested. Also, “odd cuts” of meat are highlighted on the menu to both invigorate the palate and honor the animal. The Warm Pig’s Head Salad is sure to intrigue diners, while the Whole Roasted Local Sardines is a tantalizing prospect, indeed.

As Executive Chef and Owner Staffan Terje says, "You don’t choose who you fall in love with." To that same affect, diners may not have a choice but to swoon over the elegant experience a visit to Perbacco promises. A romantic ambiance is achieved through the restaurant’s showcase of exposed brick walls, high ceilings, and opulent accents of marble. Chef Terje’s menu delights the palate just as the décor treats the eyes, and presents a truly authentic selection of Italian dishes. For example, the Coniglio Al Civet, or Devil’s Gulch Rabbit, is rich and rustic in a spiced red wine …

Revel in an eating scene that encourages patrons to try new tastes and strengthen bonds by sharing plates, at Pesce. This Venetian cuisine-inspired restaurant relies on the freshest ingredients and high quality fish and meat to serve the equivalent of Spanish tapas with a varied Cicchetti menu of hot and cold dishes. These miniature entrees may be petite, but their flavor is anything but timid. The cold Cicchetti selection offers such delicacies as the Alici Bruschette (white anchovies, olives, and roasted peppers), while the hot menu hoasts the Tortino (a saffron risotto cake with Dungeness crab meat).

Simplicity is bliss: local ingredients, fresh flavors, and charming surroundings, converge to offer a truly blissful experience at Spruce. This communal watering hole encourages diners to dine, socialize, and relax, with the help of a menu that highlights the very best of contemporary American cuisine. The in-house temperature controlled curing room caters to the impressive charcuterie selection, and up to 80% of the produce used at any time may come from the restaurant’s own private farm. Savory delights include the Hot and Cold Foie Gras, the Buttered Main Lobster, and the Charred Berkshire Pork Tenderloin.

Whether you’re joining friends for a great conversation over better bites and wine, or you’d like to savor an intimate moment with a fine meal, Terzo will surely accommodate. The elegant and vibrant dining space is home to a custom-made zinc bar, a communal wine-tasting table, and a variety of small party tables. The Pan-Mediterranean cuisine menu features small plates like the Seared Monterey Calamari and the Grilled Halloumi Cheese. Large plates include the Grilled Steelhead Salmon, the Grilled Organic Pork Chop, and the Linguine alla Carbonara. Some of the sweet treats are the Chocolate Chaud, the Fresh Ginger Cake, …

Old World elegance woos modern sophistication at Scala’s Bistro through an ambience and menu that prizes classic presentation and quality. Rustic Northern Italian and Southern French influences converge in the restaurant’s traditional Parisian café setting, and Executive Chef Tim Nugent takes the opportunity to bring the European countryside to his patrons. Dishes like the Beef Carpaccio, Lemon Parsley Gnocchi, and the Seared ‘Loch Duart’ Salmon, hope to seduce you with their fresh and seasonal ingredients, while the 150 bottle wine list and classic cocktail menu compliment the cuisine and offer their own unique rewards.

It may have all began with the bread, but now it’s about so much more. Bistro Boudin is located on the upper level of Boudin at the Warf, serving up heaping helpings of bay-front views with every loaf of sourdough they turn out. Bistro Boudin continues to honor its roots by featuring its famous sourdough prominently on the menu, while representing San Francisco’s rich heritage with classic seafood specialties and more contemporary takes on old recipes. To complement the menu and region, Bistro Boudin also presents guests with a wine list saturated in the area’s award-winning varietals. Whether you’re enjoying …

Take a holiday in Jalisco, Mexico – the birthplace of tequila – without so much as having to pack a hat. Tres Agaves Mexican Kitchen and Tequila Lounge serves regional, rustic cuisine that relies on authentic ingredients and techniques to create dishes true in presentation and flavor. Just as vital as the fine cuisine is Tres Agave’s commitment to fine tequila. As the restaurant’s name implies, the three types of 100% Blue Agave Tequila (Blanco, Reposado, and Anejo) are the true stars of this production. Tequila tastings are held to educate patrons about the true nature of tequila: the biggest …

The Village Pub not only serves the appetite for food, but it also hopes to satisfy the entire being. Whether you’re looking to tread new ground, or you’re simply hoping to be greeted by the familiar, The Village Pub has the menu and character to keep you intrigued. Executive Chef Mark Sullivan constructs his contemporary American cuisine by drawing from classic French and Mediterranean traditions, and locally cultivated ingredients. The dinner menu highlights dishes like the Shaved Foie Gras Torchon, while the pub menu offers lighter fare – the Pork and Garlic Sausage is made in-house. The truly staggering wine …

Monetta White grew up in the Fillmore district during its jazz heyday, when it was known as “The Harlem of the West”. As she grew older, she saw the area’s decline and wanted to give back to the neighborhood that helped shape her. With the opening of their San Francisco restaurant in 2008, she and her husband, executive chef David Lawrence, made it happen. 1300 on Fillmore's jazzy, 1930's theme is very relaxed and entertaining, and its soulful American cuisine makes you feel right at home.

The past, present, and future, converge into one moment captured by the dramatic and stunning décor and the innovative cuisine of Circa. Chef Erik Hopfinger lends his experience and imagination to such dishes as the Lobster and White Truffle Mac-n-Cheese and the Buttermilk Battered Fried Chicken. The visual eloquence of Circa’s dining space was conceived by Michael Brennan, and he selected Neil Seth Levine’s artwork to encapsulate the restaurant’s theme of “a moment in time.” Vibrant flowers seem to burst into bloom right before diners’ eyes as they linger over tasteful bites, and savor moments soon to be lost… if …

Providing a lively backdrop for mingling with friends over cocktails, lingering over a romantic meal, or simply absorbing some live entertainment, First Crush aims to please. Intimate dinners and large parties alike are welcome, and encouraged to sample the many small plates, large entrees, and the staggering exclusively California-based wine list. Tickle your taste buds with petite samplings like the Baked “Crush” Salad and the Dungeness Crab Cake, and then commence the feast with the Pan Roasted Hawaiian Walu or the Crush “Kobe” Burger. Dining at First Crush begins with the same giddiness of its namesake experience but can easily …

Fish and Farm is a chic restaurant committed to the principles of the sustainability movement. The restaurant is dedicated to pleasing your palate with all-natural and organic, local ingredients and to composing fantastic interpretations of old favorites that have a distinctive freshness to them. By dubbing their work “New American Seafood and Artisan Meats,” the owners of Fish and Farm have attracted curious food connoisseurs from all walks of life. The energy and service at this devoted eatery is as zestful as its clientele. With all this in mind, Fish and Farm remains a must for locals and visitors alike.

When gazing in awe down at the plate before them, many diners at Luce are tempted to ask, “Does art imitate food, or is my meal multitasking as a masterpiece?” The answer to both questions might just be, “yes.” Patrons’ appetites and imaginations are stimulated by Chef Dominique Crenn’s artful constructs that marry the best aspects of local, regional, and international, ingredients to create thoughtful and flavorful dishes. The highly refined and modern décor only contributes to the dining experience, and encourages visitors to make the connection between the orb-like lamps and the Chocolate “Egg,” with hot coco and cookies.

Set in an old transformed warehouse in SoMa, just a mere block from the Moscone Convention Center, Restaurant Lulu evokes the feeling of being in Provence while still staying true to its urban cityscape. Most notably recognized for its wine selection, this French eatery boasts a selection of 500 bottles and over 70 wines by the glass from all around the world, and a slew of awards from Wine Spectator. The seasonal Provençal menu is served family-style on rustic blond wood tables, the bold flavors of the food the ideal complement to the colorful and contemporary space it occupies.

Chef Dane Boryta of Sens Restaurant, combines traditional Mediterranean techniques, such as flatbread cooked in the restaurants wood-burning oven, with modern sensibilities, for instance Sens’ use of local, sustainably grown produce. Sens restaurant proudly features a Farmer's Market driven menu along with seasonally motivated, fruit inspired desserts from Pastry Chef Rebecca Morris. Sens’ décor effortlessly encourages a cozy and intimate dining experience. Large windows, stone and brick walls, rustic wood, earthenware plates and over-sized leather chairs recreate a classic Mediterranean experience that is further perpetuated by the restaurants excellently prepared cuisine.

Opened by the An family in 1991 following the success of their Vietnamese kitchen Thanh Long, Crustacean offers up-scale Euro-Asian fusion fare in an elegant fine dining setting. The menu follows Executive Chef Helene An's philosophy of turning fresh ingredients that are valued in Eastern medicine for their healing properties into simple, clean and refined dishes. Loyal customers have been returning for years for the secret family recipe for Garlic Noodles and Roasted Dungeness Crab. The sophisticated Asian decor in warm dark hues provides the appropriate setting to enjoy this homey yet sumptuous food. Located in the heart of Nob …