An Insider’s Guide To Cape Town & Beyond
Where To Stay
Sterrekopje in Franschhoek is a farm retreat that is both a sanctuary for rest and play. Then there's Mount Nelson, Cape Town, the Mother City’s iconic pink lady is all grace and style. I can’t talk about the hotel without mentioning the killer martinis, which are best enjoyed by the blue pool.
Dorp Hotel in Bo-Kaap Cape Town is a secret escape from the city, high up on the slopes of Signal Hill. Here, attention to detail is paramount, the setting is beautiful and the experience is wholly unpretentious.
Seaside Mountain Retreat in Misty Cliffs is the Airbnb of dreams, hosted by some of my dear friends with immaculate taste. At the edge of the Atlantic, in a nature reserve with endless views, this architect-designed wooden bungalow has a pool and large fynbos garden with a private path down to the beach. The sauna is an added bonus.
Babylonstoren is set at the foot of the Simonsberg Mountains and is a working wine farm and gardens with a spa, boutique hotel, cottages and restaurants. It’s found near the Franschhoek wine valley, where I grew up. Owner Karen Roos (who has since opened The Newt in Somerset) is the former editor of Elle Décor and her contemporary style is woven right through. The accommodation consists of the original farm cottages – they’re lovely.
Icaria House is all about the views. Guests can fill their eyes with ocean splendour at this multilevel seaside holiday home, perched on steep mountain slopes looking out over Cape Town’s Atlantic Seaboard. The interior is calm and welcoming, the beach is a hop, skip and a jump – and you will feel like doing that, so mood-elevating is a stay here.
Where To Eat & Drink
Ouzeri is a pop-up inspired by old family recipes. Since opening, it’s become a foodie haven on Wale Street serving Greek food that honours simple, fresh, seasonal ingredients. Good olives, good salt! The grilled squid with black eyed beans and pickled kritamo dish is superb. My other favourite city pop-in is South China Dim Sum, the lamb pot stickers are stuff of legends.
Between Us, with its pared back design and equally minimalist menu, is just the lunchtime oasis I need during a busy day. The yellowfin tuna niçoise hits the spot every time.
Table Seven is hidden down a street in Salt River and is run by a super passionate husband-and-wife team. It’s fresh, creative and always fun. Is this Cape Town’s best kept secret? I think so! My most memorable meal there was whole red roman grilled on the braai, served with olive oil, lime and sumac.
Wolfgatz Paternoster – there is nothing quite like it. The chef, Kobus, is a purist. In his ever-changing menus, he explores local seafood and veldkos (indigenous plants foraged from the surrounding dunes and rock pools). The wild garlic masala pickled fish is etched into my memory. I always leave this small, intimate beachside restaurant seeing the world with new eyes.
The Pot Luck Club is where Luke Dale Roberts, one of Cape Town’s most renowned chefs, lets his naughty side fly. Vertiginous and overlooking the gritty inner city to the mountains beyond, the restaurant serves small plate and offers an incredible wine list. It’s everybody’s favourite place for Sunday brunch, where the Bloody Marys keep flowing.
Chefs Warehouse at Beau Constantia is another small plate concept, which swaps city views for the rolling vineyards of the Constantia Valley. Chef Ivor Jones presides over the kitchen and is an absolute wizard of flavour.
Good to Gather at Rozendal Farm in Stellenbosch specialises in a farm-to-table dining experience with organic produce grown on site. It’s one of my favourite tranquiller oases for lunch with friends.
Olympia Café in Kalk Bay can be found just across from the sea. Can you call yourself Capetonian if you haven’t had the seafood pasta at this cosy and unpretentious eatery? It’s a local favourite, and great for people watching. The on-site bakery is stuff of legend too. Trust me, you need to take home some pastéis de nata.
Arthur’s Mini Super can be found in the seaside metropolitan of Sea Point for speciality grocery items as well as some of the best breakfasts in town. Not to mention of course, deli-style lunches – and the cheeky mini bar pop-up.
Where To Drink
Anthm makes the best cocktails in town. Japanese-owned and New York grown, Tetsuo Hasegawa and his team has brought their inimitable style to Cape Town. Go here for the best dirty martini in the business.
Leo’s is my favourite wine bar. It’s tiny and hidden inside a bagel shop serving natural wines. Nothing refreshes quite like a glass of Ambeloui Cap Classique at the counter.
The Mount Nelson – even when I’m not staying here, I still love to pop-in for a classic G&T on the terrace, soaking up the views of their gardens and Table Mountain beyond.
Rosetta Coffee is the place to go for the best coffee in the city. It’s an artisanal roastery known for its single-origin coffees with an emphasis on sustainability.
WHATIFTHEWORLD, the gallery at the Krone vineyard, is a must. The boundary-breaking gallery is an incredible platform for some of Africa’s most significant contemporary artists.
AKJP is my go-to concept store – it’s home to the labels of over 40 South African designers as well as its own fashion label. I also love Clark’s for browsing new books.
House of Gozdawa is a perfume house that creates unusual and captivating scents. I could get lost nosing all the different vials. The team makes exclusively natural fragrances inspired by the African continent. By appointment only.
Reyneke, Stellenbosch, is a must for wine fans. Some of the Cape’s most incredible vineyards are to be found here. Johan Reyneke has been a pioneer in biodynamic farming for over 30 years, and his wines are correspondingly remarkable.
Table Mountain is one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature and it’s at its best bathed in morning light. Go for a sunrise hike and watch Cape Town wake up as you take in the panoramic vistas this precipitous national icon has to offer. The historic Kirstenbosch Gardens sprawl across the slopes of Table Mountain and is a labyrinth of indigenous trees and plants. We are spoilt for choice when it comes to amazing botanical gardens – I also love the more contemporary vision of Babylonstoren and its magnificent grounds and gardens.
Oranjezicht City Farm Market is the best place to spend a Saturday morning. Have a leisurely stroll, grab a bunch of flowers and some organic produce for lunch, then join a friend for coffee, or some wine and oysters.
Newlands Forest is one of the Cape’s best kept secrets… I love pulling on a pair of wellies and going foraging for mushrooms in early winter. There are plenty of professional services that can help you with this – don’t do it alone if you don’t have the knowledge.
Great African Seaforest is a great place for the adventurous. Visitors can explore this underwater utopia with a snorkel in the kelp forests at Smitswinkel.
Kalk Bay is a great daytrip. It’s always such a joy to unearth good books Quagga Books. While we’re in the south peninsula, take a trip to old navy town Simonstown, for beaches and penguins, yes, but also for The Maximalist, for mid-century and antique finds.
Visit Krone.World
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