Food Guide for Cape Town & Stellenbosch

Medium Rare Steak at Rust en Vrede Winery
Photo by Paul Cook

From Cape Town, I went to Stellenbosch - which is a university town and a destination for wine lovers. I stayed there for a week and a half and really enjoyed myself on good food and drink.

Unfortunately, my stay at the hostel called Banghoek Place did not go so well. I had $50-$70 USD stolen there, and the owner of the hostel not only was hostile, aggressive, and mean about it, she suggested I drop my investigation (which makes you wonder if she's in on it).

(If anyone is reading this from Banghoek Place, I just wanted to say that it's a really violating feeling to have your cash taken. The reaction of the owner who didn't care was even more hurtful. I hope those who are responsible can change their way, so you can stop harming people and yourself and local tourism.)

In any event, I had to throw that out there to warn other guests. Also, if you are going to stay there, make sure that you count your cash before you check in and every day while you're there. Cash has a tendency to disappear when you're staying there.

If you want to find out what happened, you can read Kyra's blog, a Flemish girl who also had her money stolen there, along with four other girls. You'll have to translate it from Dutch to English, but Kyra was a bit of pitbull too when it came to the investigation. (Obviously, she mentions me as in the blog as the one who continued the discovery and had "good courage".)

Anyways, back to my time in Stellenbosch. I really enjoyed my time in Stellenbosch. I met good people, ate nice food, and enjoyed the wine immensely. It's too bad though that my time was really soured by the theft.

Anyways, I'd like to do a food guide for Cape Town and Stellenbosch below.

*I have received NO compensation for writing this guide. These reviews are my genuine opinion, and thank you for the food, service, and drinks these establishments have provided.

* * *

Cape Town

Food

South China Dim Sum Bar on Long Street

Dim Sum dishes at South China Dim Sum Bar
(c) TripAdvisor.com

After not eating Chinese food for awhile, I found this place a savior. It's a Dim Sum bar. It's cost isn't cheap, but not expensive.

I recommend getting the fried lamb dumplings, the shui mai, and the chicken dumplings. All the noodle and rice dishes aren't worth it. (Hint: If the owner contacts me, I can give improvements on those dishes.)

Service could also improve. The first night there, the staff was rude, and I had to talk to the owner about it. The service improved a lot better after that talk.

Make a reservation to get a seat from Thursday to Saturday. Hope you enjoy.

Food & Coffee 

Lola's Cafe on Long Street

A picture of the inside of Lola's
(C) TripAdvisor

Across the street from the dim sum bar, you can have the most rich cappuccinos at a place called Lola's. The staff are beautiful and greet you with genuine warmness and kindness. I had a coffee here every day that I could. And they're super clean; I remember that they shut down the restaurant every two days a season to do a full cleaning.

This is a lunch place and not a dinner place. They have the best vegan burger I had, and I also recommend their croissants. They're also fantastic.

I never had their juices, but those appeared to be really popular too with customers.

Royal Eatery on Long Street

A burger from Royale Eatery
(c) TripAdvisor

Even though I'm not the biggest fan of burgers, but Royale Eatery has some really good ones! I recommend some of their more popular burgers. They have great sweet potato fries too and an awesome salad. For your side, you can order half salad and half fries. That's what I did.

I had to come back twice to try their ostrich burger. Not the biggest fan of it. The other burgers are better.

Highly recommended.











Chocolate, Coffee, & Bunny Chow

Honest Chocolate on Wale Street

A medley of chocolates and pastries and drink at Honest Chocolate
(C) TripAdvisor

I loved it here! How can you not, when it's all about chocolate and more chocolate and more chocolate. It's amazing. I liked all their chocolate dishes, so no specific recommendations. Their cappuccinos are also good. Really, though, the drink here to get is the rooibos (red bush) latte. It's a latte made out of red bush tea. Ask for some honey. And man, is your day made.

Make sure to try their bunny chow. They hollow out a muffin, stuff it with chocolate, and then add ice cream, chocolate, and nuts to it.

They also have fast internet. Highly recommended! Enjoy!





Ice Cream

Moro Gelato on Long Street

Gelato at Moro Gelato
(C) TripAdvisor

Started by two Italians and a South African, Moro Gelato is a wonderful little stop to have gourmet gelato and beautiful chocolate with it.

I recommend the Marchese gelato - Vanilla from Tahiti with South African macadamian nut butter and caramilized almonds and a second scoop of tart gelato (like sour cherry or mango) to balance out the creaminess. This has to be one of the best gelato places I've been to.

The other flavors are typical of other gelato places, however.







Stellenbosch

Vineyards

Annandale Winery

Picture of Annandale Vineyards
(c) Annandale 

A lesser known vineyard than Rust en Vrede, Annandale in my opinion has the best wines that I've tried so far. Apparently, the vineyard has been run by an Afrikaner family for five generations. I couldn't try their $70 bottle of Merlot, but their Syrah and Cavalier was to die for.

A Swedish couple recommended this place to me. It was a bit out of the way, and I had to hitchhike here to get here. Totally worth it!

Again, highly recommended.

Steaks

Rust en Vrede (Rest and Peace)

The Kitchen at Rust en Vrede
(C) Rust en Vrede

The Rust en Vrede Vineyard is well regarded. Nelson Mandela picked the wines from here for his Noble Prize dinner.

Although I like the wine, I thought the steak, marbled with fat, was superb and tender and succulent and of good value with these really crunchy and savory french fries. (See picture above). The salad was first rate as well.

This place was also a bit out of the way, and I had to take a shuttle-taxi to get here. Really, worth it!

Ok folks, that's it for my recommendations around the Cape Town area. Please write to me if you found my tips helpful.