Top African restaurants in Cape Town

Djembe drumming, karaoke nights, fine dining and more

Last updated: Tuesday, 21 May 2024 

African food is a very broad (and diverse) label; so are African restaurants. You can go to a fine dining restaurant in Langa and join cooking classes, sing karaoke on Loop Street, and try djembe drumming at a restaurant that’s been around since 1995. There’s also a treehouse-style eatery and handmade African ice cream with flavours like hibiscus curd.

SENSORY MEAL SPANNING 14 COUNTRIES

Eating at Gold Restaurant is a rich sensory experience. Malian puppets greet you at the door, there’s rousing djembe drumming (in which you can participate), traditional praise singing, and incredible dancers. The meal itself spans 14 countries on the continent and all the meals (which are halaal) have vegetarian alternatives at Gold Restaurant. 

Hours: Monday to Sunday, from 6.30pm to 10.30pm

15 Bennett St | Green Point | @goldrestaurantcapetown | Image: GOLD Restaurant | Image: GOLD Restaurant

TREEHOUSE-STYLE EATERY

Madam Taitou is a colourful African-themed restaurant offering a communal dining experience of Ethiopian dishes (and it’s vegan-friendly too). There are vegetable platters with lentils and flatbread, plus lamb and curries. Diners are seated in a treehouse-style space, decorated with potted plants, creepers for privacy and mismatched wooden furniture covered in animal skins.

Hours: Daily, 11am to 11pm

77 Long Street | Cape Town City Centre | Website | Image: Madam Taitou

SORGHUM PORRIDGE, HISBISCUS CURD ICE CREAM

Tapi Tapi sells handmade African ice cream with flavours like hibiscus curd, matemba-salted toffee with scotch bonnet chillies, and sorghum porridge and coconut. While they’re primarily an ice cream cafe, they also offer hot and cold beverages like kei apple soda. 

Hours:  Tuesday to Friday; Saturday, 12pm to 7pm; Sunday, 1pm to 7pm

76 Lower Main Road | Observatory | Cape Town | @_tapi_tapi | Image: Tapi Tapi

FINE DINING & COOKING CLASSES

Jordan Ways of Cooking is not only a fine dining restaurant in Langa (complete with an a la carte African menu). You can also join cooking classes there. There’s umleqwa (hardbody chicken), uSmiley (sheep head), ulusu (tripe) and beef stew on the menu. You can order sit down or takeaways, plus host a birthday and corporate event. 

Hours: Monday to Thursday, 10am to 9pm; Friday to Sunday, 10am to 1am

Washington Street | Langa Township | Cape Town | @jordanwaysofcooking | Image: @radebe.noxy

WILD GAME, FROM KUDU TO CROCODILE 

Marco's African Place specialises in wild game like springbok, kudu, ostrich and crocodile, served with sides of pap and other staples. There’s also traditional African dishes like tripe and steamed ox tongue, and live music and dancing. You’ll probably recognise the vibrant orange building in Bo-Kaap. 

Hours: Monday to Sunday, 12pm to 11pm

15 Rose Lane | Bo-Kaap | @marcosafricanplace | Image: Marcos African Place

TRADITIONAL SEVEN COLOUR PLATE 

At many South African tables, food of different colours are served on the same plate – beetroot, yellow rice, green veggies, brown stews, to name a few – creating a wonderful mix of flavours. Seven Colours Eatery is all about that. You can try a local favourite like umleqhwa (meat potjie) or veggie dishes like umngqusho (samp and beans) and umfino (spinach). 

Hours: Monday to Sunday, 11am to 5:30pm

19 Dock Rd | Victoria & Alfred Waterfront | @sevencolours_eatery | Image: Seven Colours Eatery

CHILLI MOPANE WORMS & FRIED TERMITES 

Pahari is Shona for “place of pots”, a reference to traditional clay cooking pots. Here you’ll find mopane worms in chilli sauce, fried termites, crispy tiny fish, traditional chicken and beef stews, and vegetable sides (that could easily be a main, like green veggies in a peanut butter sauce). You can also book a two-hour cooking class. 

Hours: Monday to Saturday, 11am to 9pm; Sunday, 11am to 6pm

121 Cecil Road | Salt River | @pahari_african_restaurant | Image: Pahari African Restaurant

FLAVOURFUL ETHIOPIAN FOOD

Timbuktu Café is an affordable favourite in Observatory. There’s shiro (a tasty chickpea stew), tibs (beef stew), and doro wot (spicy chicken stew). You can also try vegan and vegetarian dishes like fried cabbage and beetroot, wrapped in injera, a flatbread made with teff flour (it’s gluten-free). 

Hours: Monday to Saturday, 10am to 10pm

16 Lower Main Road | Observatory | Cape Town | Image: @saood_khan_za

1995 INSTITUTION ON LONG STREET

Mama Africa has been around since 1995. The bright-orange building on Long Street is covered in colourful murals, and it has food from Nigeria, Zambia, South Africa, Ghana, Zimbabwe. There’s crocodile too, and chikanda, also known as “African polony.” You can stay for a late-night drink, or join a djembe drumming or live reggae night at Mama Africa.

Hours: Daily, 12pm to 2am

178 Long Street (Corner of Pepper St & Long St) | Cape Town | @mamaafrica_cape_town | Image: Mama Africa

DAILY SPECIALS ON JOLLOF, BEAN STEW 

From jollof and waakye (cooked rice and beans) to plantain (a West African fruit) and fufu and soup. Ghana Jollof also has daily specials like stir-fry spaghetti on Mondays, beans stew and plantain on Tuesdays and assorted jollof on Wednesdays. There's live African music and on weekends, you can also find them at Neighbourgoods Market. 

Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 11am to 7pm

9 Victoria Road | Woodstock | Cape Town | @ghanajollof_sa | Image: Ghana Jollof

SLICE OF WEST AFRICA ON BREE STREET 

Wakanda African Restaurant is hidden on lower Bree Street, with calming neutral colours, a sunny window nook and a few tables scattered around a sleek room. From crispy plantain chips and cat fish pepper soup to aromatic stews and egusi, every bite is a journey through West African heritage. 

Hours: Daily, 11am to 10pm

7 Bree Street, Cape Town City Centre | @wakanda_africa_restaurant | Image: @spacerabbit_cpt

KARAOKE, COMEDY NIGHTS & NIGERIAN DISHES

You’ll find Aroko Café around the corner from Station on Bree. Its balcony overlooks Loop Street. There are Nigerian dishes like jollof rice, pepper wings, smoked titus (mackerel) and grilled plantain. And every week they also host different events, from live music and big sports games to comedy nights and karaoke. 

Hours: Daily; 24 hours

210 Loop Street | Cape Town City Centre | @arokocapetown | Image: @arokocapetown

GUIDE TO TSHISHANYAMA SPOTS

Tshisanyamas are a meat lover’s mecca. They are also the place to be when you want to have a party, see your favourite artist, chill with friends at a car wash or share a nourishing meal with family. Discover roadside braais, rooftop spots, remote workspaces and regular grooves at our top tshishanyama spots in and around Cape Town. 

Hours: Varies

Various locations | Image: Gypsy Rabbit

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FIND MORE PLACES TO EAT

You can taste biltong-spiced lamb chops and truffle pap at FYRE Dining.  

There are also new places and experiences in Cape Town.

Make plans with our guide of 7+ things to do this weekend. 

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