The Africa Cafe - Cape Town, South Africa

With the World Cup just around the corner, the whole world will descend on tiny Cape Town in June. It's funny because before I visited Cape Town, I thought it was this cosmopolitan metropolis.  I guess as it's South Africa's most celebrated city, Cape Town has a larger than life aura but take my word, it's a small beach town under a beautiful African sky.

I spent 10 days hanging out in this town and doing pretty much all the touristy things you could think of. It didn't take long - 5 days and I was done. Hiked up Table Mountain. Visited Robben Island - Nelson Mandela's old prison. Took a day trip to the wine country.  Drove down the coastal highway to the Cape of Good Hope (absolutely gorgeous!!). Took a safari from Cape Town, which I really wouldn't recommend. I've lived in Africa and so the safari thing wasn't a big deal. But if you haven't been on a safari ever, head up north to Kruger or fly to Victoria Falls or Botswana. Also, not to be missed there's the Rhodes Memorial and the V&A Waterfront.

Prices for hotels during the World Cup are astronomical. But I stayed at An African Villa, a small boutique hotel, in the heart of Cape Town, which I loved. Decor is modern African chic and the owners are great. And it was while I was milling about at the African Villa that I heard about the Africa Cafe and decided to head over there with a friend.

All too often in Africa, it's easy to have the safari experience and "the look at the poor Africans." And most visitors I think never really often get to appreciate the cultures that are rich in history and traditions.  

Cape Town is often called the Mother City, because it's in Mother Africa. Scientists and archeologists have found some of the oldest remains of human beings here. Africa has an old soul. And there's nothing quite like watching a sunset...soaking in this beautiful land and eating!

The Africa Cafe. Well, it's in downtown Cape Town and offers what I call a rather complete introduction to Africa's cuisines. They call their menus - "communal feasts consisting of traditional Ndebele, Xhosa and Zulu dishes." But the feasts cover cuisine from all over Africa. It's basically a fixed price menu and you get to try all sorts of African dishes. Be adventurous. It's not as scary as you might think. And then, you also have the traditional singers who will perform while you are stuffing yourself. Loved it!

 
For more on African cuisine, pick up the book by Swedish-Ethiopian chef Marcus Samuelsson who took a culinary tour of Africa from the North, West, East and South. It's called "Discovery of a Continent: Foods, Flavors and Inspirations from Africa."  

Here are some more recommendations from my friend Jody on her recent trip to Cape Town:

Restaurants

Sevruga restaurant -located on Quay 5 at the V&A waterfront. Great food, great location  and great ambiance and reasonable prices. A woman at my hotel said she had the best steak there, I had the pasta which was delicious!

  

Bizerca bistro -located downtown Capetown. A couple from the Bay area that I met highly recommended this place and said that the food matched the quality of Chez Panisse in Berkeley which is outstanding. I missed this place but I would try it if I were to go back.

 

Hotel:

I loved the WESTIN....but also the Radisson is the best location for the World Cup or to be by the V&A waterfront. Cape Grace is by the V&A but pricey!

 

Travel arrangements:

I recommend people to visit the Tourism office in the Clock Tower Precinct at the V&A waterfront. From there people can inquire about day trips, rental cars, wine tours and safaris. This is where I made most of my travel arrangements and received the last minute deals for the safari. The safari outfitter is www.andbeyond.com and I got the deal for Leadwood resort on the Sabi Sand Game reserve basically for 40-50% off but the days are limited and one has to accommodate their schedule to take advantage of the specials.

 

I flew from Capetown through Jburg to Nelspruit/Mpumalanga airport. People can arrange a pick up through their safari outfitter or rent a car. One place I would recommend if they are in the area is Oliver's restaurant and Lodge in White River, South Africa. www.olivers.co.za They have a beautiful property with a highly rated restaurant and a wonderful B&B type of hotel.

 

Websites

The Africa Cafe

Timeout

An African Villa

2Afrika - African Safari Specialist

Discovery of a Continent by Marcus Samuelsson - Gluten- Free Girl and the Chef try out the recipes.

Comments

[HauteWorld]

I stayed in Cape Town for a few days when I was doing a tour of South Africa and visited the city again for work when we were doing a tv shoot. Definitely a beautiful place, but I think many are shocked that poverty is still visible there. I guess there's also an assumption that Cape Town is just beautiful scenery and nice villas. The only thing that bummed me was that I didn't get to visit Table Mountain because of the fog, so I definitely have to go back for that!

[Denise]

Very true about the poverty...but I was shocked about the slums in some of the arrondissements in Paris where I was told was off-limits unless you wanted lots of trouble. Granted it's well hidden to the tourist but no less troubling.

Yes. You have to go back to Table Mountain. The fog can be horrible kind of like San Francisco. I lucked out and it was clear and sunny when we hiked up.

[cometo capetown]

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