Eating out in Cape Town

There are hundreds of incredible restaurants to try in Cape Town but I thought I would write a little blog about my top three!

First up is NV-80, which is located in a shopping mall! However, do not let this put you off. This dark, moody restaurant serves fantastic food at even better prices. To start I chose the miso salmon, Asian style with a citrus dressing and the hubby tucked into sautéed prawns with garlic, chilli, caper berry and chenin blanc. These dishes were insanely delicious.

For our main meal I opted for queen prawns (king were unavailable on the day) grilled with lemon, garlic, chilli and parsley and served with chips. The hubby sunk his teeth into a sirloin on the bone with fries and creamed spinach. The steak was incredible. It was huge, it was top quality and it melted in your mouth. It was also cooked to medium rare perfection. The prawns were fresh and delicious too. The best part about NV-80 was not only the food and the lovely service but it was about a three minute taxi from our hotel 52 De Wet.

NV-80 is a casual affair. They have inside and outside dining too. The menu is grill based and extensive enough to accommodate most people's requirements. Our total bill including water, service charge and three glasses of wine was £41.83. You cannot really argue with that for the volume and quality of food we consumed.

Our second favourite spot was Harbour House at the V&A where we stopped for lunch after a trip to Robben Island. I had a large plate of prawn and yellow tail sushi whilst the hubby opted for Mozambique style tiger prawns pan fried in garlic, piri piri, lemon and bay leaves served with chips and a tomato & red onion salad. We washed everything down with a glass of sauvignon blanc each and a large bottle of water. Including service charge our total bill for a relaxing meal on the open air terrace was £28.40.

Another little Cape Town gem is the super trendy Kloof Street House. They have indoor and outdoor dining with awesome décor. The staff here are really young and really polite and helpful. The cocktail menu is amazing and I can thoroughly recommend the Madagascar Martini, which is vanilla vodka, crushed ginger and pineapple. We jumped straight into the main courses here. I opted for the special, which was a salmon dish served with lentils and spicy cauliflower. The hubby chose the ostrich fillet with celeriac puree, onion & gorgonzola frittata and a waldorf salad. Both dishes were delicious but I especially enjoyed trying ostrich for the first time. It was really lean, tender and melt in your mouth.

Our total bill including one cocktail, two double gin and tonics, a large bottle of water, service charge and a main course each was £28.52.

If you find yourself in Camps Bay definitely try Cafe Caprice where for around £5-7 each you can have a burger and incredibly thick milkshakes in an open air restaurant looking over the beach. I can recommend both the American burger and rump prego. If you find yourself partying on Long Street and you need something to soak up the alcohol I can recommend Sgt Pepper. Try and go early to grab a table on the terrace looking over Long Street. They have great burgers and pizzas! For a burger, a pizza, two glasses of white wine, four beers and service charge we spent £16.69! I can recommend the Molly Mushroom with mushrooms, artichokes, caramelised onions and cherry tomatoes!

Finally, if at the V&A give the steak house Belthazar a go. We started with a drink at the long bar inside whilst waiting for our table. The restaurant is super busy so either make a reservation or go early! We were then seated outside under heaters but on a chilly evening take a cardigan as well. I started with a large portion of calamari whilst the hubby had the avocado Ritz, which was shrimps, avocado and tomato drizzled with marie rose sauce.

For our main course I had the grilled Kingklip with sweet potato fries and mac & cheese. The hubby had a 550g fillet steak with French fries and creamed spinach as well as Béarnaise sauce. As you can imagine we were absolutely stuffed by the end of our delicious meal. With a glass of white, two glasses of red, a bottle of water and service charge our total bill was £52.40.

There are so many places to try in Cape Town and all have excellent quality ingredients at reasonable prices. The service was also impeccable everywhere we went. I don't think you can go too wrong in this city so when you visit make sure you eat everything! Good luck!