As a traveler who follows a vegetarian diet, it can be hard to find good places to eat that do not only offer one possible dish. In some places, it's easier, and in other places, research must be done. Cape Town is a city, that requires research. If you're planning a trip to Cape Town and following a vegetarian diet (or have someone with you who does), this blog post might be for you. I list the 14 best restaurants I had been eating during my eight-week stay.
Of course, some places are more suitable for having dinner or breakfast/brunch/lunch, which is why they're divided into those two categories.
Tables of Content:
Vegetarian-Friendy Breakfast/Brunch Places in Cape Town
Since I lived in an apartment with a fully-equipped kitchen, I often found myself making brunch (I combine breakfast and lunch) at home. Therefore, I have only been to a few places breakfast places in Cape Town I can recommend.
Nourish'd - Fill Your Body with Whole Foods
This is one of my favorite spots to eat nourishing, healthy, and tasty food in Cape Town. Most of the dishes on the menu are vegan or at least vegetarian and I'm sure everyone will find something to eat there. My boyfriend and I visited this place at least once a week and fell in love with their smoothie and salad bowls! You must try the Blaze and Berry Bowl with a creamy base and homemade granola topped with fresh fruits. For a filling salad, you can't make anything wrong with the Super Green Quinoa Bowl, which is in fact really green by having broccoli, edamame beans, asparagus, and leafy greens in it.
🤫 Nourish'd has different locations in Observatory, Kloof Street, and Green Point but I highly recommend visiting the store in Observatory.
The Electric - Enjoy a Meal Downtown of Cape Town
Another café/restaurant that offers delicious salad bowls for breakfast/lunch/brunch (or however you want to call it) and the best tomato soup in Cape Town. The Vegan Bowl was perfection with so many freshly cooked ingredients such as pumpkin, beetroot, avocado, green leaves, and a healthy lime dressing.
Additionally, it's a great working space as well, with many sockets to charge your laptop, a good working internet connection, and a chill environment that's best for having a focused working session.
The Strangers Club - Be Part of a Hidden Gem
Visiting this place is a whole experience! A former mansion that is a café and a concept store at the same time. The food is delicious, they have great Matcha Lattes as well, and after having brunch you can have a look around and buy a nice souvenir, or fancy clothes in their concept store. On weekends it can get really busy, and it is advised to make a reservation.
The Ladder - The Best Matcha Latte in Cape Town
At the end of my recommendations, there's the Ladder, an artsy café in District Six with a good Matcha Latte (it was hard to find a good place for it, though) and a lovingly prepared Granola Bowl topped with many fruits. It's also a good place for working on your laptop.
Ground Art Cafe - Drink the Best Coffee in Town
Some friends of ours had been constantly revisiting this place because of the best coffee (coffee fanatics who know what they're talking about) in Cape Town. If you're also into coffee beans and roast strength this place is a must-visit for you. They do offer also a small variety of breakfast dishes, that are prepared without any special extras or fancy ingredients. You get what you order and it is good.
Vegetarian-Friendly Dinner Places in Cape Town
When I arrived in Cape Town I spent some time on Google Maps looking up places to eat and literally created a "wanna-eat-here-list". Some are more functional and deliver food quickly, and some offer a great atmosphere to have a boisterous evening. However, what they all have in common is that they're excellent places to eat. For the sake of completeness, this blog post contains restaurants that were already mentioned in another post.
The Cousins Trattoria - Eat Authentic Italian Food Made by Italian
Starting with my favorite place in Cape Town this must be on everyone's dinner list! The Cousins Trattoria offers the most authentic and delicious Italian food I've tried in Cape Town and is the perfect place to satisfy your pasta cravings.
My personal favorite was the Aubergine Melanzane which tastes very similar to a vegetarian lasagne, but the pasta sheets are exchanged for thinly sliced eggplants. The Mixed Crostinis were the perfect appetizer to start, where you get five different kinds of crostinis all with their own twist. For those who are craving a more creamy sauce the famous Cousin's Signature Tagliatelle is a must-try!
I Love The Dough - You Will Love The Dough
That might break some Italian's hearts because besides pizza this place has nothing to do with Italy. The interior of I Love The Dough is very fancy and reminds me of a diner in an American teenage movie. Lots of neon lights, diner-ish-looking chairs, and young people who are waiting for their tasty pizza. The pizza itself is very good, with some vegetarian options, and good salads. Their menu concept is simple, the pizzas are named as letters and the salads as numbers. We had almost every salad on their menu (because I love eating pizza with a side salad) and always pizza A and B and we always were satisfied after leaving this restaurant.
Noodle Box - Quick & Delicious Asian Food
Some people are not always looking for a fancy place to dine in but more into something fast, easy, and reasonable. Noodle Box is a small restaurant that offers delivery service as well. It offers a variety of simple Asian dishes from the continent like Nasi Goreng (Indonesian fried rice), Japanese Mushroom Noodles, Pad Thai, and many more. The food was always served quickly and never disappointed taste-wise. Highly recommend!
Tjing Tjing House - A Fancy Japanese Eatery
This is another great place to eat Asian food, and absolutely makes the best-seared broccoli. It might seem funny, but my boyfriend and I literally ate starters. We like to order the following: Seared Broccoli with Sushi Rice accompanied by a Veggie Bao Bun, Cucumber Salad, and some Miso Soup.
Yes, sometimes the simplest things are those who makes the most happy. We also tried the Ramen Noodle Soup, and the Donburi, but figured that we loved their starters the most.
The Dog's Bollocks @ Yard - The Biggest Burger in Town
Have you ever heard about a Karen restaurant? Me neither. It's a fun concept, where the waitresses do not act like they should. They are very loud, straightforward, and direct (in this restaurant everyone's a bitch). Visiting this place is an experience and only for those who are hungry. Why? Because the biggest burgers in town are served here. Every burger consists of lettuce, tomatoes, a patty of your choice, and some extra ingredients you can add on. The burger was huge, but very delicious and for a very reasonable price.
Unfortunately, we did not try the pizza, but it looked mouth-watering as well.
Aiko Sushi - All You Can Eat Vegetarian Sushi
Sushi and vegetarian aren't two terms that get along well with each other, because sushi is mainly made with fish and only a few sushi rolls like avocado or cucumber maki can be enjoyed as a vegetarian. I tripped over Aiko Sushi while doing my research for more vegetarian restaurants to try and was amazed by their menu. I could not believe my eyes but they offered over 25 different kinds of sushi rolls and all are vegan!
Each of their sushi rolls did not disappoint and there are so many options to choose from, it was a fun experience to dine in here.
❤️ From Sunday to Wednesday they offer an all-you-can-eat promotion on vegan rolls only! For only 199 Rand (10$) you can eat as much as you want.
Three Wise Monkeys - Best Ramen I've Had in My Life
Little did we know when we first visited Three Wise Monkeys that we were going to visit this place at least once a week. Our first visit was a disaster, the waitresses were unfriendly, the waiting concept was unorganized, and we ended up waiting for 50 minutes until we finally got a place (they do not take any reservations). After being seated, they forgot what we ordered and brought the wrong dishes. Well, we thought that was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Somehow, I could not forget about the tasty Ramen, the noodles, the broth, and the toppings. We should give it another try, I've said and we visited it again. The service wasn't the best, never, but never as bad as during our first visit. The sushi is good there, such as the different Bao Buns, but the Vegetarian Ramen is the best!
Scheckter's Raw - Your Favorite Food but Vegan
There aren't many vegetarian-only restaurants despite Nourish'd, so we had to try Scheckter's Raw. A vegetarian place in Sea Point that is mostly known for its burgers. The burger was indeed very good. I had the Zoodles with a Creamy Tomato Pesto Sauce, and for dessert, a crepe to share.
Everything was very good, and it was nice to have the option to sit outside, which is not very common in Cape Town. However, it was just good, and therefore, we did not visit this place a second time (can't complain about anything).
The Poké Co. - A Rainbow Bowl
Honestly, I haven't eaten in one of their restaurants but have ordered many times a custom-made poke bowl. The endless options of ingredients made it almost impossible to choose from but after having customized my bowl, I constantly found myself on Uber Eats ordering the same over and over again because it's so good.
The bowls were freshly made, the ingredients were tasty and seasoned well, and it always was delivered efficiently.
For those who'd like to try my customized bowl, here's the list of my ingredients:
Base: Brown Rice with Kale and Red cabbage
Protein: Miso Glazed Eggplant
Top it off: Carrot, Edamame Beans, Pickled Beetroot, Cucumber
Dress it: House Shoyu
Add Crunch: Shredded Nori
Add Extra: Seaweed Salad
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