9 Best Restaurants in V&A Waterfront, Cape Town

Inspired, clever, and—above all—delicious, the food at this excellent Ryan Cole–helmed restaurant is intent on redefining South Africa's high-end dining scene. To achieve this, Cole (whose other venture, Salsify, is also a must-try) asked head chefs Teenola Govender and Geoffrey Abrahams to create a menu inspired by personal food memories and their respective cultural backgrounds using the best seasonal ingredients. The result is set menus, with options for vegetarians and pescatarians, that are a concise, flavor-focused acknowledgement of Africa as its own gastronomic entity. There's a beautiful vegetarian dish of samp (dried corn kernels) and chakalaka (chopped veggies, tomatoes, and beans) that's quintessentially South African or maybe ox tongue with ras el hanout (a Moroccan spice blend) and beef tallow, or an incredible tuna tartare cold starter made with sugarcane and caramelized pineapple that beautifully evokes summertime on the beachfront in Durban (where Teenola grew up). Most of the dishes will be unlike anything you've ever had and will probably never have the opportunity to try again; mouthful after mouthful, you'll likely feel as though the world has shifted off its axis slightly, altering your understanding of what food can be.

In a dizzying rooftop venue that was purpose-built (on top of one of the Waterfront's 100-year-old buildings) for this outpost of chef David Higgs' most iconic Johannesburg restaurant, this glamorous spot opened at the end of 2024. With "meat, salt, and fire" its watchwords, the focus is on food cooked over an open flame, inspired by a kind of upmarket rendition of what South Africans call braai and Americans refer to as barbecue, and undertaken in kitchens decked out in the world's most state-of-the-art grilling equipment. Steaks of the highest caliber are only the beginning—the entire menu, from wood-fired linefish with burnt leeks and seaweed butter to mushroom paella made with rice from the wood-burning oven, is a charred, smokey, coal-tinged thing of beauty. Plus there's a scene-stealing bar (for which walk-ins are possible) and a wraparound balcony where it's possible to feel elevated in ways both literal and metaphoric.

Boasting one of the largest selections of wines by the glass (more than 250) in the world, Belthazar is also recommended for its consistently good if pricey steak and seafood. Enjoy gorgeous Table Mountain and harbor views from the all-weather outdoor seating at lunch, or at dinner, the moodier interior, where a team of sommeliers can recommend the best wine match for your meal. Venison options like the springbok fillet served with a chocolate-chili sauce are delicious, and the Chicago-cut beef is more than a pound of on-the-bone heaven. Mozambican seafood options like prawns and langoustines are also very popular.

Take a break from your Waterfront wanderings at this Belgian-style eatery, where you can enjoy great views while also savoring an impressive range of Belgian beers and as good a pot of moules et frites as you're likely to find anywhere in Cape Town. With its focus on meat and seafood, expect other dishes like fillet béarnaise, rabbit simmered in Belgian beer, or Norwegian salmon in a beurre blanc. Sitting on the pier between the Albert Mall and the Clock Tower (where boat trips to Robben Island depart), this glassed-in Belgian-themed space with a fireplace in winter enjoys lovely harbor and mountain views whether you sit inside or out, and makes for great people- (or seal-) watching.

In a restored warehouse, this trendy operation has turned a once-derelict piece of land near the V&A Waterfront into a private beach space with several bars and comfortable covered seating areas inside and out. Although the food—huge rectangular pizzas, colorful salads, Wagyu burgers, seafood platters, steaks, fish-and-chips, and tasty but not-exactly-authentic sushi—is slightly overpriced, remind yourself that you're paying for the view, the toes-in-the-sand vibe, and the chance to rub shoulders with some of Cape Town's shiniest, happiest people. This is simply a beautiful place to have a cocktail and create memorable moments with a like-minded tribe of partiers and carefree pleasure-seekers.

Sister restaurant to the original Harbour House in Kalk Bay, the V&A location serves the same fresh and tasty seafood menu from an enviable spot overlooking the harbor. Fresh fish of the day—grilled—is always a good bet, but there are a variety of options including seafood risotto, seafood pasta, and platters with a bit of everything on the (expensive and extensive) plate. Sushi and cocktails are served upstairs, from which vantage you can also get views of the mountain and sunset.

If your reasons for traveling are to experience some of the world's most creative dining, then chef John Norris-Rogers has plenty to dazzle you with, as he experiments with flavors and inventive ways of presenting dishes. From a platter of seafood morsels to sourdough served with curried hake butter and lamb with morel and chimichurri, diners experience show-off levels of culinary virtuosity. Whether it's the between-course nibbles and palate cleansers, the astonishingly beautiful crockery, or the glittering harbor views, this will be a full-on, immersive dining experience. Children under 8 are not allowed. 

Though unfortunately inside the mall, this buzzing hive of activity consistently churns out what many (but not all) say is the city's best sushi along with an array of other Japanese dishes and various seafood favorites like English-style fish-and-chips and prawn pasta. There will almost inevitably be a line during dinner hours (you'll be seated quicker if you ask to sit at the sushi bar, which is the place to be), which can create a fast-turnaround feel instead of a relaxing meal vibe.

In this raw-timber structure in the heart of the docks, about three miles north of other V&A venues, the music is loud, the tables are crowded, and the decor is nonexistent, but tourists come in droves to gorge on fresh seafood. Expect to pay through the nose for a kilogram for local crayfish (similar to lobster) or scarce and endangered wild abalone, which is being poached nearly to extinction. Large prawns are also pricey. There is plenty of less expensive seafood, and daily specials such as baby squid and local line-caught fish are competitively priced. Lunch specials are more reasonable, but this is still more of a tourist destination than a destination restaurant.