One of Cape Town's streets ranked among the world’s coolest in 2025!

One of Cape Town’s streets, Kloof Street, has been named the 22nd coolest street in the world on Time Out’s 31 Coolest Streets in the World 2025 list. The annual ranking highlights streets that combine a vibrant mix of dining, shopping, culture, and nightlife, attracting both locals and visitors.

Why Kloof Street made the list
Time Out describes Kloof Street as a leafy urban thoroughfare at the base of Table Mountain, blending historic architecture with contemporary shops, restaurants, and cafés. Its mix of established favourites and newer businesses gives the street a dynamic, evolving character.

Selene Brophy, Time Out Cape Town’s City Editor, notes that Kloof Street is like “Long Street’s more refined sibling,” maintaining its Cape Town identity while continually adapting to trends.

Things to do on Kloof Street
Visitors walking along Kloof Street, from the CBD up toward Tamboerskloof, can enjoy:

• Kloof Konbini – Japanese-inspired street food and snacks.
• Blondie – A casual Mediterranean restaurant.
• Vadivelu – South Indian cuisine known for its regional flavours.
• Kloof Street House – A Victorian-era building converted into a restaurant with a unique interior.
• Evening options – Bars and cocktail spots such as One Park, Van Hunks, Asoka, and Rick’s Café.

What the recognition means
Being listed among the world’s coolest streets highlights Cape Town’s urban appeal in addition to its natural attractions. The ranking brings attention to local businesses and supports tourism by showcasing the city’s combination of heritage, food culture, and social spaces.

Tips for visitors

• Walk the street to explore both historic buildings and modern businesses.
• Plan meals ahead, especially at popular restaurants.
• Explore local boutiques for unique shopping finds.
• Use e-hailing services for safe travel at night.

Kloof Street’s appearance on Time Out’s 2025 list reinforces Cape Town’s growing reputation as a destination that blends culture, cuisine, and urban vibrancy in one accessible, walkable street.

 

Subscribe for updates:

Subscribe to our newsletter for weekly updates, border info, road alerts, and travel inspiration for Southern Africa. 

This street in Cape Town is one of the 33 coolest streets in the world!

Global culture, entertainment and events magazine Time Out recently published the results of its annual Time Out Index.  As part of the global survey, Time Out askeds ome 20,000 city-dwellers which specific streets they think are the coolest in the world. According to the findings of the survey, Kloof Street in Cape Town is one of the 33 coolest streets in the world. Gardens' main thoroughfare was voted 26th coolest street.

26. Kloof Street in Gardens, Cape Town
"Here you can explore local fashion, pop in to a swish art gallery, dive into secondhand furniture stores or just generally catch a bucketload of local buzz, all while taking in magical views of Table Mountain."

Stay: Kloof Street Hotel (360-degree views of Cape Town's skyline and mountains and its own restaurant, coffee shop and open-air swimming pool)
Eat: Kloof Street House (intimate, romantic setting with its stunning garden and old Victorian dining room)
Do: Ubuntu Wellness Centre (massages, natural healing treatments or hydrotherapy)

Time Out's 33 coolest streets in the world:

1. Rue Wellington, Montreal
2. Gertrude Street, Melbourne
3. Great Western Road, Glasgow
4. Yongkang Street, Taipei
5. Værnedamsvej, Copenhagen
6. Karangahape Road, Auckland
7. Tai Ping Shan Street, Hong Kong
8. Yaowarat Road, Bangkok
9. Oranienstrasse, Berlin
10. Hayes Street, San Francisco
11. Avenida Ámsterdam, Mexico City
12. Kolokotroni, Athens
13. Virgil Avenue, Los Angeles
14. Ossington Avenue, Toronto
15. Via Provenza, Medellín
16. Calle Ocho, Miami
17. Deptford High Street, London
18. Praça das Flores, Lisbon
19. Oxford Street, Accra
20. Wentworth Avenue, Chicago
21. Cutting Room Square, Manchester
22. Capel Street, Dublin
23. Jumeirah Beach Road, Dubai
24. Enmore Road, Sydney
25. Kagurazaka, Tokyo
26. Kloof Street, Cape Town
27. Süleyman Seba Caddesi, Istanbul
28. Calle Echegaray, Madrid
29. MacDougal Street, New York
30. Carrer del Comte Borrell, Barcelona
31. Newbury Street, Boston
32. Colaba Causeway, Mumbai
33. Everton Road, Singapore

Cape Town: Asoka Bar named "Best Bar in Africa & Middle East 2012"

The Asoka Bar in Cape Town, located on busy Kloof Street, was named "Best Bar in Africa & Middle East" in Drinks International's "The World’s 50 Best Bars 2012" ranking. The bar was ranked 50th in the overall ranking, which was won by the Artesian Bar at the Langham Hotel in London, England.
Asoka Bar is a lounge bar housed within a slender Victorian town house. The highlight, besides the drinks and the food, is the central courtyard dining area in which sits an olive tree (which is believed to be one of the oldest in Cape Town). The bar's  style is hard to describe as it is a fusion of Asian food, cosmopolitan drinks, various music styles, the setting in a old town house and Cape Town's diverse people. Main Meals at Asoka Bar are priced from R60 (Thai Green Curry) to R110 (Glazed Teriyaki Beef Fillet), Tapas are from R50 (veg. Spring Rolls) to R95 (Mezze Platter). Cocktails are ranging between R42 to R60.