Time Out’s 2025 Best Food Cities: Cape Town ranks among the world’s top culinary destinations!

Time Out, the renowned global culture, entertainment, and events magazine, has released its highly anticipated ranking of the world's 20 best cities for food in 2025. To compile this list, Time Out surveyed thousands of locals worldwide, asking them to rate their city’s food scene based on 18 key factors—including quality, affordability, and unique attributes like family-friendliness and culinary innovation.
Each city's ranking was determined by a combination of local ratings and expert insights from Time Out’s panel of food critics, editors, and chefs. To ensure a globally diverse selection, only the highest-scoring city from each country was included in the final list.

Crowned the best city in the world for 2025, Cape Town in South Africa also secured 4th place on Time Out’s list of the top 20 cities for food right now. The Mother City is celebrated for its diverse and flavor-packed food scene, influenced by culinary traditions from Asia, Europe, and across Africa. Whether you're craving gourmet fine dining or budget-friendly street food, Cape Town offers something for everyone.

There’s nowhere that better illustrates this than Time Out Market Cape Town, where all the tastes of the city are brought together under one roof. Bree Street, or ‘Gourmet Boulevard’, is the city’s dining thoroughfare, with Boma and Iron Steak firm favourites. And you can’t visit Cape Town without tucking into some seafood – the city might even rival London with its bountiful fish and chips offering. [src.]

According to Time Out, the overall best city for food in 2025 is New Orleans, USA, followed by Bangkok, Thailand in second place and Medellín, Colombia in third.

With such an exciting lineup of food destinations, 2025 is shaping up to be a year full of incredible culinary adventures!

Cape Town crowned Best City in the World for 2025 by Time Out!

Time Out, the global culture, entertainment, and events magazine, has unveiled its annual ranking of the world's best cities. For the 2025 edition, over 18,500 locals shared their thoughts on their hometowns, rating everything from food and nightlife to safety and overall livability. These local insights were combined with expertise from Time Out’s global network of city editors. After analyzing the data, the magazine revealed its list of the 50 best cities on the planet for 2025.

Topping the list is Cape Town, South Africa, which earned glowing reviews across the board. An impressive 97% of residents said the city makes them happy, 95% praised its vibrant food scene, and 82% celebrated its breathtaking beauty.

"Where else in the world can you hang out with a colony of African penguins, taste some of the world’s finest wines, stroll along Blue Flag beaches, enjoy stunning views from atop one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature, and sample some of the most eclectic nightlife and vibes in the world… all in one day? That’s our Cape Town." [src.]

Time Out’s 50 best cities in the world 2025:

1. Cape Town, South Africa
2. Bangkok, Thailand
3. New York, USA
4. Melbourne, Australia
5. London, UK
6. New Orleans, USA
7. Mexico City, Mexico
8. Porto, Portugal
9. Shanghai, China
10. Copenhagen, Denmark
11. Chicago, USA
12. Lisbon, Portugal
13. Edinburgh, UK
14. Hong Kong
15. Sydney, Australia
16. Amsterdam, Netherlands
17. Barcelona, Spain
18. Seville, Spain
19. Paris, France
20. Medellín, Columbia
21. Hanoi, Vietnam
22. Madrid, Spain
23. Berlin, Germany
24. Dubai, UAE
25. Singapore
26. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
27. Beijing, China
28. Chiang Mai, Thailand
29. Jakarta, Indonesia
30. Vienna, Austria
31. Tokyo, Japan
32. Marrakech, Morocco
33. Perth, Australia
34. Brighton, UK
35. Prague, Czech Republic
36. Glasgow, UK
37. Brisbane, Australia
38. Marseille, France
39. Budapest, Hungary
40. Los Angeles, USA
41. Lagos, Nigeria
42. Seoul, South Korea
43. Valencia, Spain
44. Montreal, Canada
45. Bilbao, Spain
46. Abu Dhabi, UAE
47. Belfast, UK
48. Bristol, UK
49. Mumbai, India
50. Warsaw, Poland

This city in South Africa was named the world's 2nd best city for food 2024!

Time Out, a global culture, entertainment and events magazine, recently asked thousands of locals all about eating out in their cities to rank the world’s culinary capitals in 2024. The city-dwellers were quizzed on their city’s must-visit restaurants, must-eat dishes and best-value bites and were also asked to rate their city’s food scene on both its quality and affordability. To create and rank the final list, Time Out narrowed down the selection by excluding cities with lower overall scores, and including only the highest-scoring city for each country. In a next step, Time Out asked its global network of writers and editors to for the lowdown on what makes their city an exciting dining destination in 2024, and to recommend their favourite places to eat right now. According to the magazine's list of "The world’s 20 best cities for food right now", Johannesburg in South Africa is currently the second best city for food in the world. Here is what Time Out writes about Joburg: "[...] From Ethiopian cafes in Little Addis to Nigerian and West African eats in the south of the city, you can eat your way across the continent here – though the majority of locals we surveyed recommended the city’s traditional South African delicacies, like the Sowetan kota sandwich, bunny chow and mala mogodu. [...]" [src.]

South African food writer Thando Moleketi-Williams, a local from Johannesburg, recommends the following foodie spots:

• Mamakashaka & Friends
  5 De Beer Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg 2000
• ARTIVIST
  7 Reserve Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg 2001
• UntitledBasement
  7 Reserve Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg 2001

The 20 world’s best cities for food 2024:

1. Naples, Italy
2. Johannesburg, South Africa
3. Lima, Peru
4. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
5. Beijing, China
6. Bangkok, Thailand
7. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
8. Mumbai, India
9. Dubai, United Arab Emirates
10. Portland, Oregon, USA
11. Liverpool, England, UK
12. Medellin, Colombia
13. Seville, Spain
14. Porto, Portugal
15. Marrakech, Marocco
16. Lyon, France
17. Sydney, Austrlia
18. Montreal, Canada
19. Osaka, Japan
20. Copenhagen, Denmark

Chef picks

• Los Angeles, California, USA
  Picked by chef Tim Cushman of Ms. Clucks Deluxe at Time Out Market Boston
• Seoul, South Korea
  Picked by Chef Reif Othman of REIF at Time Out Market Dubai
• Madrid, Spain
  Picked by Chef Michael Ayoub of Fornino at Time Out Market New York

Cape Town named Time Out’s 2nd Best City in the World for 2024!

Each year, global culture, entertainment and events magazine Time Out is asking thousands of locals to get a unique insight into the reality of living in the world’s greatest cities right now. This year, city-dwellers were asked about the quality and affordability of the food, culture and nightlife scenes in their city and how their city makes them feel, from happiness to romance. Survey respondents were also asked about which other city they would most like to live in. Time Out combined these insights with those of more than 100 well-travelled Time Out staff writers and editors from around the world. All these factors contributed to this ranking of Time Out’s Best Cities in the World for 2024.
According to the findings of the survey, Cape Town in South Africa is the second best city in the world 2024. Cape Town's culture scene is ranked highest in the world and the food scene is getting described as "exciting, diverse and vibrant". Time Out recommends to visit the District Six Museum and Robben Island, as well as the Bo-Kaap and the Investec Cape Town Art Fair, which is taking place each February. 

From the heights of Table Mountain to the stunning beaches on the coastline, it’s not hard to see why every single survey respondent said Cape Town was beautiful. [src.]

nb. The Time Out Group opened Africa's first and only "Time Out Market" at Cape Town's V&A Waterfront in November 2023. The market is a curated showcase of some of the best culinary (!) and cultural (!) experiences Cape Town has to offer.

Time Out’s 50 Best Cities in the World right now:

1. New York
2. Cape Town
3. Berlin
4. London
5. Madrid
6. Mexico City
7. Liverpool
8. Tokyo
9. Rome
10. Porto
11. Paris
12. Mumbai
13. Lisbon
14. Chicago
15. Manchester
16. São Paulo
17. Los Angeles
18. Amsterdam
19. Lagos
20. Melbourne
21. Naples
22. Singapore
23. Miami
24. Bangkok
25. Lima
26. Budapest
27. Beijing
28. Dubai
29. Montreal
30. Glasgow
31. Sydney
32. Buenos Aires
33. Kuala Lumpur
34. Manila
35. Seoul
36. Hanoi
37. San Francisco
38. Barcelona
39. Abu Dhabi
40. New Orleans
41. Philadelphia
42. Austin
43. Boston
44. Accra
45. Marseille
46. Taipei
47. Istanbul
48. Osaka
49. Hong Kong
50. Vancouver