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!

Video: The "Best Ever Food Review Show" visits Namibia!

One of the most popular and fastest-growing food-themed channels on YouTube, the "Best Ever Food Review Show", recently* travelled to Namibia to explore the local cuisine of the Southern African country. While in Windhoek, the host of the show, Sonny Side, meets Namibian comedian Slick the Dick (@slickthadick) and the two take off to a tour through the city's local street food scene. Sonny gets to try some boerewors in Otjomuise, chicken liver scrambled eggs at the Wernhil Flea Market, "walkie talkie" at the Tukondjeni Market in Okuryangava and finally some Kapana and, of course, mopane wors at the Single Quarters in Katutura. 
In the second video, Sonny travels up north to Kamanjab in Namibia's Kunene Region to meet - and eat with - the Himba people. Accompanied by local woman Uno (@unounotjari), the he visits a traditional Himba village and gets to try some cooked sheep, some mopane worms and pap. 
In the third and final episode, Sonny travels to the Ombu Cultural Village where he meets his guide Gersoliena Karita. The Ombu Cultural Village is a living museum that includes a traditional Herero homestead, comprising 9 houses with dinstinctive original designs and building methods dating back to 1880, and other periodic designs over the last 150 years. At Ombu, Sonny is invited to try a traditional breakfast consisting of dry out mushrooms, spinach, biltong and tripe, as well as ground beans, traditional sour milk, grilled cow testicals (yes, balls!), cooked goat meat, cooked goat intestines and the "smiley". 

Ombu Cultural Village is situated about 48 km from Otjiwarongo and 122 km from Okahandja on the B1. It is conveniently located half-way between Etosha National Park and Windhoek.

The "Best Ever Food Review Show", or just BEFRS, is a team of hungry storytellers on a mission to hunt down and document the most unique cuisine from around the world, encouraging empathy, understanding and appreciation of different cultures through their food. The viral YouTube channel has amassed over 5 million social media followers, with an average of 30 million video views on YouTube each month.

*the show was filmed earlier this year before the coronavirus pandemic broke out!

Video: The Food of Cape Town

When it comes to food and restaurants, Cape Town is definitely one of our personal hotspots on the planet. It is the mix of culinary influences from around the world that is making Cape Town's foodie culture so unique and delicious. Luckily such an uniqueness comes with an endless myriad of delicious options to choose from. Check out Cape Town Tourism's latest video about the flavours of Cape Town and get a glimpse on what you can expect to eat in the Mother City. Enjoy!



btw - According to Eat Out's 2013 DStv Food Network Restaurant Awards, 8 out of the top 10 restaurants in South Africa are located in Cape Town and in the Winelands. 

Afternoon Tea at Cape Town’s Mount Nelson Hotel >>

Half-Day Small-Group Beer-Tasting Tour of Cape Town >>
Vineyard Cycle Meander >>

Southern African recipes: Tomato bredie (South Africa)

It has been a while since we posted the last recipe from Southern Africa on the blog, but now I found one that I needed to post about and that you need to check out. In the video recipe, Gabi Le Roux, a South African music producer and avid home cook, explains how to make one of my favourite South African comfort dishes - the tomato breedie. A tomato breedie is a meat dish that can be made with lamb or mutton, or, like in the video, with chicken.



Remember to cook the bredie, which is an old Cape name for a dish of meat and vegetables stewed together, slowly for at least 2.5 hrs. The flavour will also improve if made a day in advance. Serve it with rice. Kudos @ Gabi Le Roux for the video and recipe!

Ingredients:

• 1kg assorted pieces of chicken (skin on)
• 3 large potatoes
• 6 tomatoes
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 2 (large) onions
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp chilli flakes (to your taste)
• freshly ground pepper
• salt
• mixed (italian) herbs
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 chicken stock gel pot
• 1 tbs butter
• tomato paste
• 2 tbs cooking oil
• 1.5 cups of water

Backpacker recipes: Spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncini

Spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncini is probably one of the quickest and cheapest pasta dishes ever! It takes you around 15min to prepare it and it is simply delicious!

click here for more info

Ingredients

• 500gr dry pasta (e.g. spaghetti)
• around 1/2 cup (extra-virgin) olive oil
• around 5+ gloves of garlic, finely chopped
• around 1+ tbs parsley, finely chopped
• chili flakes/ finely chopped fresh chilies (take as little/as much as you want)
  
• salt
• freshly grated parmesan (optional)
• black olives (optional)

Directions

1. Put your pasta into a pot of boiling (salted) water and cook them al dente. 
2. While the pasta is cooking, put the olive oil and the garlic in a pan over a medium heat.
3. When the garlic begins to slightly change color add the parsley and chili
4. Stir well and remove from heat.
5. Add some of the (salted) water the pasta is cooking in to the garlic, chili & parsley in the pan (2-3 tbs)
6. When the pasta is cooked, return the pan to a low heat.
7. Drain the pasta and add it to the pan.
8. Toss until the pasta is well coated with sauce.
9. Serve at once with freshly grated parmesan.

A very good reason to visit South Africa's West Coast

The West Coast of South Africa is still not on the list of most (foreign) travellers. We are not too sure why, but one very good reason why travellers should go there is the "Gaaitjie Restaurant" in Paternoster, located about 2hrs north of Cape Town. The restaurant, owned by local foodie Suzie Holtzhausen, offers the finest of the West Coast's typical cuisine. To get an idea of what to the West Coast cooking is like, watch the video below and follow Suzie how she prepares some harder fillets with fennel sambal and tomato smoor. Enjoy & kudos @ South Africa's outdoor & travel magazine "Go!" for the video footage!



If you want to cook it on your own, you need the following ingredients:

• 6 fresh Harder (Southern Mullet) fillets
• 1/2 cup of yellow corn meal
• 1/2 of breadcrumbs
• sea salt
• white pepper
• eggs
• olive oil
• fennel sambal (finely chopped fennel with olive oil) with (optional) sedam flowers or some lemon juice instead
• tomato smoor (kinda chunky sauce or relish) with chili biltong

thx to @joyanne!

Video: Fabulous Food of the Free State

South African Tourism is currently setting a focus on the country's Free State province, as part of its latest tourism campaign "Leave Ordinary Behind". One of their newest promotional videos is called "Fabulous Food of the Free State", which takes us on a culinary tour through the in-land province. First stop in the video is the gourmet restaurant at "De Oude Kraal Country Estate & Spa" located just out of Bloemfontein. The next stop on the tour through the province is the "Phatt Chef Restaurant" in Clarens, before local resident Anna Moabi from Bethulie is showing us how to prepare Pap with moroho, a local plant that grows wild in the area.

Southern African recipes: Sosaties

Sosaties are one of the great braai foods of Southern Africa. The skewers are sweet and sour as well as a little curry-ish. Enjoy!

• 1.5kg lamb, cut into cubes
• 200gr dried apricots
• 3 tbs oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• fresh chillies, chopped (optional)
• 1 tbs curry powder
• 200 ml vinegar
• 200 ml water or red or white wine
• 2 tbs apricot jam or tamarind paste
• 2 tbs brown sugar
• 2 bay leaves
• salt and pepper to taste
• wooden skewers

1. Heat the oil in a large saute pan. Add the onions and saute until translucent. Add the garlic and curry powder and saute for another minute or so. Add the fresh chillies (optional).
2. Add the vinegar, water or wine, jam or tamarind paste, brown sugar and bay leaves and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until lightly thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Place the lamb and apricots in a large bowl. Pour the cooked marinade over the lamb and apricots and toss thoroughly to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least one day (three days would be perfect).
4. Remove the lamb cubes and apricots from the marinade and thread on skewers that have been soaked in water. Alternate between chunks of meat and the apricots.
5. Grill the sosaties on a hot grill, turning to cook on all sides.
6. While the skewers are grilling, bring the marinade to a boil in a saucepan and simmer for 3 or 4 minutes. Serve hot in a bowl as a sauce for the sosaties.

more Southern African recipes >>

Southern African recipes: Justin Bonello's Buttermilk Rusks

If there is something uniquely South African it is buttermilk rusks - or karring melk beskuit in Afrikaans. South African rusks are of a texture somewhere between bread and cake, baked hard so that they must be dunked in coffee or tea or even hot chocolate. Yummy! And, of course, kudos Justin Bonello for sharing the recipe and video!


Justin Bonello's Buttermilk Rusks from Cooked in Africa on Vimeo.

Ingredients:

• 1 litre buttermilk
• 2kg self-raising flower
• 500 gr. butter
• 500 gr. sugar (brown?)
• 4 eggs

Southern African recipes: Cape Malay Bobotie

A Bobotie is defo one on my favourite South African dishes. I blogged a recipe some month ago already; now Justin Bonello* uploaded a mouthwatering video in which he is presenting another great Cape Malay Bobotie recipe. Yummy!

Ingredients: garlic, raisins, cardamon seeds, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, garamasala, tumeric, curry powder, lean mince, onions, butter, chutney, chilies, eggs, cream, salt & pepper



Bobotie from Cooked in Africa on Vimeo.

1. heat oil
2. seeds in first
3. onions in next
4. 2 teaspoons of curry powder
5. add the mince
6. add chutney
7. add raisins
8. press mince into an ovenproof dish
9. pour over egg wash (eggs, cream, salt & pepper)
10. bake in the oven for 15min at 200C

• serve with sweet chili jam, sambals and mango atcha and Basmati rice
• garnish with beetroot sprouts an pappadums

*Justin Bonello is a South African filmmaker, chef and television personality best known for starring in his own cooking and travel show, Cooked, since 2006.

Kenya: Nairobi travel video guide

Follow Migration Mark from migrationology.com on his tour through Kenya's capital Nairobi as he searches for the city 's finest food and best attractions! Chakula njema!

hostels & backpackers in Nairobi >>

overland tours in East Africa >>

Finest backpacker cuisine: Beans on toast (incl. an explanatory video!!!) LOL

I just had beans on toast for dinner and, well, googled "beans on toast". Don't ask why... probably just because I was sitting in front of my computer while eating. Anyway - I found this video on youtube. I am not sure if the person who made the video is to be taken seriously about it (I am actually sure - she must be taking the piss LOL), but, hey, this is "How to make beans on toast":



In case you "forgot" what ingredients you need for "beans on toast":

• half a can (210g) of baked beans
• 2 slices of bread
• 20g butter
• 20g (grated) cheese

Heat the beans in a pot over low heat (or simply use a microwave). Toast the bread and spread the butter over them. Once the beans are heated through, pour them over the buttered toasts. Sprinkle the grated cheese over the beans... and enjoy...YEAH!

recipes from Southern Africa >>

even more recipes can be found on this blog >>

Recipes from Southern Africa: Butternut soup

Ingredients:

• 1 butternut, peeled, seeded & cubed
• 2 onions
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 tablespoon ginger, finely chopped
• ca. 1 litres of vegetable (chicken) stock
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• ca. 200ml orange juice
• salt & pepper to taste
• olive oil
• (cream or yoghurt)

Method

1. heat the oil in a large pot
2. add the onions (add the garlic and ginger a little later), fry untill soft
3. add the curry
4. add the butternut
5. after some minutes add the orange juice, stock
6. bring to the boil, turn down the heat and let it simmer untill the butternut is soft
7. Puree or mash untill smooth
8. serve with a swirl of cream or yoghurt on top

more recipes from Southern Africa >>
Mozambique piri piri chicken >>
Trinchado >>

recipes from Southern Africa: Buttermilk Rusks

Ingredients

• 375g butter
• 500g sugar
• 2 extra large eggs
• 1,5kg self-raising flour
• 30ml (2 tablespoons) baking powder
• 500ml (2 cups) buttermilk or plain drinking yogurt
  

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C
2. Cream the butter and sugar together very well
3. Add the eggs, one at a time
4. Mix the flour and baking powder together, and add this to the creamed mixture, using a fork to mix
5. Add the buttermilk or yogurt, using a little milk to rinse out the carton
6. Mix well with a fork and then knead lightly
7. Pack lightly rolled, golf ball sized buns of the dough into the greased bread pans close together, and bake for 45-55 minutes. Place the pans in the middle of the oven, with a sheet of brown paper on the top shelf to protect the buns from becoming browned too quickly
8. Remove the paper after the buns are well risen and cooked through, to brown the tops. Reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting
9. Turn out the buns on to cake racks, cool them and separate them, using 2 forks. Pack them on wire racks or on cooled oven racks – air must circulate. Place them in the cool oven, leaving the door ajar, for 4-5 hours, or overnight, to dry out

If no buttermilk or yogurt is available, use fresh milk curdled with lemon juice or white vinegar.

more recipes from Southern Africa >>
Monkey Gland Sauce >>
Mozambique piri piri chicken >>

South Africa's top restaurants - digimags

One of the leading South African online & printed restaurant guides eatout.co.za is regularly publishing so-called digimags (online digital publications), in which they list and describe the country's top restaurants based on the website users and magazine reader's votes:

• Eat Out Best Of Pizza and Pasta
• Eat Out Best Of Steak & Burgers
• Eat Out Best of Local Kos
• Eat Out Best Of Seafood

Supermarket prices in South Africa >>
recipes from Southern Africa >>
tours & accommodation booking >>

Southern African recipes: Bobotie

"Bobotie" is a Cape Malay dish, which is very popular all over South Africa. It is a light textured curry flavored meat loaf smothered in a golden savory egg topping. Baboties can be cooked in many different variations and therefore there can be a huge difference in its flavors, but they all have in common: they have fruity, spicy taste with a decent hint of curry!
This recipe serves 6 generous portions. We suggest you serve it with (yellow) rice and/or a large salad.

Ingredients:
2 slices stale white bread (remove the crusts)
30ml cooking oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
2,5ml ground cloves
5ml crushed garlic
3ml salt
10 ml curry powder
5 ml turmeric
500g beef mince
2 eggs
30ml hot water
20ml lemon juice
25ml sugar
Topping:
1 egg (lightly beaten)
150ml milk bay or lemon leaves for garnishing

Method:
Preheat oven to 180ºC. Soak bread in water for 10 minutes, squeeze out excess water and crumble. In a large frying pan, heat oil and braise onion until golden (roughly about 7 minutes). Add the ground cloves, garlic, salt, curry powder and turmeric and simmer for 5 minutes. Break the 2 eggs into a large bowl and beat lightly. Mix in the mince. Add the onion mixture from the frying pan to the mince as well as the hot water, lemon juice, crumbled bread and sugar, and mix to combine well. Spoon the mixture into a well greased oven proof dish and bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven.

Topping: Combine the egg with the milk and beat well. Pour over the bobotie. Arrange bay leaves or lemon leaves as garnish. Return to oven and bake at ca. 180ºC for 5-10 minutes, or until topping is set.

more recipes from Southern Africa >>
Monkey Gland Sauce >>
Mozambique piri piri chicken >>
Durban Bunny Chow >>
Boerewors >>

great tour in Cape Town: People of Cape Town History Tour with Dinner

Cape Town is a city of extraordinary diversity, history and great stories. Over centuries many nations have passed through South Africa and Cape Town is a legacy of that. Experience an intimate exchange with the locals and enjoy an evening of moving stories and extraordinary hospitality.
Experience the history of Cape Town through the intimate stories and experiences of two local Cape Town families, including a home-cooked meal and stunning views over Cape Town.
Visit the homes of two Cape Town characters and listen to their amazing stories of the city's history. This is South African hospitality at its finest!

Accompanied by your tour guide, you visit the home of your first host, where a delicious home-cooked Cape Town dinner is awaiting you. The art of storytelling and conversation is very much alive in Cape Town, and over dinner you'll enjoy a personal and intimate view of Cape Town's history and evolution.
After dinner, travel with your guide to the home of the second host for coffee, a nightcap, and more stories. You will spend about an hour in each home, where hosts and guests include local poets, Cape Town entrepreneurs, journalists and musicians.

Highlights
Dinner included
Perfect introduction for first-time visitors
Instant Confirmation
Get inside tips from a local
Vegetarian meal option available
Departure Point: Wale Street in Central Cape Town
Departure Time: 7:00pm
Duration: 4 hours (approx.)
Return Details: Returns to original departure point

more info & online booking >>
Cape Town city guide >>
accommodation in Cape Town >>

Southern African recipes: Boerewors

Boerewors - a spicy sausage that no self respecting South African Braai can be without, if you can't make it yourself, ask your local butcher to make some for you.

Ingredients:
• 1.5kg beef
• 1.5kg pork
• 500g bacon, diced
• 25ml salt
• 5ml ground pepper
• 50ml ground coriander
• 2ml freshly grated nutmeg
• 1ml ground cloves
• 2ml ground dried thyme
• 2ml ground allspice
• 125ml red wine vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 50ml Worcestershire sauce
• 85g sausage casings

Method:
1. Cut the beef and pork meat into 1.5 " cubes and mix it with all the other ingredients except the sausage casings.
2. Grind the meat using a medium-course grinding plate
3. Fill the sausage casings firmly but not too tightly with the meat mixture.
4. Can be fried, grilled or barbecued over coals.
Makes 3.5 kg

more recipes from Southern Africa >>
Monkey Gland Sauce >>
Mozambique piri piri chicken >>
Durban Bunny Chow >>

quick 'n easy - spaghetti aglio e olio

Ingredients

• 500gr dry pasta (e.g. spaghetti)
• around 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• around 5 gloves of garlic, finely chopped
• around 1 Tbs parsley, finely chopped
• chili flakes/ finely chopped fresh chilies (take as little/as much as you want)
  
• freshly grated parmesan
• salt
• black olives (optional)
  

Directions

1. Cook pasta al dente.Put the olive oil and the garlic in a pan over a medium heat.
2. When the garlic begins to change color add the parsley, chili, and salt
3. Stir well and remove from heat.
4. When the pasta is cooked, return the pan to a low heat.
5. Drain the pasta and add it to the pan.
6. Toss until the pasta is well coated with sauce.
7. Serve at once with freshly grated parmesan.

A Guide on Safe Food for Travellers - WHO pamphlet

How to avoid illnesses caused by unsafe food and drink and what to do if you get diarrhoea.

Well, the pamphlet by the World Health Organisation (WHO) didn't give me any new info about what to eat or better what not to eat when travelling around. It is somehow a more detailed version of "cook it, peal it or forget it".

Have a look yourself!

(click on the pic for the guide or click here)

recipes from Southern Africa >>