LoL. The croc gets on shorts!!!

Cape Town's Top Culinary Styles

Discover the gourmet styles that have put Cape Town on the culinary map!

Cape Town is a cosmopolitan city that prides itself on merging local flavours and international trends with effortless success. That's why when you visit any of Cape Town's top restaurants, you're just as likely to discover the best local dishes as you are to find internationally-inspired cuisine and exotic dining trends.

Nonetheless, there are a number of gourmet styles that have come to define an authentic Cape Town dining experience. As one of the world's top tourist destinations, it follows that many of South Africa's most definitive culinary styles would be showcased in the Mother City. Traditional Cape Town cuisine features a blend of African and Indian flavours, and incorporates indigenous spices and fruits, locally cultivated produce and a wide selection of quality meats.

Some of Cape Town's best-loved culinary styles are explored below. Find out more about these traditional cooking styles, and discover the types of cuisine you'll enjoy during your holiday in Cape Town.

Cape Town cuisine: Traditional tastes and popular trends
Modern-day Cape cuisine is still widely informed by the culinary styles of early Cape inhabitants: Colonisers from Europe, slaves from Malaysia, Java and Africa, and of course, the original inhabitants of the Cape - Khoi-san people, and Xhosa, Sotho and Zulu-speaking people. This makes for a diverse array of local "signature" dishes, including Cape Dutch and Cape Malay dishes, Indian cuisine and African delicacies unique to the country.

Most Cape Town restaurants offering local cuisine will feature dishes that descend from these culinary styles. The Cape Malay influence is one of the most enduring, and any local restaurant worth its salt will feature a range of well-known Cape Malay dishes, such as boboties, curries, pumpkin fritters, sweet yellow rice and koeksisters.

Cape Dutch-inspired dishes are also popular traditional fare, although this culinary style was informed as much by the slaves from the East as it was by traditional European cooking styles. Cape Dutch cuisine is often spicy and slightly sweet, flavoured as it is by spices such as nutmeg, allspice and hot peppers.

Cape Town is also home to many Indian restaurants, which makes sense given the origins of many of the Cape's inhabitants. Indian food is very popular in the city, and it's in Cape Town that you'll find some of the most authentic Indian cuisine outside of India!

Finally, one of the greatest influences on today's most popular local dishes is that of the African culture. Even when the Dutch, French Huguenots and Indian slaves brought their culinary styles to the Cape, indigenous people stuck to their diets of traditional fare, which included game meat, maize, sorghum, millet, root vegetables and wild greens, as well as insects and worms rich in protein. Today, you'll be able to find many African-inspired dishes on local menus, from mild pap-based meals to far more exotic dishes recommended for adventurous diners only!

A few local delicacies to try when you visit Cape Town

• Biltong: Dried, salted meat, cured in a style that originated in South Africa. Beef, game and ostrich meats are the most popular types of biltong available.
• Boerewors: This is handmade farm sausage that is cooked on a braai (like a barbeque), over an open flame.
• Samoosa: A spicy Indian pastry, usually stuffed with mince, potato or vegetables, and fried in oil.
• Melktert: A traditional South African dessert of puff pastry with a milky, cinnamon-flavoured tart filling.
• Koeksisters: Plaited, deep-fried and highly sweet pastries of Cape Malay origin.
• Bobotie: A spicy, slightly sweet Cape Malay dish of mince and fruit (usually raisins), and baked with an egg custard on top.
• Bunny chow: A hollowed-out loaf of bread stuffed with curry. A spicy, filling and quick meal!
• Rusks: Hard, dry biscuits, often sliced into rectangles, that are eaten after being dipped into coffee or tea. They were initially made by the Dutch travelling through South Africa, as they wouldn't spoil in the hot weather.
• Umqombothi: Meaning "African beer" in Xhosa, umqombothi is a local beer made from fermented yeast, fermented maize and sorghum.

About the Author

Taj Cape Town is a 5-star hotel in Cape Town offering its guests luxury amenities, a world-class spa and fine dining in Cape Town. It features a world-class Indian restaurant, as well as a restaurant offering the finest local and international fare.