International traveller, and daughter of South African expats, Cassie Jo recently visited Cape Town for the first time and, as a vegan, was blown away by the delicious options in the Mother City.
“Travelling to Cape Town felt like going on holiday to vegan heaven,” she said. “There were so many unbelievably delicious vegan cafes and restaurants that I now desperately want to move to Cape Town!”
My Best Vegan Restaurants & Cafes in Cape Town
Nourish’d
“The Nourish’d at the top of Kloof Street Gardens was definitely my go-to for lunch or brekkies. I was absolutely addicted to the gluten free/vegan avo, pesto and sundried tomato Moon sandwich! The açai bowls were to die for. I especially loved the Cocoliciously Crazy smoothie bowl. And my friend would sometimes surprise me with the Naughty Nutter smoothie in the morning, which would always make my day. I would move to Cape Town for Nourish’d alone. I have never experienced separation anxiety from a restaurant before, but now that I’m back in Europe I am 100 percent feeling it for Nourish’d.
177 Kloof Street Gardens; 186 Lower Main Road, Observatory.
“I would move to Cape town for Nourish’d alone”
Plant
“The Plant in Camps Bay has a magical view of the trees and the beach from the terrace. I snuck in one last meal there before my flight out. It was for their Mushroom Crepe. So amazingly yummy! And worth cutting it fine for my flight!”
87 Victoria Rd, Camps Bay; corner of Loops and Buiten Streets.
Jessy’s Waffles
“Jessy’s Waffles is located a short walk from the South African National Gallery. It’s so cute and the staff are really friendly! They have gluten-free options as well. There is such an array of choice between sweet and savoury waffles. I loved the Chunky Monkey one! But I would recommend getting the half-size portion since the amounts are wonderfully generous. Also dream come true – they had vegan soft serve ice-cream! I could not have been happier!”
58 Barnet St, Gardens
Bamboo Plant Power
A brand-new entrant to the vegan field downtown, with a great frontage on Loop Street, and it’s a winner. Started by partners Candice, Seb and Daniel, the menu ranges from a daily choice of smoothies, bowls and salads, burgers and meals. Check out the blueberry buckwheat waffle stack!
Bamboo Plant Power. 210 Loop Street.
Tamboerswinkel
Not strictly vegan, the owners of this great coffee shop/winebar – great vibe, great music, great service – have some terrific vegan dishes on the menu like the carrot lox on rye and its farinata (chickpea pancake).
Tamboerswinkel, 3 De Lorentz St, Gardens
Lekker Vegan
“it’s the perfect vegan fast food.”
“Many a night during my trip to Cape Town was spent ordering Lekker Vegan take-in from UberEats. It’s the perfect vegan fast food. I ate there up to twice a day on a disturbingly regular basis. I tried as many of the burgers as possible and by the end my preferred one was the Lekker Crispy, Vegan Chick’n Patty.”
105 Kloof Street
Unframed
“Recently named the Best Ice-Cream in the World by Big 7 Travel, Unframed is undeniably incredible. I would go out of my way to get some of their ice-cream. My favourite vegan flavours were the beetroot chocolate and the turmeric latte.”
45C Kloof Street; 187 Sir Lowry Road, Woodstock; V&A Food Market.
Scheckter’s Raw
Scheckter’s Raw has a restaurant in Sea Point and a stand at the Oranjezicht Market on weekends (see below).
98 Regent Road, Sea Point; Oranjezicht Market.
The Oranjezicht Market
This incredible market – on Saturdays and Sundays during the day and Wednesday nights – has become a major go-to place for vegans and vegetarians – and food lovers in general. You only have to check the line at the Scheckter’s Raw kiosk to see the demand for tasty vegan. One of the standouts is Thank Goodness Foods, whose vegan baked goods include the justifiably famous vegan version of Ferrero Rocher chocolates, which can be found at eateries around the city. The market organisers have put together a list of their vegan stands, and it’s fairly large – from mushroom kebabs to chickpea fudge to vegan samoosas.
The market is on the seaside, on the Granger Bay side of the V&A Waterfront.
The Sunshine Food Sprouting Company
A small juice and vegan burger shop that quickly puts together delicious healthy juices.
Corner Glengarriff and Main Roads, Three Anchor Bay
Raw & Roxy
With lots of vegan food options, from raw pizza to juices and ice cream, Raw & Roxy is famous for its rocket fuel, “a powerful mixture of superfoods with raw cacao. better than any cup of coffee, a true energy enhancing elixir, detoxifying whilst also delicious,” which they also use for a rocket fuel mudslide. Try it!
38 Hout Street.
The Kind Kitchen
Promoting “vegan comfort food,” the Kind Kitchen has a substantial menu, going from brunches to “Totes Toasties” to burgers and hotdogs and wraps that include their take on the lobster roll (“Our Crustacean Creation. Friendly to lobsters and our sea creature friends. The Zoidberger is made from palm hearts, dill, mayo, lemon juice, cos lettuce, avo slices, mixed cabbage and topped off with micro greens and smoked paprika on a gourmet roll.”) Check the menu here.
252 Albert Rd, Woodstock Brewery, Shop 1, Woodstock
Honest Chocolate Cafe
Honest Chocolate keeps things “handcrafted, using old school methods, using quality organically produced ingredients, and making a pure chocolate that has a deliciously distinct feel and taste.” promises that “A large portion of our treats are vegan friendly, with the choice of dairy free ice cream from Sorbetiere too, and of course we offer soya milk, or silky nut milk made by the Almond Creamery.”
64A Wale Street
And it doesn’t stop there. Cassie Jo adds, “In addition to those spots, many Cape Town restaurants offer vegan options and menus. I loved Hudsons for their Vegan Oreo Shake and their meat-free Mondays where vegan mains are half price.
“The All Day Breakfasts at Stacked Diner in Kloof Street are also hard to resist. I really liked their Vegan Breakfast Wrap.
“And finally, La Petite Colombe accommodates for vegans and it is so worth it!”
