Online editor Katharine is an adventurous eater, always on the lookout for a new flavour, texture or ethnic treat. She’s eaten her way through 30 flavours of gelato in Italy (and visited what is now the world’s third best restaurant); tasted some pretty odd critters in Peru; and tried almost everything at Borough Market’s 130 stalls in London. But some of her most memorable meals of all time took place right here in SA. Here are her favourite restaurants in Cape Town.

My favourite place for…

Asian food

I was blown away by a recent meal at newly opened Cheyne’s in Hout Bay. Coconut milk tempura with a beetroot chutney was a fabulous new experience, and the white chocolate semi-freddo was so insanely good I even tasted it with a little of the tempura banana. (For a person as afraid of bananas as I am, this is a pretty big deal.) I’m also crazy about the duck pancakes at Kitima and dim sum from any and all sources.

For a working lunch

Bree Street has just blossomed over the past few years, and we’re lucky that our offices are so ideally situated for gourmet lunches. Hemelhuijs has incredible comfort food, as does Frère’s Bistro a little further down. I love the deep-fried empanadas from Orinoco, and am crazy about the burgers at Clarke’s. I’m prepared to walk into Greenpoint for the caramelised onion, thyme and mushroom pie with golden pastry at La Petite Tarte and the sweet sticky pulled pork sarmie with crispy apple at The Kitchen at Weylandts – or the lamb and quince pie for that matter. The restaurant is a real hidden gem!

For a burger

For the whole experience – eating the vast burgers with my hands in a driveway, sauce drooling down my chin, whilst surrounded by chintzy lamps and wire garden furniture – my vote for best burger goes to The Dog’s Bollocks. I’m particularly partial to the spicy, chocolatey Mexican mole burger and the blue-cheese oozing Pepperberry blue. Go hungry: these are larger than the average.

Italian

Il Cappero in Camps Bay serves up some fantastic regional Italian dishes that are hard to find outside Italy: stuffed veal rolls, linguine with sea urchin roe and sweet, succulent brinjal rolls filled with ricotta.

For coffee

Two years ago I couldn’t handle my coffee, but now I’m becoming a bit of a snob. (Which just goes to show what you can achieve when you put your mind to it!) Truth‘s roast probably remains my favourite – as does their grassy lawn on the fanwalk on sunny days – but I also love the smoothness of the coffee at Bean There, the milder but equally delicious blend at Ou Meul Bakkery on Long Street and the intense and unusual notes in Origin’s roast. (I’m also rather partial to Origin’s almondy Tunisian honey cakes spiced with clove and allspice)

For pizza

My loyalties are split between Borruso’s (in Kenilworth and Rondebosch), Bardellis (on Kloof and in Kenilworth) for the calzones, and Amici di Massimo’s in Hout Bay – I still dream about an Argentinian fennel sausage pizza I ate there a few months ago. Technically, I am wheat intolerant, so have to ration myself to one or two slices or opt for the slightly less exciting, wheat-free bases.

A great view

Jordan Restaurant in Stellenbosch occupies one of my favourite locations in the world. A tranquil dam, purple mountains in the distance and good, honest, delicious food to accompany it. Rumbullion, the outdoor incarnation of The Roundhouse, has a knockout view of the Twelve Apostles. And then there’s The Pot Luck Club with that incredible glass elevator, and a choice of Table Mountain, the harbor and Signal Hill and beautiful gritty Woodstock, depending on which side you sit.

For bread

Oude Bank Bakkerij is a favourite, as it’s where I had the best boerie roll of my life, made with Neil Jewell wors and mustard glaze. Again, technically, I’m wheat intolerant, so the sweet potato peanut butter bread from Wellness Warehouse is my favourite wheat-free option.

Market-style shopping

City Bowl Market on Hope for dim sum, the Earth Fair at St George’s for pies, white chocolate fudge and (another kind of) dim sum, and Bay Harbour Market for a vibey, Friday night supper solution. (The soups are particularly good). Blaauwklippen Family Market is another favourite for a peaceful Sunday morning of browsing outdoors.

For chocolate brownies

I made this category up, because I couldn’t find a reason to bring up the chocolate brownies at Jason. The richest, chocolatiest brownies I ever did see, they are stuffed with melting chunks of white chocolate and I’m fairly sure they violate some kind of law. They have to – how else could they be so delicious? Actually, while we’re at it, why isn’t there a category for dessert? The suspiro at Keenwä, the white chocolate cheesecake at Hemelhuijs (heck, any of the desserts at Hemelhuijs), and the soufflés at Jordan jostle for first place in my personal record books. (Fortunately I’m not allowed to enter and vote in our SA’s favourite dessert contest, or I’d have an impossible choice).

***

Looking for more recommendations? Read about the favourite restaurants of VISI editor-at-large Malibongwe Tyilo, Eat Out copy editor Linda Scarborough, Pierneef chef Chris Erasmus and MasterChef SA judge Pete Goffe-Wood.

Pictured: Hemelhuijs, Cheyne’s, Clarke’s, La Petite Tarte, Bardelli’s Kenilworth, Amici di Massimo’s, Oude Bank Bakkerij, Jordan, Earth Fair at St George’s and Jordan.