WHAT CAN I DO?

UNIQUE

Panama Jacks, this former boatyard in a very unassuming part of the Cape Town harbour is like an old sailing club renowned internationally for its live lobster, live abalone, live oysters, mussels, quality prawns, langoustines and fresh line fish.
Tel: +27 (0) 21 448 1080 /447 3992

Mzoli’s, this township hangout in Gugulethu started out as a butchery, and still is, but here you pick your meat and the staff braai on the spot and bring it to your table. This is a magic melting pot of township residents, students and the black aspirational set.
Tel: +27 (0) 21 683 1355

Die Strandloper, Langebaan on the Cape West Coast. If you’re looking for somewhere seriously laid back, head for Die Standloper (Beachcomber) on a good weather day. You couldn’t get closer to the beach if you tried, and you won’t leave hungry: grilled harders (mullet), snoek and potatoes, mussels, braaied fish, and crayfish. Tel: + 27 (0) 22 772 2490

Visit the Goatshed at Fairview Estate in Paarl in the Cape Winelands, a large barn-style building that used to be an old wine cellar to taste and buy their internationally acclaimed wines and award-winning homemade, farmstyle cheeses whilst taking in the vistas across the winelands all the way to Table Mountain. Tel: + 27 (0) 21 863 3609

Moyo at Spier (near Stellenbosch), in the Cape Winelands. Someone once described Moyo as ‘food presented as African Theatre’, and its hard to argue. A pan-African buffet dinner, set in a tented bush camp with tree-house terraces, storytellers, singing and dancing.
Tel: + 27 (0) 21 809 1133

VIEWS

You might have to fight the throngs of 20-somethings (on a Sunday anyway), but the sunset from La Med is worth the effort. Tel: +27 (0) 21 438 5600

Rhodes Memorial Restaurant, a view second to none and scones with all the trimmings, make this the perfect way to spend a lazy afternoon in between matches. Tel: +27 (0) 21 689 9151

Black Marlin Restaurant just past Simonstown, provides unspoilt sea vistas and the perfect perch for whale spotting in the late winter months. Tel: +27 (0) 21 786 1621

Froggy’s in Langebaan on the Cape West Coast. On a clear day the nearby Langebaan Lagoon is hard to beat. It sparkles like a gem and seems to be made up of every imaginable shade of blue, green, aqua and turquoise. Whilst the restaurant itself does not have a view, the owner is an eccentric fellow, who will help you start (and finish) your bottle of wine while he cooks and talks. The food is fantastic. Tel: + 27 (0) 22 772 1869

Geelbek Restaurant in the West Coast National Park. Elmarie Leonard, a descendent of Angela of Bengal (one of the first freed slaves in the Cape), has made it her mission to collect West Coast recipes. Enjoy these at the historic farmstead built in1761, overlooking the Langebaan Lagoon. Tel: + 27 (0) 22 772 2134

Voorstrandt Restaurant in Paternoster. Its worth the 1.5 hour drive. Situated in an old fishermans cottage right on the beach, try the mild Malay fish curry packed with mussels, fish, prawns and served with rice and sambals. But this is also sheep country, so there are lamb chops too, along with excellent fillet. Tel: + 27 (0) 22 752 2038.

TOPS FOR TEA

Mount Nelson Hotel; voted the best high tea in the world by an ever growing number of publications, tea in the sun-splashed lounge is a feast. Tel: +27 (0) 21 483 100

Kirstenbosch Tea Room, consistently voted one of the best botanical gardens in the world, the tearoom offers plenty of rewards after an hour or two’s stroll among the indigenous flora. Tel: +27 (0) 21 797 4883

LOCAL

Wash down your soccer tales with unpasteurised, live ales, produced locally at Mitchell’s Waterfront Brewery, Paulaner Brauhaus, Firemans Arms, Foresters Arms and many others throughout the city.


more:     who / do / eat / shop / party / connect

• Score an adrenaline hat trick [outdoor/active]
• Cheer a killer pass on and off the field [natural beauty]
• When your craving demands more than a burger [gourmet]
• Take in a bit of Cape culture as your team goes for glory [culture and heritage]
• When the sound of the vuvuzela starts getting to you [body, mind and spirit]
• Living it up when the final whistle blows [cosmopolitan vibe]