11 vegan and vegetarian restaurants in Cape Town

As more and more people embrace a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle, so more and more restaurants and cafes open their doors. We went looking for some of the best vegan and vegetarian restaurants in Cape Town, and we found some great eateries – whether you’re looking for a rich Indian curry or a raw smoothie, you’ll find it below.

 

 

Vegetarian restaurants around the CBD

1. Elixir Café, Bree Street

Address: 120 Bree Street, Cape Town
Opening hours: Monday to Friday 6:30 to 15:30, Saturdays 8:00 to 15:30
Average meal cost: R30 to R40
Website: Elixir Café on Facebook

 

 

Elixir Café is one of those bohemian-style places where you choose the fruit that goes into your smoothie from a big bowl next to the counter. I had one of their curry wraps filled with potato, carrots, coriander, chickpeas and chutney, which could’ve served two people (I did take the other half home for later) and a very yummy Refresh pressed juice (apple, strawberry, blackberry, raspberry, blackcurrants, redcurrants and lemon). There isn’t a lot of food to choose from apart from wraps or rotis, but the selection of pressed juices, smoothies, lassis and coffees is pretty impressive.

 

2. Plant, Buiten Street

Address: 8 Buiten Street, Cape Town (corner Loop Street)
Opening hours: Mondays 10:00 to 17:00, Tuesday to Friday 10:00 to 22:00, Saturdays 09:00 to 15:00
Average meal cost: R45 to R75
Website: plantcafe.co.za

 

 

Plant was my first experience of a vegan restaurant, so I decided to go with the Vis Burger – a nori-encrusted potato steak served on a ciabatta roll with tartar sauce and salads. It was absolutely delicious, with the nori giving it a seafood-like taste. There’s a wide range of dishes available, including beetroot burgers, chickpea, spinach & butternut masala and sweet & sour tofu, not to mention the desserts, pressed juices and smoothies. Plant makes everything on the menu from scratch, including their own mayonnaise and cheeses. They also smoke their own tempeh bacon (which I still have to try!)

 

3. Sexy Food, Bree Street

Address: 190 Bree Street, Cape Town
Opening hours: Monday to Friday 08:00 to 17:00, Saturdays 09:00 to 14:00
Website: sexyfood.co.za

 

 

Sexy Food is all about raw foods, kombuchas, sprouts, live probiotics and super-foods. It looks like a cool garage that has seating both outside and inside. Inside, the wooden tables are simply stunning (you are basically eating off a tree) and you’ll find books on healthy eating scattered throughout. They do breakfasts and buffet-style lunches that incorporate all the good-for-you stuff: think kefir smoothies, sprouted sunflower ‘dung balls’ (at least they have a sense of humour!) and chia cinnamon rooibos soak with figs and banana enzyme. I decided to be brave and tried the ‘kombucha champagne,’ but probably only because it had gin in it. I walked out with a bag of mung beans and a slight spring in my step.

 

4. Raw and Roxy, Woodstock

Address: 300 Albert Road, Woodstock
Opening hours: Monday to Friday 10:00 to 17:00, Saturdays 10:00 to 16:00
Average meal cost: R40 to R100
Website: Raw and Roxy on Facebook

 

 

Pioneers of the raw and vegan restaurant movement in Cape Town, Raw & Roxy is a small bohemian space in Woodstock that also offers raw cooking lessons. The restaurant space is tiny, but everything is made with a big heart and judging by the people going in and out buying ingredients and smoothies, it’s popular with those in the know. You can help yourself to kale chips from a bowl on the service counter, which were surprisingly tasty. I also tried their red velvet cupcake (beetroot, cashews, coconut flour, flaxseeds, zucchini, raisins and apple) and a super-thick and super-delicious red berry smoothie. Raw main meals include lasagne, zucchini pasta, red Thai curry, a tapas platter (so you can try a little bit of everything) and raw vegan sushi. There are also plenty of sweet treats to choose from, including a raw magnum ice-cream – raw, frozen cashew and coconut and cocoa on a stick in mint or vanilla flavour.

 

5. Scheckter’s RAW, Sea Point

Address: 98 Regent Road, Sea Point
Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday 7:00 to 16:00
Average meal cost: R40 to R70
Website: Scheckter’s RAW on Facebook

 

 

Scheckter’s RAW had literally been open for a day or two when I walked past in the late afternoon. Owner, Toby Scheckter, offered me a sample of a vegan version of a Snickers Bar and I was back the next day to try the rest of the menu! The food here is literally beautiful. The presentation is next level and if you are thinking of embracing a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle, then this is the place to get you started. I had the raw zucchini pasta with an avocado, sunflower seed and lemon pesto washed down with a jar (literally) of Pine Punch (pineapple, coconut water, broccoli, green apple, mint and lemon).

They offer breakfast and lunch, or grab a raw pizza (butternut, sunflower seed and golden flax seed base) or have a treat, like raw macaroons or the highly recommended Raw Snickers bar!

 

Vegetarian restaurants in the Southern Suburbs

6. Govinda’s Food Cafe, Rondebosch

Address: Hare Krishna Temple, 17 St Andrew’s Road, Rondebosch
Opening hours: Wednesday to Sunday 12:00 to 18:00
Average meal cost: R40
Website: iskconcape.org.za

Govinda’s (who have been open for as long as I have been alive) has always been a popular go-to for vegetarian food as their meals are tasty, unpretentious and ridiculously low-priced (plus the portions are large). You can choose to eat in or dash in and grab a tasty takeaway, but if you are really feeling the pinch, you can join the Sunday Love Feast every Sunday where you get free food! It starts at 15:30 with a meditation, followed by talks and learning more about the Bhakti lifestyle, with dinner at 18:00. Yoga-lovers are welcome to attend their yoga sessions every Tuesday and Thursday at 18:30, which includes a vegetarian meal after the session. It cost R70 with dinner (or R50 for just the class) and is well worth it – most yoga classes cost more than R70 alone!

 

7. Maharajah, Rondebosch

Address: Fountain Square, Main Road, Rondebosch
Opening hours: Monday to Saturday 11:00 to 21:00
Average meal cost: R30 to R60
Website: vegetarianfoods.co.za

 

 

A well-loved vegetarian spot that also sells frozen vegetarian and vegan ingredients (chicken and prawns) as well as a delicious Danya Chutney. You can eat in or grab a takeaway – do pop in a few samoosas as they truly are yummy! The menu is quite extensive and the owner is only too happy to guide you in your choice. I had the chickpea and butternut curry (served with rice and sambals) which was delicious, but when my friend’s chana chaat (chickpeas and spicy potatoes) wrap arrived, I fancied that instead. So we ended up sharing our meals, which you probably will too as all of them taste so good!

 

8. O’Ways Teacafé, Claremont

Address: Heritage House, 20 Dreyer Street, Claremont
Opening hours: Monday to Friday 07:30 to 17:00, Saturdays 09:00 to 14:00
Average meal cost: R55 to R75
Website: oways.co.za

 

 

The main focus here is tea and there are pages and pages of different teas in the tea menu. There’s even a tea club that meets on the first Saturday of each month and membership is free – all you need is an overwhelming love for tea! Apart from teas from every corner of the world, they serve breakfasts and lunches, with a simple menu for both. They also have specials of the day and I really enjoyed my special of the day, being a butternut ravioli drenched in a creamy mushroom sauce. The best part was getting a bamboo bowl filled with slices of different breads and a mini leek gratin served on top of a slice of cucumber, ‘with compliments of the chef’. It wasn’t because I was special in any way, everyone gets one! A tasty and unexpected touch.

 

9. Portobello Road, Kenilworth

Address: 313 Main Road, Kenilworth
Opening hours: Tuesday to Friday 9:30 to 17:00, Saturdays 9:30 to 15:00
Average meal cost: R40 to R60
Website: Portobello Road on Facebook

 

 

I popped into Portobello Road one afternoon because I was fascinated with all the vintage goodies inside, along with the cute bunting outside and the 50s style decor. Turns out that they do serve some meat dishes, but their daily specials are all vegan. I had the ‘Cheddar Melt’ vegan burger (lentil, mushroom, spinach and almond patty topped with grilled mushrooms, a cashew ‘cheese’ sauce and crispy onion bits) which was one of the best burgers I have ever had – I still cannot believe that wasn’t a real cheese sauce! They also serve hot drinks, juices and kombucha.

Portobello Road has only been open for a few months and is run by a mother-daughter team, with all the cooking being done behind the counter on a two-plate stove – it’s fairly impressive what they can produce from behind there! While you are waiting for your meal you can browse through the rails of vintage clothing and knick-knacks (all reasonably priced) or plonk on the comfy couch by the window and watch the world go by while sipping on a Moroccan mint green tea.

 

Vegetarian restaurants on the Cape Peninsula

10. Yoffi Falafel, Muizenberg

Address: Surfers Corner, Muizenberg
Opening hours: Monday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00
Average meal cost: R20 to R40
Contact: Tel 0843648466

 

 

Cheap, cheerful, delicious and filling are four words that describe Muizenberg’s favourite falafel spot. Being on Surfer’s Corner, you can literally step off the beach and cross the road into this tiny restaurant, where everything is kept simple. A few tables and chairs, a service counter and a chalkboard listing falafels (chicken falafels are also available, for people who don’t understand what a falafel is) toasted sandwiches, sweet potato chips, muffins, smoothies and hot and cold beverages. The toughest choices you are going to have to make are whether to have your falafel balls on a plate or in a pita and whether to eat at a table or on the beach. A plate of eight falafels served with salad, hummus and tzatziki was a mere R45 (and I shared with my friend). Tasty, healthy and a total bargain!

 

11. Tibetan Tea House, Simon’s Town

Address: Sophea Gallery, 2 Harrington Road, Seaforth, Simon’s Town
Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 17:00
Average meal cost: R30 to R60
Website: Tibetan Tea House on Facebook

 

 

I have two words for you when it comes to eating at the Tibetan Tea House – Sherpa Stew. You have to have it! Delicious and juicy lentil meatballs, topped with sesame seeds and served on a bed of mash with tasty tomato-based sauce, However, the sweet potato curry is jolly good too! Most of the meals here are Tibetan-based and the helpings are quite generous, so you could share or ask for a half portion. They also serve traditional Tibetan butter tea (or Chai tea) in wooden teacups which is quite a novelty. Nearly all their cakes are vegan. The Sophea Gallery itself is a wonderful place to go and relax (they encourage you to take your time here) while browsing through Bhuddist items and Tibetan artwork, including gongs, prayer flags and bowls. You can also attend meditation sessions (donation-based) – I highly recommend a Singing Bowl Meditation session.

 
 
Have we missed your favourite? Let us know in the comments below!
 

This article, 11 vegan and vegetarian restaurants in Cape Town, was originally posted on the Getaway Blog by Rachel Robinson.