The Cape has a reputation for being expensive, not least at this time of the year when a seemingly impossible number of local holidaymakers and international tourists descend on its beaches, shops, restaurants and bars - all in search of a jolly good time. Cape Town in December also means traffic jams, queues, crowds and waiting, some days, for what feels like the last parking spot on the planet. The wraparound beauty of sea and mountain is all very well, but what's the point if you can't find a gem of a place to stop for lunch?
Unfortunately, in a city known for its sophisticated food culture - there are more award-winning restaurants in Cape Town than anywhere else in the country - so-so meals are still rife. And it gets worse during high season when the pressure is on, demand spirals out of control and chefs get snappish in the heat. For food lovers, stress on holiday means having to endure a bad meal or, worse still, an over-priced bad meal with sloppy service.
What you need is a little bit of insider know-how to kick start you into gourmet heaven, including where to find a decent coffee, ideas for child-friendly lunch venues and the lowdown on which of the serious city restaurants are really worth it - if you can still secure a booking this side of new year.
Wafu Wakame's new sister restaurant, with the best terrace in the city for sundowners
Knead Bread & Pastry Shop Grab a bag of artisanal breads
Coffee and more
The designer chains like Vida e Caffe and Seattle Coffee Co are reliable standbys for a decent coffee, but did you make the great trek south to play it safe? A "flat white" at Origin Coffee Roastery in De Waterkant is coffee perfection, made from single-origin, single-estate coffee sourced globally and roasted on the spot.
Giovanni's Deliworld in Green Point still makes one of the best cappuccinos, and is open until 10 pm daily in summer. This is the benchmark deli, stocking almost any ingredient you might need plus delicious homemade food to go. Other superior delis include Melissa's The Food Shop (thankfully, still unique to Cape Town), with a new store in Green Point. Prices tend towards the extortionist, but it's your best bet for effortless, elegant hostess gifts and true gourmet treats.
I love La Cuccina, not least because the owners dared to open such a stylish shop for foodies in Hout Bay, of all places, and have never looked back. Breakfasts and lunches, inspired meals to take home and luscious confectionery, like the dark chocolate, fig and almond cake, will lure you back.
The staff of life
A decent bakery is always a good option for a quick breakfast before the beach, in which case Bonjour Patisserie in Tamboerskloof and Knead Bread & Pastry Shop in Gardens are both worth a visit: the former for its exquisite strawberry tartlets, pain au chocolat and brioche; the latter for authentic artisanal breads and savoury pies.
City lights
Make time to dine at two new hot spots in the heart of the city. Though both Jardine Restaurant and The Showroom were recently awarded Top 10 status in the Eat Out/Johnnie Walker awards, the personalities behind them and the cuisine styles couldn't be more different.
George Jardine's signature beetroot tarte fine and crayfish with a smoked tomato and asparagus risotto are the sort of restrained, quietly confident dishes that helped to win him the title of Chef of the Year. He falls down on desserts, but who cares when everything else on the menu is world class?
You'd better be wearing new knickers when you sit down on the glam see-through chairs at The Showroom. The high visibility extends to Bruce Robertson's frenetically busy open-plan kitchen, where nobody else but the "show man" could deliver such outrageously garnished food and get away with it.
Take the children
Eating out with a young family in tow is easier and more relaxed for everyone if the restaurant is child friendly - which is more about the place's attitude to children than whether it has a climbing frame. Above all, you don't want dumbed down food just because you're a parent. Award-wining former La Colombe (Constantia) chef Franck Dangereux (who has two small boys of his own) gets it so right at his new venue The Food Barn in Noordhoek, where you can have a typically French breakfast of pastries and coffee or feast on toned-down La Colombe-style food for lunch or an early dinner with your children. With chilli-spiked prawns, seared tuna and cep gnocchi on the table, and a glass of sauvignon blanc from neighbouring Cape Point Vineyards, child-friendly has never tasted this good.
Al fresco breakfast and lunches are also executed stylishly but casually at next-door Café Roux, another newcomer to the southern peninsula's growing food scene. Order the double cheese soufflé followed by fresh salmon on black Thai rice with avo aioli.
Eat Out/Johnnie Walker Top 10 award-winning Bread & Wine in Franschhoek is where Neil Jewell showcases his skills with a must-have antipasti platter in a laid-back courtyard setting. Sip Moreson bubbly while the children play in the lemon orchard. Parma ham (Franschhoek appellation!), free-range bacon, salamis, cured salmon trout, interesting breads and more are on sale at the deli.
A sensational view doesn't make up for slow service and average food, but make the new Mont Rochelle Mountain Vineyards restaurant in Franschhoek your exception to the rule, for the setting is one of the prettiest in the valley. Order a variety of tapas-style plates and salads to share, but don't expect to be wowed.
A lekker local on the outskirts of Stellenbosch is the Lucky Store, brainchild of Adi Badenhorst - winemaker at nearby Rustenberg and son of chef and foodie Judy Badenhorst. It's a typical corner café serving unpretentious fare with a Cape twist such as pickled fish, venison pie and sago pud.
If you can still secure a table, lunch in the country at the Eat Out guide's Restaurant of the Year, Terroir. It deserves a special trip rather than tacking it onto a day of wine tasting in the region. (I admit to being biased because executive chef Michael Broughton is my husband, but I also include Terroir with the full approval of FM Life editor Linda Stafford.) Go for the informed, friendly service and a chalkboard menu of sublimely sauced, seasonally inspired dishes. Save just enough time to do the chocolate and wine pairing tasting at Waterford Estate, a short drive from here.
A sea view
Everybody wants lunch with a sea view. Live Bait in Kalk Bay has in-your-face False Bay views, well-priced seafood and the sort of effortlessly laid-back coastal ambience you wish you could bottle and take home. Staying in the harbour, Polana gives new meaning to having a drink on the rocks (at high tide you have to move inside).
For designer dining with a view (no bare feet allowed this side of the mountain), Wakame in Mouille Point is still the essence of Atlantic beach chic. Your best bet, besides the people watching, is the sushi menu. Wafu, Wakame's new and über-trendy sister restaurant upstairs, has the best terrace in the city for sundowners, but the Asian tapas menu is nothing to get excited about.
Let your hair down
For drinks away from the see-and-be-seen crowd, Rick's Café in Gardens is Casablanca cool with its Moroccan interior and bar deck.
Put gourmet burgers served in the nostalgic and sassy setting of Royale Kitchen in Long St on your hit list. When you want to nibble sociably on tapas and sample wines by the glass, head for Caveau in Heritage Squaree,
A modest suburban pizza place called Bruegel's in Mowbray is where you'll find a perfectly thin, tender yet crisp-crusted pizza topped with quality ingredients like Coppa ham, anchovies, olives, artichokes and fresh herbs.
Gimmicky as it might sound, SA's first ice bar (and the biggest in the world) is worth a visit at the V&A Waterfront if only to have a drink out of an ice glass at the ice bar. Constructed from 45 t of ice, shipped to Cape Town from Canada, it's no wonder the cover charge is so steep (at least in the evening, the entrance fee of R75 includes a free cocktail).
A cone to go
What is summer without an ice cream cone? Without forgetting old favourites Ice Dream in Hout Bay and Sinnful Ice Cream Emporium in Camps Bay, both of which make excellent ice cream in inspired flavours, you might be surprised to find Italian ice cream in the Boland where sexily appointed Lecca il Gelato stores have popped up in Stellenbosch, Somerset West and Franschhoek.
Live Bait Welcome to Kalk Bay's in-your-face views and seafood
DIAL THEM UP
 Origin Coffee Roastery: 28 Hudson St, De Waterkant. Tel: (021) 421-1000
Giovanni's Deliworld: 103 Main Rd, Green Point. Tel: (021) 434-6893
Melissa's The Food Shop: 1 Portside, cnr Upper Portswood and Main rds, Green Point. Tel: (021) 434-1719
La Cuccina: Victoria Mall, Victoria Rd, Hout Bay. Tel: (021) 790-8008
Bonjour Patisserie: 3 De Lorentz St, Tamboerskloof. Tel: 072 989 7897
Knead Bread & Pastry Shop: Wembley Square, Gardens. Tel: 082 486 8563
Jardine Restaurant: 185 Bree St. Tel: (021) 424-5640
The Showroom: Cnr Chiappini and Hospital streets, Green Point. Tel: (021) 421-4682
The Food Barn: Noordhoek Farm Village. Tel: (021) 789-1390
Café Roux: Tel: (021) 789-2538
Bread & Wine: Moreson Wine Farm, Franschhoek. Tel: (021) 876-3692
Mont Rochelle Mountain Vineyards restaurant: Tel: (021) 876-3000
Lucky Store: 42 Rustenburg Road, Idas Valley, Stellenbosch. Tel: 083 280 2616
Terroir: Kleine Zalze Wine Estate, Stellenbosch. Tel: (021) 880-8167
Waterford Estate: Blaauwklippen Road, Stellenbosch. Tel: (021) 880-0496
Live Bait: Kalk Bay Harbour, Main Rd, Kalk Bay. Tel: (021) 788-5755
Polana: Kalk Bay Harbour, Main Rd, Kalk Bay. Tel: (021) 788-7162
Wakame: First floor, cnr Surrey Place & Beach Rd, Mouille Point. Tel: (021) 433-2377
Rick's Café: 2 Park Rd, Gardens, Tel: (021) 424-1100
Royale Kitchen: 273 Long St. Tel: (021) 422-4536
Caveau: 92 Bree St, Heritage Square. Tel (021) 422-1367
Bruegel's: Durban Rd, Mowbray. Tel: (021) 685-6046
The Ice Lounge: V&A Waterfront. Go to: www.icelounge.co.za
Ice Dream: Main Rd, Hout Bay. Tel: (021) 790-2494
Sinnful Ice Cream Emporium: Promenade Centre, Victoria Rd, Camps Bay. Tel: (021) 438-3541
Lecca il Gelato: Tel: (021) 876-2636
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Ranking the Analysts 2009
