Andrew Hallett

Cape Town’s menu of Mexican eateries has never been hotter, offering everything from laid-back taquerias to trendy cocktail spots. It’s a cuisine that’s flown under the radar for far too long and still has room to grow, but Mexican food is on the up as a handful of memorable eateries and passionate chefs raise the bar with menus filled with authentic flavours, quality ingredients and a dedication to traditional flavours. Of course, you can still find cheesy Tex-Mex if that’s your flavour, but it’s no longer the only taco in town. And what goes better with a tasty taco than an icy margarita or copita of premium mezcal? Well, a paloma perhaps, but you get the idea. Happily, in step with the growing interest in Mexican cooking is the explosion of premium tequilas and mezcals on offer behind the bar. Shoot them or sip them, it’s your call. So whether you’re bustin' for burritos or enjoying an enchilada, dive into our pick of the best Mexican restaurants in Cape Town. RECOMMENDED: 😋 The best restaurants in Cape Town🍳 The best breakfast and brunch spots in Cape Town☕️ The best cafés and coffee shops in Cape Town📍 The best things to do in Cape Town This article was written by Richard Holmes, a travel writer based in Cape Town. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines and check out our latest travel guides written by local experts.  

As if the mountain, oceans, vibrant city and dynamic culinary scene weren’t enough to keep you busy, Cape Town also brings the goods when it comes to a jam-packed schedule of concerts and events. We're tapping into all the vibes with our updated and expanded Events Guide to Cape Town. Across the city, you’ll find live music, vibey markets, special shows and fun events that are a total jol (that’s a ‘party’, in local lingo). Here's our hand-picked selection of the hottest events to head for in the Mother City. RECOMMENDED:📍 The best things to do in Cape Town🍝 The best restaurants in Cape Town🏖 The best beaches in Cape Town🛍 The best shops in Cape Town🏠 The best Airbnbs in Cape Town 🏨 The best hotels in Cape Town Richard Holmes is a travel writer based in Cape Town. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. 

In January, we published our annual ranking of the world’s best cities. To create the list, we quizzed city-dwellers on everything from happiness and nightlife to walkability – and while all these factors are important in making a city great, let’s face it: a city is nothing without its food. From street eats to fine dining, family-run taverns to cutting-edge kitchens, eating and drinking is the backbone of local culture in our cities and the reason many of us choose to travel.  So, in order to figure out the great culinary metropolises of today, we surveyed thousands of people around the world about food in their city. We asked locals to rate their city’s food scene across 18 different criteria, including quality, affordability and attributes from ‘family-friendly’ to ‘experimental’.  Each city was ranked according to quality and affordability ratings, alongside a score from a panel of Time Out food experts – editors, food critics and Time Out Market chefs – who were asked to share their insights into the most exciting cities for food right now. To create the final ranking, we included only the highest-scoring city for each country to ensure the list reflects culinary cities globally. We then asked our global network of food writers to tell us exactly what makes their city such an exciting place to eat right now. The result? A very tasty list indeed. In each of these 20 cities, you’ll find the best of the old-school and the new. There are long-standing street food stalls and

People who don’t live in cities will tell you they’re busy, lonely and expensive places. But there’s a reason so many people choose to live in them: with world-class art and culture, unbeatable food and nightlife, buzzing neighbourhoods and a dizzying amount of stuff to do and see, there’s simply no better place to be.  Every year, we take the pulse of city living by quizzing thousands of locals across the planet about life in their hometowns. This year, more than 18,500 city-dwellers shared their insights on everything from food, nightlife and culture to affordability, happiness and the overall city vibe. When urban living can sometimes feel isolating and costly, this year we wanted to get a sense of what, exactly, makes a city feel like home. Sure, the nightlife is great, but is the city safe and walkable? Is good quality food and art available at a reasonable price? Is it easy to make friends, find love, and access nature?  Livability was a key factor in our ranking this year. But a great city to live in is, naturally, a great city to visit. So, along with the thousands of responses from locals around the world, we asked Time Out’s global network of city experts to vote on the places they think are particularly exciting right now. After crunching all that data, here we are: Time Out’s definitive ranking of the world’s best cities in 2025. Read on to see how your hometown fared… RECOMMENDED:🛍️ The coolest neighbourhoods in the world right now🌎 The best things to do in the

From kids’ events to workshops and classes, live music to pop-up events, here are all of the events coming up at Time Out Market Cape Town. 

Trouver la ville la plus cool du monde chaque année, c’est notre passion chez Time Out ! En 2025, on a tout passé à la moulinette pour mieux comprendre ce qui rend une ville vraiment vivable. Est-ce qu’on peut marcher dans la rue sans flipper ? Est-ce que l’art et la bouffe sont accessibles sans braquer une banque ? Est-ce qu’on peut facilement se faire des potes, tomber amoureux, ou juste respirer un peu d’air frais ? Parce qu’une ville où il fait bon vivre, c’est aussi une ville où il fait bon voyager. En plus des votes de notre réseau d’experts, cette année, on a demandé à 18 500 citadins de nous filer leur avis sur leur chez-soi. Gastronomie, vie nocturne, culture, coût de la vie, baromètre du bonheur… On a tout mixé, trituré et recoupé, et voici le verdict : le top ultime des meilleures villes du monde en 2025, by Time Out (dont deux Françaises, Paris, 19e, et Marseille, 38e).

Breakfast: a meal so revered it can be enjoyed at any hour. As Cape Town’s dining scene grows more impressive by the day, so does its ability to whip up quality breakfasts. The vibrant streets of the Mother City are dotted with vibey breakfast spots and brunch places to help you start your day right – whether it’s 6am or well past noon. Amble through Cape Town’s seaside and central neighbourhoods alike and you’ll come across an enormous range of essential breakfasts and brunches. This place has it all: from whitewashed coffee shops brewing artisanal blends to eclectic, art-filled spaces where you can linger over a boozy brunch; bagel joints serving up cream cheese-stuffed goodness to bakeries dishing out South African baked delicacies; and nourishing, plant-based spots for all the yogis and health food junkies out there. Whether you’re looking to linger awhile in one of Cape Town’s favourite brunch establishments or get your breakfast to go and start your day with a picnic on the beach, soaking up the endless ocean and mountain views, here are this city’s finest places for breakfast and brunch. RECOMMENDED: 😋 The best restaurants in Cape Town🍣 The best sushi in Cape Town🍕 The best pizza in Cape Town🍷 The best wine farms in and around Cape Town📍 The best things to do in Cape Town🛏 Where to stay in Cape Town Planning your next trip? Check out our latest travel guides, written by local experts.

When it comes to artistic excellence in Cape Town, the Artscape Theatre Centre is the place to visit. Located in central Cape Town, the Artscape was opened on 19 May 1971 as the Nico Malan Theatre Centre. Ever since, it has been the home to world class productions and has become the venue of choice for all genres of performing arts. Described as an "iconic cultural beacon in the Western Cape", the theatre provides theatre-goers with an experience to remember.

The Grand Arena has a capacity of up to 7,000 people and hosts large local and international acts and bands. In addition, the venue is equipped to host shows, launches, conferences, banquets, and other events of varying size. It is located within the GrandWest Casino.

Keeping the kids occupied during the school holidays can be a real challenge, with the dreaded "I'm bored" to be avoided at all costs. To help in this regard, we've come across a pretty cool event for your kids to take part in during the upcoming school holidays, where they will have, well, a magical time. The College of Magic in Cape Town is hosting their 2025 Children's Magic Festival from 3 to 5 April, with the theme for this year named, 'Wild Jungle Adventure'. The festival is aimed at children aged 3 to 8 and promises an 'enchanting journey filled with mystical illusions, daring jungle explorers and magical creatures that will captivate and delight'. This one-of-a-kind event has been specifically designed to ignite the imaginations of children through adventure, excitement and wonder. With everything from sleight-of-hand tricks to larger-than-life illusions, each show over the course of the festival is packed with memorable moments. Tickets for the festival are on sale now and can be purchased through Quicket. 2025 Children's Magic Festival details When? 3 to 5 April 2025 with four performances daily at 10am, 11am, 12pm and 2pmWhere? College of Magic, Cape Town What is the College of Magic in Cape Town? The College of Magic is a Cape Town-based non-profit organisation.  Founded in 1980, the college is dedicated to teaching the art of magic and performance to assist students in pursuing their dreams.  Comedians Stuart Taylor and Riaad Moosa, mentalist Larry Soffer, magi

We do food well in Cape Town and this latest win for the Mother City is a testament to that fact. Novo's 'The Fellini' pizza has been ranked among the top 19 pizzas in the world by Time Out Travel - and we couldn't agree more with their decision. According to our local expert, Richard Holmes , 'The Fellini' - which is a pizza topped with fennel sausage, caramelised red onion and fior di latte - is so good because of its simplicity. 'NOVO  is a new kid on  Cape Town's pizza block, but this family-owned place in Little Mowbray has quickly built up a loyal following among locals. Why? The quality of the toppings, that's why. 'Simplicity on a pizza only works when the ingredients are top-notch, but you don't need to worry about that here: fennel sausage from renowned cured meats producer Richard Bosman; fior di latte from Italian cheese specialists Puglia; dough slow-proved over 48 hours. Beyond The Fellini, the menu is a compact offering, allowing for focus on getting each pizza perfect,' he wrote. 'The Fellini' was ranked alongside some great company, including pizzas from Naples and Rome in Italy, New York and Chicago in the USA and Copenhagen in Denmark. While Novo's pizza may have come out on top, we have a huge selection of other incredible pizzas in Cape Town. Cape Town accolades in 2025 This announcement comes hot on the heels of the Labia Theater being named a contender for the most beautiful cinemas in the world . The Mother City was also named  Time Out's Best City

We are blessed in Cape Town to have such an amazing food scene, with our diversity creating a flavour bomb which we can be very proud of (although maybe not when it comes to its effect on the old waistline). That pride in our food has just shot up a few notches thanks to Cape Town being ranked in fourth place globally when it comes to our culinary scene. Time Out Travel on Tuesday morning released their annual 'World's 20 Best Cities for Food Right Now' list. Topping the list is New Orleans in the USA thanks to its rich cultural history's influence on their food (not unlike us in Cape Town), with Thailand's Bangkok and Colombia's Medellín securing second and third, respectively. Madrid rounds out the top five. We can agree wholeheartedly with the Spanish capital's inclusion after experiencing the wonders of Los33 at Vuur for the Rare Tour. According to Time Out Travel, 'In order to figure out the great culinary metropolises of today, we surveyed thousands of people around the world about food in their city. We asked locals to rate their city’s food scene across 18 different criteria, including quality, affordability and attributes from ‘family-friendly’ to ‘experimental’.' 'Each city was ranked according to quality and affordability ratings, alongside a score from a panel of Time Out food experts – editors, food critics and Time Out Market chefs – who were asked to share their insights into the most exciting cities for food right now.' While there is always much debate amongs

We never get tired of seeing Cape Town receive global recognition. This time, a Cape Town movie house has been named amongst the 50 most beautiful cinemas in the world! The Labia Theatre has been ranked as the 12th most beautiful cinema in the world - and we couldn't agree more (although the number one spot would have been nice). Opened in 1949 and named after Italian diplomat Princess Labia, the Labia has become something of an institution in Cape Town. It's allure has even seen the likes of global superstars John Cleese, Matt Damon and Salma Hayek take in a showing at one point or another. Other cinemas to make the top 50 includes the likes of Hong Kong's Broadway Cinematheque, Mexico City's Cineteca Nacional de Mexico and New York's world famous Paris Theater. Cape Town accolades in 2025 Cape Town has not been short on recognition this year, with the Mother City being named Time Out's Best City in the World for 2025 back in January. Then, during the Month of Love that is February, it was revealed that Cape Town is a top 10 destination for finding love, which we, well, love. In addition, a local coffee shop ranked highly globally and a Cape Town eatery was shown some love in a top 50 list. Keep it up, Cape Town! RECOMMENDED: 😋 The best restaurants in Cape Town🍣 The best sushi in Cape Town🍕 The best pizza in Cape Town🍷 The best wine farms in and around Cape Town📍 The best things to do in Cape Town🛏 Where to stay in Cape Town

When I heard about a spot in Bantry Bay which promised 'a celebration of Mediterranean roots infused with fresh flavours and coastal charm', I was intrigued. I'm a sucker for seafood, so it was a bit of a no-brainer that I would head down to Amare to see what all the fuss was about. Upon arrival, I was met with a charming restaurant tucked away on the Bantry Bay roadside. I'd use the word 'cute', but I feel it's a little more sophisticated than that. It was still pretty cute, though. That sophistication shone through in the plethora of patrons wanting to snap the perfect picture for Instagram. It was actually quite the sight seeing so many people pouting and posing next to the Amare sign and on the long, comfy-looking couch placed at the entrance. No, I am not a grumpy old man. I digress... on to the food and exceptional service. I was greeted by the wonderful Storm who ensured that the evening was just to my liking. It really cannot be understated how important service is to making an evening memorable - and Storm was fantastic. The meal started with bread and the biggest olives I have ever seen, before tucking into two recommended starters. The first was crumbed Greek feta with honey, cabernet balsamic and oregano. Wow. This was incredible. The crispy crumb worked perfectly with the creamy feta hiding inside. Delicious. Time Out Cape Town We were also recommended the kingklip ajillo with garlic, chilli, lemon and parsley. This was also a winner. Time Out Cape Town Now i

The Springboks have revealed all the home grounds for their 2025 rugby fixtures - and Cape Town has got a biggie! Head coach Rassie Erasmus' charges will take on Australia at DHL Stadium in Cape Town on 23 August 2025. The match forms part of the Boks' Castle Lager Rugby Championship defence. The Boks won an arm-wrestle of a rugby encounter against fierce rivals New Zealand in Cape Town last year, with their 18-12 victory pretty much clinching the 2024 Rugby Championship title for the four-time Rugby World Cup winners. The Cape Town clash with Australia will come a week after the two national teams meet at Emirates Airline Park in Johannesburg. Springboks' home fixtures in 2025 The Springboks will welcome Italy, Georgia, Australia and Argentina to South Africa in 2025. Below is a list of all the home fixtures for the 2025 international season: Castle Lager Incoming Series5 July: Boks v Italy – Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria12 July: Boks v Italy – Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Gqeberha19 July: Boks v Georgia – Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit Castle Lager Rugby Championship16 August: Boks v Australia – Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg23 August: Boks v Australia – DHL Stadium, Cape Town27 September: Boks v Argentina – Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban On the venue announcement, Erasmus revealed: “The confirmation of the Test venues always gives us peace of mind from a coaching and management team perspective because it means we can step up our planning, and it also boosts the excitemen

When Time Out conducted its survey to find the best city in the world for 2025 (yes, Cape Town came out on top), respondents were asked about finding love in their city. A very straightforward question was put to the city dwellers: 'How easy is it to find love in your city?' Interestingly, 53% said that Cape Town provides an easy platform for finding that special someone. Now, some of you may be reading this with a broken heart and completely dismissing the very notion, but the reality is that the 53% ranks Cape Town as the 10th best city in the world to lock down someone else's heart. Mumbai came out on top, with 72% of city dwellers saying they find it easy to find love in India's largest city. However, if you are looking for love, it looks like Spain's Bilbao is a city to avoid in that regard, as just 14% of respondents believe love is easy to find. Check out the best and worst cities for finding love below: The best cities for finding love, according to locals  1. Mumbai, India: 72 percent2. Beijing, China: 69 percent3. Jakarta, Indonesia: 66 percent4. Shanghai, China: 65 percent5. Colombia, Medellin: 64 percent6. Abu Dhabi, UAE: 63 percent7. New Orleans, USA: 56 percent= Amsterdam, Netherlands: 56 percent9. Bangkok, Thailand: 54 percent10. Cape Town, South Africa: 53 percent  The worst cities for finding love, according to locals 1. Bilbao, Spain: 14 percent2. Tokyo, Japan: 21 percent3. Hong Kong: 23 percent4. Marseille, France: 25 percent5. Los Angeles, USA: 26 percent

Capetonians, mark your calendars for 12 to 16 March if you love yourself some cocktails and spirits. Sin+Tax, Smoking Kills, Saint, Obscura, Cause Effect, Kloof Street House, The Drinkery, Hacienda, Tjing Tjing, Fable, Talking to Strangers, House of Machines and ANTHM have all signed up to take part in the AJABU Cocktail and Spirits Festival for 2025. AJABU is Africa’s first-ever bi-annual international cocktail and spirits festival. It was created by Col Asare-Appiah - Bar World's 100 Most Influential Figures 2023 and co-author of Black Mixcellence - and Mark Talbot Holmes - the founder of multiple award-winning U’Luvka Vodka, with their mission to make AJABU the continent’s leading hospitality community gathering. The duo also aims to connect the industry across Africa and beyond to inspire innovation, collaboration and creativity.As a result, bartenders from some of the finest bars around the world are being flown into South Africa to participate. Panda and Son (Edinburgh, Scotland), Tommy’s (San Francisco, USA), Front/Back and Soul Lounge (Accra, Ghana), Library Bar (Toronto, Canada), Hero (Nairobi, Kenya), Sips (Barcelona, Spain), NoMad’s Side Hustle (London, UK) and Atwater Cocktail Club (Montreal, Canada) are all set to work alongside the local bars mentioned above. It's shaping up to be quite the drinks extravaganza. Cocktail seminars and masterclasses In addition to these collabs, a series of seminars and masterclasses for cocktail aficionados, bartenders, and bever

Taylor Swift fans in Cape Town are longing for the day when the words, 'Taylor Swift announces Cape Town shows', are plastered all over the web. After Swift's hugely successful Eras Tour took the world by storm, some destinations - like Cape Town and the rest of South Africa - have been left yearning for the superstar to make a turn their way and give them what they so badly crave. Well, while this may not quite be the real thing, there is an event happening soon that promises to be the next best thing. 'TAYLOR: A Tribute to the Eras of Taylor Swift' has been dubbed as the 'ultimate Taylor Swift tribute experience' and is making its way to Cape Town on 3 May 2025 at the Grand Arena, GrandWest.'This electrifying concert event brings the magic of Taylor’s music to life with a dazzling production, a live band, dancers, and over 30 of her biggest hits spanning every era of her legendary career,' promoters for the show explain. Who is playing Taylor Swift? Josette will star as Taylor for the day, with mega hits such as Shake It Off, Anti-Hero, Cruel Summer, Love Story, I Knew You Were Trouble, Blank Space, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, Bad Blood, Our Song and more set to be performed. So, if you are tired of waiting for the real thing, now's your chance to get your Taylor on, but act Swiftly, as tickets are likely to sell out fast. You can grab your tickets HERE. Ticket prices range from R395 to R495 and is open to everyone aged 3 and above. Concert review... My Green

We all know how good the Cape Town food scene is - winning a plethora of awards over the years, but the Mother City's food industry has just received another big boost and some extra recognition thanks to the South Africa Restaurant Awards (SARA). A whole host of Cape Town restaurants are up for awards at the second annual SARAs, which will be held on 7 April 2025 at Hotel Sky in Sandton, Johannesburg. The delicious usual suspects such as La Colombe, FYN, Pier and Nobu feature (all of which you may have read about in our guide to the 40 Best Restaurants in Cape Town), while Cape Town newcomer Room 91 and Mill St Bistro in neighbouring Stellenbosch crack the nomination nod too. The extra cool part about these awards is that the winners are decided by a public vote, which you can take part in HERE. Voting is open until 30 March 2025. According to the SARAs, the awards 'reflect the richness and diversity of South Africa’s culinary landscape, with this public-driven recognition serving as a testament to the vibrant and exceptional quality of the country’s restaurants, bars, chefs, and hospitality professionals'. Check out the awards our Cape Town restaurants are up for below: Best Culinary Experience 2025 La Colombe (Cape Town) Kolonaki Greek Kouzina (Randburg) Post & Pepper Restaurant (Stellenbosch) FYN (Cape Town) The Test Kitchen Fledgelings (Cape Town) Salsify at the Roundhouse (Cape Town) Belly of the Beast (Cape Town) Encore Restaurant (Three Rivers) Pier (Cape Town) Eike

For those of you who know me, you will know that I love a braai. For me, there are few better ways of spending your time than around a fire, cooking food the way nature intended. So to be invited to an event such as the Rare Tour, which celebrates glorious meat and the art of fire cooking by bringing together the world's top talent, was something I was both excited and intrigued by. To give you some context, the Rare Tour is a series of global culinary events showcasing some of the globe’s finest chefs from the World’s 101 Best Steak Restaurants ranking. A host restaurant - in this case Vuur located on Remhoogte wine farm in Stellenbosch - acts as the home kitchen, as a guest restaurant - in this case Los33 from Madrid, Spain - collaborates with the host to showcase their talents, meat creations and the reason for their ranking on the global list. While I knew the steaks were going to be of the highest quality, cooked to perfection on the fire, I didn't realise the amount of effort that goes in behind the scenes. I was afforded the opportunity to sit at the chef's table, where I had a first-hand experience of what goes into a service for an event such as this. The organised chaos was something quite interesting to behold; think a theatric performance with massive flames and tiny tongs to plate the variety of dishes on offer. Shaun Scrooby from Vuur (ranked #88 globally) and Oswaldo Gonzalez from Los33 (ranked #15 globally) - along with their teams - worked their magic to pro

Now here's something different for those who love a hike in and around Cape Town. Vergelegen Wine Estate in Somerset West has announced a pretty interesting new activity, which incorporates hiking, food and wine. Bookings are now open for a 12km guided hike around the wine farm's grounds, with hikers taken behind the scenes and given an opportunity to see what most visitors aren't privy to. The hike is set against the ridiculous beauty of the area, which includes the Helderberg and Hottentots Holland mountain ranges. You'll want to take your camera along for this one! When does it take place? Vergelegen says the first hike is set to take place on Saturday, 15 March 2025, with further hikes taking place twice a month from April. Hikers will have a chance to see the likes of eland, rare Rau quagga, black wildebeest and small antelope while on the adventure, as well as Nguni cattle and resident bontebok. The hike will take in sights such as the manor house and gardens, Lourens river and orchards, a fynbos biome, and Vergelegen's vineyards and wine cellar. Frank Dwyer, an experienced hiking guide and tourism expert, will lead the hikes. Upon completion, those weary walkers will be served a three-course, a la carte lunch at the Stables bistro-style restaurant, with wine included, obviously. What does is cost and must I be experienced? Look, it isn't cheap, as the cost per person is R2,900, but from an adventure perspective, if you can afford it, it will be worth it. You will also