Gay Restaurants in Cape TOwn

Smoky garlic & lemon drizzled prawns, mussels, shrimps, lobsters and crayfish smoked or barbequed on the beach, the tide tickling your toes as you wait.

Mouth watering cardamom infused savoury coriander Cape Malay curries, briyanis and boboties served with sweet yellow rice sprinkled with raisins and for dessert, koeksisters or milk tart. Traditional African cuisine - spicy chakalaka sauce over mealie pap, morogo (steamed green vegetables) teamed with a succulent lamb shank or as a special treat, eaten with grilled or fried chilli mopani worms. To this add in an generous helping of French, Italian, German, English and Mexican restaurants and a wholesome dash of Eastern eateries from India, Thailand, Japan and China and you’ll soon discover that restaurants in Cape Town and the Western Cape cater for every taste bud.

The cuisine of Cape Town can truly be described as"international." Menus will consist of a lot you'll recognize (pizza, pasta and hamburgers), often some game (always ostrich,
occasionally something like kudu medallions), and the more local, Malay (a sort of Muslim, Indian, Indonesian mix). Fresh fish is plentiful, and, of course, the local wines make
the perfect accompaniment.

You'll find that much of the gay scene revolves around De Waterkant, a compact district of cobblestone streets on the northeastern edge of downtown, not far from the V&A
Waterfront. In this little quadrant you'll find several excellent restaurants and cafes, including atmospheric Anatoli for excellent Turkish cuisine, Andiamo Deli and Restaurant for contemporary Italian fare with attractive patio seating, and Cafe Manhattan, which has live music some nights and is as much a gay bar as a gay restaurant. A more upscale choice on the edge of De Waterkant is the Showroom, a slick, white-on-white space known for some of the most creative modern South African cuisine in the city, plus great
people-watching. Stop by Origin for some of the best coffee around - a bohemian atmosphere prevails at this lively cafe.

Cape Town excels when it comes to dining, with other notable options including Fork, a sexy tapas restaurant and lounge, and Jardine, which turns out such dazzlingly innovative fare as confit of roasted guinea fowl with orange-braised endive. In the V&A Waterfront, try gay-friendly Belthazar, a sprawling steakhouse and seafood eatery.

Café Manhattan (Corner of Dixon & Waterkant Street; +27-21/421-6666;R20-69) is an energetic restaurant popular with the gay crowd and straight friends. Within an eclectic Art Nouveau and American Southwest décor, this happening spot offers tasty, inexpensive entrees and an attractive crowd. It's a great place to introduce yourself to the Cape Town gay community. Small and friendly, they'll be happy to meet you and they'll know the up-to-date local scoop. The large front bar attracts mainly guys, and it's most popular as an early, after-dinner hangout. Look for their new location at Table View (1 Marine Circle; +27-21/556-6603).

L'Orient (50 Main Rd, Sea Point; +27-21/434-3458; R29-77) is a heavily gay marketed restaurant serving Malaysian/Indonesian cuisine. In the city center near to the parliament
you will find the popular lunch spot and coffee bar, Off Moroka Cafe Africaine (120 Adderley St; +27-21/422-1129; R19-32), which is also open as a bar in the evenings. It attracts an intellectual, jazzy-artsy crowd of gays and lesbians, government officials, poets and writers.

The Cape Colony Restaurant (at the Mt. Nelson Hotel, 76 Orange St, Gardens; +27-21/483-1198; R52-105) offers the city's most memorable dining experience. The Continental-African-Fusion cuisine (smoked crocodile with spinach or ostrich stroganoff) is as good as any you'll find in the country. The recently renovated dining room is a perfect expression of Old World Colonial opulence, and remarkably affordable at today's exchange rate.

The Restaurant (51a Somerset Rd; +27-21/419-2921; R70-80) is another must, serving excellent cuisine in a more casual, modern setting. Out in Camps Bay, Blues (Victoria Rd, Camps Bay; +27-21/438-2040; R36-78) is a restaurant of long-running renown, serving an African version of California Cuisine. The airy dining room is open to the sea, and particularly pleasant for brunch or lunch. Reservations are essential, but if you can't get in, Baraza Oyster Bar, their brasserie next door, is a pleasant, more casual alternative.

A worthwhile 25-minute drive away is Constantia Uitsig (Uitsig Farm, Constantia; +27-21/794-4480; R62-190) a winery with an excellent, Mediterranean-influenced New World cuisine, like prawns with Chinese noodles or grilled springbok in a honey and lemon sauce. Comfortable, serene overnight accommodations are also available.The place to go for dinner and live jazz (from South African to big band) is the Green Dolphin (Waterfront; +27-21/421-7471; R55-98).

Haiku, (33 Church Street. Tel: (27) 21-424-7000. http:///bukhara.com/haiku) is also worth a mention. The Pan-Asian tapas-style menu is prepared by 18 Japanese and South African
chefs in four different kitchens. Tank (Cape Quarter, 72 Waterkant Street, De Waterkant. Tel: (27) 21-419-0007. http://www.the-tank.co.za) is another one of my favorite restaurants. The sophisticated interior is decorated in a cool palette of blue, turquoise, beige, and white with a huge fish tank. Large floor-to-ceiling windows enhance the feeling of light and space and provide a dramatic nighttime background view of the Cape Town skyline. The menu is Californian new wave sushi and Pacific Rim cuisine.

Some other popular places are: Codfather (37 The Drive, Camps Bay), one of the finest restaurants in Cape Town, they serve an excellent array of fresh seafood and sushi in a
warm and relaxed environment. Ginja (121 Castle Street. Tel: (27) 21-426-2368) is the winner of a multitude of awards and is a must-try in Cape Town. Also not to be missed is Five Flies (14-16 Keerom Street. Tel: (27) 21-424 4442. http://www.fiveflies.co.za). It is situated in the heart of the Cape’s legal and financial district and is set inside an historical national monument. While the exterior remains unchanged, the interior has been skillfully remodeled. The cuisine is innovative, flavorsome, and surprising.

On Broadway Theatre (88 Short-market Street. Tel: (27) 21-424-1194. http://www.onbroadway.co.za) is a star-studded gay revue, cabaret, theatre, bar, and restaurant, hosting world-class entertainment and dinner every night of the week.

Mama Africa (178 Long Street. Tel: (27) 21-424-8634) is an awesome experience! While getting lost in the tribal drumming, your readers can enjoy cuisine from all over the continent. It has garnered an excellent reputation for its African cuisine, and is centrally located on hip Long Street. It features a funky interior, and true to the African way, it has a very relaxed and mellow vibe. Mama Africa is by far the most popular restaurant in Cape Town and has to be booked way in advance.

Other restaurants of note include, Royale Eatery 273 Long St.; +27-21-422-4536. With Cheek-straining milkshakes and the city’s best haute hamburgers -- beef, lamb, fish, ostrich, and veg, doused in saucy toppings -- fuel nights at the Waiting Room, its tri-level 70s retro-pop upstairs lounge.

Ginja on 121 Castle St.; +27-21-426-2368 is Eclecticism epitomized: Sinfully red walls offset inventive pancontinental cuisine that pairs South African ingredients like springbok (antelope) with Asian spices for high-wire fusion results.

SPECIALTY /STREET VENDORS

Africa Café (Shortmarket & Buitengracht Streets, downtown; +27-21/422-0221; set menu R125) serves a casual twelve-course dinner of pan-African cuisine. The decor is bright and colorful, and you can even purchase the dinner plates as a souvenir. Very gay friendly, it's also popular with visiting celebrities. Marco's African Place (15 Rose Street; +27-21/423-5412; R44-70) serves house specialties such a s Ulwimi (steamed ox tongue with mustard sauce) along with live African music. Mama Africa (Long Street; +27-21/424-8634; R45-60) serves pan-African food like Cape Malay bobotie, a kind of bread pudding lamb curry, along with live music.

It’s no contest that the food in Franschhoek is the region’s best. Like any world-class wine village its main street is a veritable who’s who of gourmet South Africa. Reuben’s
Resturant & Bar is and nothing short of exceptional and wins the prize for best meal of the trip thanks to its Cape Malay-influenced green curry-spiced fish cakes, lightly tempura battered and accompanied with a mint and cilantro salad. The eclectic menu (lamb kofta shares space with mustard-glazed ostrich) changes daily along with its fresh, locally-sourced ingredients.

Around the corner at Le Bon Vivant, an artistic trio of buttery beef and veal (in ravioli, tartare and medallion form) that traded a bit of substance for high-class style came in a close second. Third? Nik Naks (South African Cheetos), Mrs. H.S. Ball’s chutney-flavored Simba chips, Rollo Ice Cream Bars and biltong peri peri snap stix from a late-night raid on a petrol station mini mart. (You can tell a lot about a country from its junk food!)