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Time Out Market Cape Town
Photograph: Supplied

Time Out Market Cape Town

The Time Out Market Cape Town brings you the best of the Mother City's culinary adventures under one roof. Here's all you need to know...

Written by
Time Out editors
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Time Out Market Cape Town has opened its doors to the public, ushering in a delicious new era of foodie adventures in South Africa’s ‘Mother City’

It is the first Time Out Market to open in Africa, and a true foodie celebration of this remarkable city, as well as the people and independent businesses that make it great. 

Cape Town’s history as a trading port has long informed its culinary landscape, with the city’s kitchens – from fine dining destinations to corner takeaways – whisking together influences from Africa, Europe and Asia.

That combination of culinary cultures, not to mention the Mother City’s reputation as Africa’s gastronomic capital, is on delicious display at the Time Out Market Cape Town. Here’s everything you need to know.

What is Time Out Market?

Here’s the idea: we pick out the best chefs, bartenders and cultural goings-on from across the city. Then we bring them all together under one roof to create an IRL tasting menu of the very best stuff in town.

We started with Time Out Market Lisbon in 2014, and since then we’ve opened in New York, Boston, Montreal, Chicago and Dubai (with Porto, Prague, Abu Dhabi, Osaka and some other very cool cities in the pipeline). And now Time Out Market has landed right here in Cape Town, and the location is pretty unbeatable…

Where is Time Out Market Cape Town?

You'll find Time Out Market Cape Town in the popular V&A Waterfront precinct. Set around a historic working harbour, the V&A is one of the most popular destinations in the city and is filled with shops, restaurants and entertainment.

The Market is conveniently located alongside The Watershed design hub, and just a few steps from the Hop-on-Hop-off bus stop and the Two Oceans Aquarium. The closest parking is in the Portswood garage, just across Dock Road from the Market.

Need directions? You'll find the Time Out Market Cape Town here on Google Maps.  

What will you find at Time Out Market Cape Town?

Time Out Market Cape Town offers 13 kitchens, all run by leading local chefs and restaurateurs, alongside four unique bars pouring fine wines from the Cape, local craft beers, and a list of creative cocktails. 

There is a stage for live performances and, of course, plenty of space for guests to eat, drink and be merry. There are 750 seats in total, including quayside tables with jaw-dropping Table Mountain views.

Which chefs are cooking at Time Out Market Cape Town?

The market’s 13 kitchens play host to some of the most innovative chefs and restaurateurs from across Cape Town and the Cape Winelands. Together they offer a tasty snapshot that shows just why Cape Town is one of the world's culinary hotspots. 

Time Out Market Cape Town Chefs

Ramenhead
Photograph: Ramenhead

Ramenhead

Within days of Ramenhead opening in Cape Town in 2022 there were queues out the door, as hungry locals lined up for the best noodles in the city. That’s not surprising, as Peter Tempelhoff, Ashley Moss and Jennifer Hugé – the culinary creatives behind Ramenhead and award-winning Fyn Restaurant – scoured Tokyo and Osaka for time-honoured ramen recipes, returning with the first (and only) Yamato noodle machine in Africa. The trio brings that same passion and focus to Time Out Market Cape Town, with Ramenhead’s seaside outpost offering a compact list of Asian plates and slurpable ramen bowls.

De Vrije Burger
Photograph: Reinhardt

De Vrije Burger

It’s a burger bar, but not as you know it – and that’s thanks to the creativity of prolific restaurateur, chef and TV personality Bertus Basson. With a brace of popular restaurants across the Cape, Basson is passionate about celebrating homegrown South African flavours and culinary traditions. At De Vrije Burger you can count on having your hands full with his next-level burgers made with free-range beef and homemade buns.

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The Melting Pot Seafood
Photograph: The Melting Pot

The Melting Pot Seafood

Right now, you have to drive for an hour from Cape Town to the Elgin Valley to taste chef John Van Zyl’s cooking. Well, that’s about to change. And while his Elgin restaurant The Melting Pot will remain worth the trip for its concise menu of globally-inspired small plates, there’s a whole new take on the Melting Pot experience coming to Time Out Market Cape Town. Here, Van Zyl turns his focus to the Cape’s bountiful seafood while drawing plenty of inspiration from his own travels abroad. That’ll mean anything from tuna sashimi with fermented black bean dressing, coconut and mint, through to beer-battered hake sliders with smoked potato purée and (of course) a best-in-class tartar sauce.

How Bao Now
Photograph: Matt Du Toit

How Bao Now

This upscale take on Asian street food brings together the considerable talents of two of the city’s top chefs: Matt van den Berg and Carla Schulze. Fluffy bao buns are, unsurprisingly, the star of the show, but this creative duo also bring a decidedly Cape perspective to classic Asian bites. While their Woodstock outpost will continue to draw a hungry crowd, at Time Out Market Cape Town they’ll be plating up exclusive flavour combos such as crayfish bao infused with Cape Malay flavours and a coconut and curry furikake, or wagyu sando-bao with a chilli crunch mayo, tonkatsu and pickled cucumber.

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CARNE
Photograph: Supplied

CARNE

Giorgio Nava is a household name in Cape Town, as beloved for his mellifluous Italian accent as his deft hand in the kitchen. A staple of the city’s restaurant scene for the past 20 years, Nava brings his trend-setting steak eatery CARNE to the Time Out Market Cape Town. Since opening in the city’s legal district in 2008, CARNE has set the bar for remarkable steak dishes served in a minimalist Italian tradition, with a field-to-table philosophy that’s focused firmly on provenance. Salt, pepper, olive oil and the finest quality free-range cuts… that’s all Nava needs to make a little Milanese magic.

The Siba Deli
Photograph: Zhann Solomans

The Siba Deli

Homegrown celebrity chef Siba Mtongana brings a sprinkle of proudly South African seasoning to the Market experience, with  The Siba Deli. Famous worldwide as the host of ‘Siba's Table’ on The Cooking Channel, Mtongana is also a multi-award-winning chef, television presenter, author and restaurateur.

While her eponymous restaurant in the V&A Waterfront offers an elevated take on South African cuisine, The Siba Deli dishes up a more relaxed culinary experience while retaining Siba’s focus on freshness and a subtle infusion of local flavours in everything from wholesome salads and delicious dips, to traditional sticky wings and spicy chakalaka sauce.

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YARD
Photograph: YARD

YARD

From a cult classic in the city to claiming a coveted spot at Time Out Market Cape Town, Eugene Smith’s YARD brings an inimitable approach to pizza. Atop their signature hand-stretched dough you’ll find four classic YARD flavours flying out of the ovens. Whether your poison is New York pepperoni, barbecue chicken, spicy Italian salami or the heady mix of blue cheese and caramelised onions, expect the generous pizzas from YARD to come standard with a side order of their (in)famously cheeky service.

Barakat
Photograph: Barakat

Barakat

Cape Malay cuisine – blending European and Asian culinary influences – speaks to the colourful history of the Cape, and few chefs offer an experience as unique as Anwar Abdullatief. Chef Anwar pioneered the Halaal fine-dining scene in Cape Town, and at Barakat he – together with his wife; TV star and celebrity chef Yolani Abrahams – flips Cape Malay cuisine on its head with a thoroughly contemporary take on traditional plates. From slow-braised osso buco to traditional tomato bredie, Barakat share the flavours and fables of the Cape’s home-grown cuisine.

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Sushiya
Photograph: Supplied

Sushiya

Chef Peter Tempelhoff and chef Shin Takagi – owner of two-star Michelin restaurant Zeniya in Kanazawa, Japan – bring a unique collaboration to the Market with Sushiya. Billed as an upscale ‘sushi shop’ offering authentic yet contemporary Japanese sushi, Sushiya's menu at Time Out Market Cape Town will comprise a series of small dishes with classic pickled and preserved Japanese-style vegetables, a variety of modern nigiri platters, a platter of maki, and temaki and gunkan maki infused with local and classic Japanese flavours, among other delicacies available for diners to enjoy. Expect Tempelhoff and Takagi to equally showcase their dedication to sustainable sourcing, craftsmanship and tradition. Stand by for a shake-up of the city’s best sushi!

Kapoochka
Photograph: Supplied

Kapoochka

Stepping up from his current V&A location at the Makers Landing incubator hub is chef Hitesh Panchal who brings Kapoochka to Time Out Market Cape Town. Kapoochka – which Panchal runs with his two sons – dishes up a contemporary take on Indian street food with a creative focus on more-ish pani puri. Considered the king of street food across India, pani puri are crispy hollow balls of dough, deep-fried and filled with potato, lentils, three chutneys and a spiced water. At Kapoochka look forward to an array of savoury and sweet creations.

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MLILO ‘Fires of Africa’
Photograph: Alix-Rose Cowie

MLILO ‘Fires of Africa’

There was an audible sigh of disappointment across the city when chef Vusi Ndlovu wrapped up his most recent pop-up in Cape Town, but the city’s foodies will be thrilled to hear he has a new home at Time Out Market. With MLILO ‘Fires of Africa’, Ndlovu brings a truly pan-African experience to the menu, interpreting the many ways that cultures across the continent have incorporated fire into their cooking. Look forward to an elevated take on the traditional Zulu shisanyama barbecue, a taste of Senegal in the lamb didi, or the Kenyan classic nyama choma – thinly sliced beef – with a fresh kachumbari salad.

NØSH CAFÉ
Photograph: Supplied

NØSH CAFÉ

Created by the team behind beloved South African speciality coffee brand Origin, NØSH CAFÉ offers an entirely unique coffee experience, brewing up three of the city’s finest artisan roasters: Origin, Truth and Tribe.

In 2006 Origin’s co-founder Joel Singer was one of the roasting revolutionaries who introduced Cape Town to the delights of single-origin beans, artisan roasts and barista-style coffee. Today Singer brings that same passion to NØSH CAFÉ, showcasing the Mother City’s vibrant coffee culture. And to accompany that cortado? Alongside the coffee, NØSH CAFÉ serves all-day breakfasts and an eclectic menu of light meals and baked goods inspired by global travel. All with a down-to-earth neighbourhood feel packed with local flavour.

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Unframed Ice Cream
Photograph: Unframed Ice Cream

Unframed Ice Cream

For dessert, we’ve got the scoop on the best ice cream in the Mother City. Key to Unframed’s runaway success is the innovative flavour creations dreamt up by founder Yann Rey. Ever wondered what lemon-infused olive oil and white chocolate ice cream might taste like? Here’s your chance to find out. Every flavour combination is crafted from scratch, in small batches and from quality ingredients, drawing heavily on what’s fresh and in season in the Cape. No surprise then that Unframed has been rated amongst the world’s greatest ice-cream parlours.

Time Out Market Cape Town Bars

Culture Wine Bar
Photograph: Nickey Bothma

Culture Wine Bar

You may be familiar with white Burgundy, or Left Bank Bordeaux, but understanding the strengths and stars of the Cape vineyards requires expert insight. That’s where chef Matt Manning comes in, as he brings Bree Street’s hugely popular Culture Wine Bar to Time Out Market Cape Town. Look forward to an extensive wine list, including a wide range by the glass, that’ll take you on a vinous road trip through the Cape. From the cool-climate vineyards of Elgin and big-hitters of Stellenbosch to the pioneers breaking new ground in the Swartland, Culture Wine Bar captures the best of the Cape in the glass.

Dry Dock Bar

Located on the ground floor and the heart of the Market with a wide offering of premium beverages that include cocktails, wine, and non-alcoholic drinks.

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Pumphouse Bar

This is where craft beer dreams meet classic favourites. With twelve taps on offer – nine of which are dedicated to local artisanal craft ales – this is the grand assembly of brews.

Studio Bar

This quintessential cocktail bar is located on the mezzanine level, known as the Time Out Studio which doubles as the Market’s cultural event space. Located in the cultural pulse point of the Market, it welcomes anyone with an appetite for ambience. 

More Time Out Markets

Time Out Market was born in Lisbon back in 2014, and the fan-favorite dining destination is still a mainstay among locals and tourists.

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Located steps from Fenway Park, Time Out Market Boston offers a taste of the city's storied dining scene, complete with lobster rolls and deli eats.

Spread across three floors, Time Out Market Chicago brings fine-dining eats and local staples to the city's veritable dining epicenter, the West Loop.

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Time Out Market makes its debut in the United Arab Emirates with this gobsmackingly gorgeous locale situated in Dubai's Souk Al Bahar.

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