Gardens Restaurants

Arnold's is a cosy but vibey restaurant in Cape Town's City Bowl.Famous for their Early Bird Breakfast as well as lunch specials and game dishes like crocodile ribs, warthog ribs, oryx steaks and great salads. Enjoy happy hour while you take in the mountain views (from 4.30 pm for 2 hours every day) or treat yourself to the best cheese cake!Need to know? Open 7 days a week from 6.45am to late (8am Saturday & Sunday), outside dining till 10pm.

Brimming with eclectic décor, quirky artifacts and nostalgic nick-knacks, Bombay Bicycle Club creates a space fit for a gypsy with a wild bohemian attitude and uplifting vibe. The menu caters with fun and relaxed food comprising of soups, pastas, carpacious, fillets and tangines washed back with a well suited bottle of wine. Try the meltingly tender slow-cooked springbok shank or lip licking sticky ribs! The gorgeous interior oozes comfort, cosines and attitude, giving the eye plenty to look at while enjoying the fruits of Bombay Bicycle on Kloof Street, Gardens.

Café Chic boasts a classic French bistro taste and a menu that flirts with the palate and cool and un-usual ways. Try the squid-ink tagliatelle served with swordfish, or the dreamy Grand Marnier soufflé for dessert complimented by a small local wine list and grand highly priced French version. Extensive cocktails and cognacs cater variety as do they various rooms that slip off the main annex of the house. Begin the night perusing the menu in one of two elegant restaurants or the heavenly patisserie, then wet the palate in the grand Moroccan chill out tent furnished in velvet drapes and soft lounging cushions. Café Chic is open for breakfast and lunch and light meals such as tapas and drinks in the evening.

The Cookshop is the ideal spot for breakfast or lunch, especially when you get the chance to try their secret homemade mayo recipe. Expect the usual favourites for breakfast enjoyed exclusively at the breakfast club meetings only. But lunch cracks the nod weekdays and can be enjoyed by all. Think free-range roast chicken, cucumber and rocket on rye or ciabatta topped off with coriander-chili mayo. Parmesan French toast with slow-roasted tomatoes and crispy bacon and an organic flat white to round it off. The menu tempts with gourmet sandwiches, tasty soups, salads and bakes and their utterly decadent balsamic onion marmalade. Enjoy the mini organic market every Tuesday, a perfect accompaniment to a delicious lunch and good cup of coffee.

With breathtaking views of Table Mountain, this buzzing restaurant boasts a chic and trendy interior, relaxed enough to enjoy with the family and trendy enough to hang out with your friends. The menu focuses on sexy food, in generous servings and gourmet breakfasts that will have you coming back for more. For breakfast indulge in the French toast with fried banana, syrup and peppadews or flap­jacks with mascarpone and strawberries drenched syrup. For lighter meals try the bacon, feta, avocado and moz­zarella tramezeni. Lull away the hours over a lazy breakfast or languid lunch at Liquorice and Lime in Gardens.

This café cum bar cum restaurant entices with lunch and nibbles and delicious coffee alongside a deli dedicated to nothing other than mozzarella. Serving light meals with an Italian influence and the best mozzarella in South Africa, you will find this bar the ideal place to drink coffee and read a paper, eat breakfast or nibble on a light lunch before shopping for mozzarella.

Now trading by day too, extending onto the sidewalk, diners relax on comfortable high chairs sipping frothy cappuccinos indulging in tasty croissants. Enjoy some light meals if the sweeter things in life don’t tempt you at Ooh La La for lunch or dinner.

This trendy hotspot in Kloof Street, Gardens brings the taste of the Orient to Cape Town. The elegant Vietnamese menu tinged Japanese influences provides a colourful and orchestral explosion of taste and flavours. For starters try the grilled chicken skewers or do-it-yourself lettuce wraps layered with prawns, fresh herbs, noodles and sweet chilli sauce. Popular main courses such as the chicken cashew nuts, spicy beef basil with chilli sauce and the battered Saigon ginger fish tantalize and come with a selection rice or noodles. Desert pleases with Saigon's exotic deep-fried ice cream – a melt in the mouth batter casting filled with ice cream then served with their honey syrup. The ambiance beckons relaxation and indulgence flanked by magnificent views of Table Mountain! Booking essential.

The delicious interior relaxes and inspires the senses while the gourmet cuisine indulges the palate and tempts with decadent cakes on display and delicious aroma of coffee filling the air. Enjoy a tasty selection from the menu dining indoors or alfresco at Shelley’s Gourmet Café in Kloof Street.

Remaining true to Japan, the Japanese themes and traditional paintings create an air of authenticity, complimented by well-known sushi dishes and chef’s specialties. Dine alfresco or relax in the more formal dining room. If sushi beacons, then enjoy a casual dining experience at the sushi counter flanked by colourful dishes and décor. The Asian menu focuses on curries, stir-fries and noodles, or traditional favourites such as the sizzling beef on a hotplate or the chicken with cashew nuts. Try the popular steamed or pan-fried dumplings available in prawn, pork, and spicy or vegetarian options. The chef’s specialties come highly recommended or the red duck curry or Peking duck with pancakes rounded off with banana and chocolate spring rolls.