You might think that South Africa, with at least 35 indigenous languages and a large immigrant population speaking many others, would have a wide range of cuisines. And you’d be right. Here’s our guide to the many amazing foods in South Africa, and where to try them.
Biltong is one of South Africa’s most recognizable snacks. It goes back thousands of years, when local communities dried strips of meat in the open air as a way to preserve food. Later, Dutch settlers added vinegar, coriander seeds, black pepper, and salt, which shaped the flavor people are familiar with today.
The key difference between biltong and jerky is the drying method. Biltong isn’t cooked with heat but air-dried, which gives it a thicker texture and that distinct coriander taste. It was once essential for long journeys and survival in harsh conditions, carried by Voortrekkers and soldiers, and it remains a go-to snack across the country.
Where to try: Bobaas Biltong in Springs (East Rand, Gauteng)
This family-run shop is known for staying true to the old way of making biltong. They use carefully chosen cuts of meat, season them traditionally, and let them dry slowly. The result is biltong with a rich, authentic taste that stands out from faster, more modern methods.
Western Cape - one of the best regions for visiting restaurants in South Africa
Boerewors, meaning “farmer’s sausage” in Afrikaans, is a staple at any South African braai. The sausage came to the Cape with Dutch and German settlers in the 1600s and has stuck ever since.
By law, boerewors must contain at least 90 percent meat, always including beef, and no more than 30 percent fat. The spice mix is just as important, usually a blend of coriander seeds, black pepper, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg.
The coarse grind gives it a distinct texture, and it is always cooked in a coil over open flames. The trick is to never pierce the sausage while it cooks, which keeps the juices inside and builds that smoky flavor everyone associates with a braai.
Where to try: The Boer & Butcher in Durbanville
This butcher and eatery is known for making boerewors in the traditional way, using quality meat and the right balance of spices. Grilled over the braai, their sausage has the flavor and texture you expect from proper boerewors.
Coastline in Western Cape
Sosaties are South Africa’s version of kebabs, first made by the Cape Malay community. The key is the marinade, usually a mix of curry spices, garlic, chilies, tamarind juice, and curry leaves.
Lamb is traditional, though chicken is common too. After marinating overnight, the meat is skewered with peppers, onions, and sometimes dried apricots, then grilled over open flames. The mix of savory spices with the sweetness of apricot or jam is what gives sosaties their distinctive taste.
Where to try: Biesmiellah, Cape Town
Biesmiellah is a well-known place for Cape Malay cooking, with recipes that have been passed down through generations. Their sosaties bring out the balance of spice and sweetness that comes from long marinating and careful grilling. It is a good place to try this dish in Cape Town.
The secret of one-pot stew is the traditional, three-legged, cast-iron pot
Potjiekos means “small pot food” and is a traditional stew that dates back to the Voortrekkers. It is cooked outdoors in a heavy, three-legged cast-iron pot called a potjie.
The stew is prepared in layers and left to cook slowly without stirring, so each ingredient keeps its own flavor while still blending into a rich dish. Common ingredients include meat, vegetables such as carrots, pumpkin, or cabbage, and a starch like rice or potatoes. The seasoning often reflects Dutch and Cape Malay influences.
Where to try: Die Gat Restaurant, Oudtshoorn (Klein Karoo)
Die Gat prepares potjiekos in the traditional way, using cast-iron pots over open fires. Being in the Karoo, the stew often features local game or ostrich meat with regional vegetables. The slow outdoor cooking process is what gives potjiekos its character, with the ingredients developing flavor over time.
Winelands in Western Cape
Karoo lamb is shaped by the land it comes from. Sheep graze freely across the semi-arid Karoo, feeding on fynbos plants like rooibos and wild rosemary.
That natural diet gives the meat a light herbal flavor that reflects the region’s landscape. Because the Karoo is dry and rugged, the sheep grow lean, which adds to the depth of the meat. Eating Karoo lamb connects you to farming traditions that have adapted to this environment for centuries.
Where to try: Prince Albert Cafe, Prince Albert
Prince Albert Cafe sources lamb directly from local farmers, keeping the focus on the flavor of the meat itself. In this small Victorian village in the Great Karoo, with the Swartberg Mountains in the distance, you taste the lamb in the very place it is raised, shaped by the same fynbos plants growing all around.
Cape Town
Bobotie is a Cape Malay dish with roots going back to the 17th century. It is made with spiced minced meat, usually beef or lamb, mixed with curry powder, dried fruit, and bread soaked in milk. The mixture is baked with an egg custard on top.
The result is a dish where savory spices, raisins or apricot jam, and the creamy topping come together in a layered way. Its story ties back to Indonesian influences, brought by enslaved people who reworked their cooking traditions with ingredients available in the Cape. Today it is a dish that reflects both history and home cooking.
Where to try: Bo-Kaap Kombuis, Cape Town
Bo-Kaap Kombuis is a family-run restaurant that has been part of the neighborhood for nearly two decades. Owners Yusuf and Nazli Larney prepare bobotie from family recipes passed down through generations, keeping Cape Malay food traditions alive. Located in the Bo-Kaap, with wide views of Table Mountain and the city.
Bobotie - a dish from Cape Town
Chakalaka is a spicy relish that started in Johannesburg’s townships and around the gold mines. Mozambican mineworkers are said to have made it after long shifts, cooking tinned tomatoes and beans with chili in a style that reminded them of Portuguese relish, usually to go with pap.
Over time it grew into the version you find today, made with tomatoes, onions, peppers, beans, carrots, chilies, and curry powder. It is usually served cold, with a tangy heat that works well alongside meat dishes and pap. Chakalaka also shows how South African food pulls from different influences, combining Portuguese, African, and Indian flavors into something that feels distinctly local.
Where to try: Sakhumzi Restaurant, Soweto
Sakhumzi Restaurant in Soweto is a good place to try chakalaka close to its roots. The kitchen prepares it in a straightforward, traditional way that reflects the resourcefulness of the communities that created it. Eating it here connects you to its history as a dish that brings people together at family meals and gatherings.
Eastern Cape coastline
Cape Malay curry is one of South Africa’s most distinctive food traditions, shaped by Indonesian, Malaysian, and African influences brought by enslaved people under the Dutch East India Company.
Without access to ingredients like coconut milk and tamarind, they reworked their recipes using what was available, such as cumin, coriander, turmeric, and rice. Cape Malay curries are known for their sweet and savory balance, often made with dried fruit, mild spices, and fragrant herbs.
They are gentler than Indian curries, with warm flavors from cinnamon, cardamom, and star anise, a reminder of the old spice trade routes. This style of cooking shows how communities preserved their food culture while adapting to new circumstances, creating a tradition that is both resilient and rooted in South African history.
Where to try: Mariam’s Kitchen, Cape Town
Mariam’s Kitchen in Cape Town prepares Cape Malay dishes using recipes that have been passed down through generations. Their curries highlight the typical sweet and savory flavor and the careful mix of spices that make this style of cooking distinct.
Bunny Chow - Durban’s most popular street food
Koeksisters are plaited pieces of dough, deep-fried until crisp and then soaked in syrup. The result is a pastry with a crunchy outside and a sticky, sweet inside.
There are two main styles: the Afrikaner version, which is denser and soaked through with syrup, and the Cape Malay version, which is softer, spongier, and rolled in coconut. The name translates to “cake sister,” and you’ll find that most families have their own way of making them, with small tricks for getting the plait tight or the syrup just right. They are as much about tradition and celebration as they are about taste.
Where to try: Wembley Roadhouse, Athlone, Cape Town
Wembley Roadhouse makes koeksisters using long-practiced methods. The focus is on consistency, from the frying temperature to the syrup absorption, which gives them the balance of crunch and sweetness that makes people keep coming back.
Landscape in Kwazulu-Natal
Pap, or mieliepap, is a maize porridge that forms part of daily life in South Africa. It is similar to American grits and can be made smooth and soft, thicker like polenta, or firm enough to cut into shapes.
It is usually served with chakalaka, gravy, or a stew, and it is a key part of a braai where it balances the rich flavors of grilled meat and spicy sides. Pap is simple, filling, and shared across the country, which is why it feels so central to meals and gatherings.
Where to try: Mzoli's, Gugulethu (Cape Town)
At Mzoli’s, a township butchery and braai in Gugulethu, pap is served the traditional way. It comes alongside meat cooked over the fire and plenty of chakalaka. Eating here is as much about the lively, communal atmosphere as it is about the food.
Village in Kwazulu-Natal
Umngqusho is a Xhosa dish made with samp (dried corn kernels) and beans, usually sugar beans or cowpeas. It’s cooked slowly until everything softens into a hearty, filling meal.
Beyond being comforting to eat, it’s deeply tied to tradition. Communities have relied on it for generations, not just for flavor but also for its nutrition. The combination of grains and legumes creates a complete protein, a practice that shows an understanding of food and health long before modern nutrition studies explained it.
Where to try: Gold Restaurant, Cape Town
Gold Restaurant in Cape Town serves umngqusho as part of a menu that highlights traditional South African cooking. The dish is prepared with care for its roots, and the setting gives you some context about its place in the country’s food culture.
Landscape in Free State
Tomato bredie is a Cape Malay–influenced stew made with lamb, tomatoes, beans, and spices like cinnamon, cardamom, chili, and ginger.
The word “bredie” comes from the Dutch breiden, which means to braise. The method is slow and steady, allowing the lamb to become tender while the tomatoes and spices turn into a rich sauce.
Some early versions even included Cape water lilies. The balance of sweet tomatoes with warm spices makes it distinct.
Where to try: Ons Huisie, Bloubergstrand (Western Cape)
Ons Huisie, a long-established restaurant on the Bloubergstrand waterfront, makes tomato bredie in the traditional way. The lamb is braised until soft, with spices and tomatoes worked into a flavorful stew. Eating it here comes with wide views across the Atlantic toward Robben Island.
Boerewors - "farmer’s sausage”
Malva pudding is one of South Africa’s classic desserts. It’s a sticky baked pudding made with flour, sugar, eggs, butter, and apricot jam, then soaked in a hot cream sauce as soon as it comes out of the oven. The jam gives it a caramel-like sweetness, while the vinegar in the batter helps create that soft, spongy texture people love.
No one knows exactly where the name comes from. Some say it relates to geranium leaves, which are called malva in Afrikaans, others think it might be linked to Malvasia wine, or even to someone who once went by the name Malva.
Where to try: Woolworths, nationwide
If you just want to taste it without baking your own, Woolworths sells malva pudding in stores across South Africa. Their version stays close to the traditional recipe and is easy to heat at home, so it’s a good way to try this dessert wherever you are in the country.
Mpumalanga
Denningvleis is a Cape Malay lamb dish slow-cooked with tamarind and spices. The tamarind gives it a slightly sour edge that balances with the natural richness of the meat. Cooked over time, the lamb absorbs the flavors and turns tender, creating a dish that’s both hearty and layered in taste.
The recipe comes from the Cape Malay community, whose cooking has long used spice blends and Southeast Asian influences.
Where to try: Mamasan, Johannesburg
In Johannesburg, Mamasan includes denningvleis on their menu, prepared with the same slow-cooking method that defines the dish. The lamb is rich and tender, and the tamarind and spice combination comes through clearly, giving you a real sense of what makes this recipe so distinct.
Chakalaka - common side dish for BBQ in restaurants in South Africa
Umqombothi is a traditional South African beer made with maize meal, sorghum malt, yeast, and water. It’s low in alcohol and has a slightly sour taste, with a creamy texture from natural fermentation. For centuries it’s been part of ceremonies, family gatherings, and everyday life in many African communities.
The brewing is usually done together, often led by women who pass the techniques down through generations. Drinking umqombothi is as much about the experience and tradition as the taste.
Where to try: SAB World of Beer in Newtown, Johannesburg
The SAB World of Beer in Newtown, Johannesburg, is one of the best places to learn about South Africa’s brewing history and taste umqombothi alongside modern beers. Guides there explain its cultural background, so you’ll walk away with context as well as a sample brewed in the traditional way.
The view of the Johannesburg
Roosterkoek, meaning “grilled cake,” is a bread roll cooked over coals on a braai. The outside is crisp, the inside stays soft, and you get a distinct smoky flavor from the fire. It’s usually made while the meat is on the grill, and you can eat it plain, buttered, or filled with things like cheese, jam, or leftover braai meat.
Part of its appeal is how it fits into braai culture. Everyone gathers around the fire, and while the meat is cooking, the bread is grilling too. Getting it right without burning it takes a bit of practice, which is why braai enthusiasts take pride in making good roosterkoek.
Where to try: Route 27 Farmstall in the Western Cape
Route 27 Farmstall on the West Coast (Western Cape) keeps the tradition alive by baking roosterkoek over open flames. It’s a laid-back stop where you can enjoy fresh bread with other classic farm dishes, all with the breeze off the coast in the background.
Koeksisters are made by frying folded dough that is then coated in syrup
written by
Dre Roelandt
updated 01.09.2025
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