Listed: Restaurants to visit during winter in Cape Town to warm you up

It’s known that Cape Town becomes quiet in the colder months. People don’t venture out as much preferring to stay home. These restaurants might change that.

Winter in Cape Town consists of shorter days, longer nights and moody skies, leading locals into a 3- month hibernation mode. Capetonians don’t have the best track record when it comes to dealing with winter. At the first sign of rain we cancel our plans at the last minute, we forget how to drive, and we disappear into a crowd of bomber jackets.

But if these great restaurants don’t lure you from under your comfy duvets to warm you up, nothing will!

The Sorrows.

Located at the bottom of Kloof Nek, this bar and restaurant aims to “add a little humour to your darker days”, inviting you to “come as you are, whether you’re celebrating or drowning your sorrows”.

Here, you will be anything but sorrowful, however, with their latest menu serving up comfort food along the lines of peri-peri chicken wings, deep-fried zucchini, Karoo lamb chops, stuffed wild mushrooms, salted peanut butter cheesecake, and Rocky Road chocolate tart.

Delicious food, combined with excellent service and beautiful décor, makes this venue the perfect place for “an evening of revelry with friends, or a solo night out to drown your sorrows”.

Lou Lou’s

Situated in Green Point, this New York-style restaurant is where you meet up with some friends after work for a few drinks. It’s also where you end up staying for dinner because of the cosy gas fireplaces surrounding the restaurant and the live music playing in the background.

Some of their best dishes include chicken schnitzels served with creamy mushroom sauce, beef burgers with caramelized red onions and Norwegian salmon served with roasted baby potatoes.

Mouth-watering food, with soothing jazz playing in the background, is perfect to end off any day of the week. P.S. They also have a DJ on the decks every Friday and Saturday evening.

The Two Oceans Restaurant.

Whether you want to explore your own city, simply enjoy a truly stunning view of a proper Cape storm across the Atlantic Ocean, or treat tourist friends visiting in winter, the Two Oceans Restaurant at Cape Point is the place for you.

Cape Point is one of the Mother City’s ’Big ‘Seven’ attractions and an official Natural World Heritage Site, just 60km from Cape Town’s city centre. The Two Oceans restaurant offers breath-taking views over False Bay, and a menu featuring everything a seafood lover could possibly desire.

The Restaurant is also running a special: a free kid’s meal with every main meal ordered. That’s taste, views and good prices all in one!

The Raptor Room.

If you’re looking for comfort food with a quirky vibe, this is it!

The Raptor Room serves “tasty delectables to suit all appetites”. Think nibbles of popcorn chicken and mushroom risotto balls. Or how about hearty portions of classic mac and cheese, roasted tomato soup with a grilled cheese on the side for dunking and devouring? Or the ’you gats-tby kidding me’ stuffed with ‘Jurassic Pork’?.

If you have a sweet tooth, you won’t be disappointed with their selection of waffles, malva pudding, chocolate samosas and healthy-choice bliss balls.

The Raptor Room is also open for brunch, serving dishes such as smashed avo, flapjacks, and banana bread French toast.

Rick’s Café Américain.

Rick’s Café is one of the cosiest restaurants in Cape Town and a firm favourite for anyone who is a fan of the 1940’s classic Casablanca.

With its three fireplaces, it makes for a perfect winter’s day. From Monday to Friday you can grab lunch including hake in beer batter with homemade tartar sauce, Moroccan spiced fishcakes served with roasted vegetables, Mexican-flavoured chicken strips with peppers, and mushrooms in a savoury pancake.

Rick’s Café is also among one of the top drinking spots in Cape Town, both because of the happy atmosphere and the fact that there are more than 500 beverage options – from wines, brandies, whiskies and beers and more than 30 different types of tequila – to suit every drinker on any budget.