Time Out Market Cape Town

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’ll soon have a permanent presence at Time Out Market. With MLILO ‘Fires of Africa’, Ndlovu will bring 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 will share the flavours and fables of the Cape’s home-grown cuisine.

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.

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.