If you’re a South African living far from home, here’s a bit of good news worth savouring. Cape Town has once again earned a spot among the world’s culinary heavyweights. While you’ve been hunting down decent boerewors at the local butcher or paying a small fortune for a jar of Mrs Ball’s Chutney, the Mother City has been quietly cementing its reputation as a global food capital.
Time Out’s 2026 ranking placed Cape Town 11th in the world for food. That puts it in the same league as Mexico City, Melbourne, and New York. For anyone who grew up tucking into a Gatsby in Athlone or queuing for koesisters on a Sunday morning, this recognition probably comes as no surprise. But seeing it confirmed on a global stage? That hits differently when you’re an ocean away.
Where does Cape Town cuisine rank among the best food cities in the world?
Cape Town came in at number 11 in Time Out’s 2026 ranking of the best cities in the world for food. The annual list is built from a global survey of residents and assessed by Time Out’s international network of food experts. It measures food quality, affordability, innovation, diversity, and local dining culture.
It’s worth noting that Cape Town actually dropped from fourth place in 2025. Before you despair, the reason is purely about price. The city earned the third-highest score in the entire world for food quality, with 93% of locals rating its food scene positively. The slip in the overall rankings came down to affordability constraints, which, given the rand and the rising cost of eating out, won’t shock anyone who still keeps an eye on prices back home.
Why did Cape Town score so well for food quality?
The strength of Cape Town’s food scene lies in its diversity. The city blends Cape Malay spice, fresh coastal seafood, traditional African cooking, and a fine dining scene that competes with anywhere on earth. This is part of a wider wave of international recognition for South African food.
Earlier in 2026, Time Out ranked Zuney Burger’s Wagyu Burger as the second-best burger in the world, just behind Tokyo’s Smash Things. Johannesburg’s Mafia Bite took eighth place on the same burger list. South African pizza has also turned heads, with Johannesburg’s Little Kitchener’s Pizzeria and Cape Town’s Pizza Connection named among the world’s best.
What food is Cape Town famous for?
If the ranking has you feeling a little homesick, here are a few Cape Town classics worth remembering — or recreating in your own kitchen abroad.
- The Gatsby: A Cape Town institution. This foot-long sub sandwich is stuffed with chips, masala steak, polony, or any meat of choice or budget, then loaded with sauce. It’s designed to be shared, though plenty of people have managed one solo. Born in the working-class kitchens of the Cape Flats, the Gatsby is proper Cape Town fast food at its finest.
- Bobotie: Spiced minced meat baked under a golden egg custard, often served with yellow rice and chutney. Bobotie reflects the city’s Cape Malay heritage and remains one of South Africa’s most famous dishes.
- Cape Malay curry: Milder and sweeter than many of its Indian cousins, Cape Malay curry uses warm spices like cinnamon, cardamom, and turmeric. It’s comfort food that tells the story of the city’s cultural mix.
- Koesisters: A Cape Malay version of a donut, koesisters are spiced, rolled in coconut, and impossible to eat just one of.
- Fresh seafood: With two oceans on its doorstep, Cape Town’s seafood is hard to beat. From snoek and kingklip to West Coast mussels, the options are endless. But nothing beats a proper Cape Town fish and chips parcel from a local corner fisheries.
- Fine dining: At the top end, fine dining in Cape Town has become world-renowned, with degustation menus that draw food lovers from across the globe.
The culinary landscape of Cape Town is richly influenced by its Cape Malay heritage. This is evident in the fragrant spices and unique flavours found in iconic dishes, which tell the story of a vibrant culture shaped by history.
Celebrating the success of Cape Town cuisine
Cape Town’s place among the best food cities in the world is a reminder of just how rich South African culture and cuisine truly are. For those of us scattered across Australia, the UK, Canada, and beyond, news like this stirs up something familiar that pull towards home, and the table you grew up around.
Maybe it inspires a trip back to sample some Cape town cuisine for yourself. Maybe it just nudges you to dig out gran’s bobotie recipe this weekend. Either way, it’s worth celebrating that the food we grew up loving is now officially among the best on the planet.
FinGlobal: your cross-border tax specialists
As Cape Town cuisine continues to earn its place on the global stage, the same spirit of cross-border connection and opportunity extends beyond food into finance and global mobility—explore how we support South Africans abroad with tailored expat financial solutions.
Our plethora of emigration and financial services includes advice and guidance with FOREX, retirement annuity withdrawal, tax refunds, tax clearance, tax emigration, exchange control, pension income, and more.
Contact our professional team today for a friendly discussion regarding your emigration requirements! To contact us, simply give us a call at +27 28 313 5600 or email us at info@finglobal.com, and we will revert as soon as we possibly
Send us a message
Leave your details below including a short message and a financial consultant will contact you.
Licensed South African Financial Services Provider FSP # 42872
You have Successfully Subscribed!
FinGlobal Newsletter Subscription
Subscribe to the FinGlobal newsletter to receive all the latest news and information regarding our services and South African Expats.