From the unique dishes they serve, to the freshly baked goods, excellent service and stunning indigenous setting, you’ll serve far and wide for a restaurant as beautiful as The Kirstenbosch Tea Room. For visitors to the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, the Tea Room is the most popular restaurant on the premises and locals come from all over Cape Town to enjoy what they have to offer. The restaurant is busy all weekend and a little more peaceful during the weeks. They serve breakfast until 11:15am daily and have a variety of all-day breakfast dishes, sandwiches, salads, comfort foods, light meals, cakes and desserts. There really is something for everyone at the Tea Room, not to mention their selection of wine, beer and allergy-friendly options. There’s always a great summery atmosphere in the air, even when the weather is miserable and the inside seating area is a better option than the more popular outside seating areas. The service is stellar and they also offer takeaways and quick bites to enjoy in the park if you’re in the mood for a picnic.

For lunch, I ordered one of the more adventurous African dishes on the menu, Shakshuka. This North African delight is basically poached eggs in a spicy tomato sauce served with crunchy homemade Italian bread and chips. First thing first; the chips were really delicious! It’s not often you come across really great chips but the ones serves at the Kirstenbosch Tea Room really blew my socks off. The Shakshuka was an incredible meal that was perfect for the cloudy, windy weather outside. It was filling, extremely tasty and not too spicy. It was definitely warming and the eggs were perfectly poached. What a unique and flavourful meal and big portion!

Along with my Shakshuka, I enjoyed a refreshing homemade iced rooibos tea. I would definitely recommend this to all visitors to the gardens and the Tea Room. It was great value for money and the tastiest ice tea I’ve ever tasted. I can’t wait to go back for more!