Kalkbaai Restaurants

Cafe Matisse is yet another funky restaurant on the short stretch of packed tourist stretch of Kalk Bay High Street. Although small ? and really a bit gloomy ? they serve excellent pizza and a variety of smaller snacks and afternoon bites.
Cafe Matisse suffers, like several other restaurants on the west side of the high street from not having any garden or outdoor space which would make this an altogether different place to eat.

Habenro’s has the misfortune to be right next to one of the most popular cafés in the Cape Town area, the Café Olympia, yet makes little attempt to compete for the obvious custom in this dynamic little town. Despite some endearing wall frescos and mosaic features (check out the huge one just inside the door), the service is unacceptably slow and the Mexican food leaden and rather tame. Mexican restaurants are always best when packed out, heaving with noise, music and energy – and Habanero’s is none of these.

Favorite Dish: Chili con carne with tortillas (there's a Mexican name for these, but I can't remember what it is!)

Kalk Bay Expresso
Squeezed into a tight alleyway and an old railway carriage (between Café Sirocco and an antiques shop) by Kalk Bay station is the Klak Bay Expresso, a friendly pancake-cum-coffeeshop-cum-restaurant. When the south-easters are blowing (often in summer!), the alleyway provides a pleasant, sheltered and – for much of the day – sunny place to sit and contemplate the world.

Favorite Dish: Good coffee, good creamy pancakes

Unmissable bright blue parasols, a bright blue floor and white tubs of plants and flowers make this attractive open-air coffee house worth a stop, even more so to taste probably the best coffee found in Cape Town. The service is quick but relaxed and friendly. Like many of the establishments along the False Bay coast, they close early (5pm most days) although they won?t rush you to finish.

Favorite Dish: There is a limited menu of snacks and an all-day breakfast.