Bertus Basson’s Little Black Book of Cape Town

As a chef, Bertus Basson strikes an easy balance between familiarity and finesse. His food draws on flavours we all recognise, then refines them just enough to feel both considered and refreshingly new. From Ongetem in Cape Town to Spek & Bone in Stellenbosch, his restaurants carry a strong sense of place and a distinct personality – much like the man himself. We sat down with the Harley-riding host with the most to uncover his favourite haunts in the two places he calls home: Cape Town and Stellenbosch.

Dining out in Cape Town

I often take my kids to Jason Bakery in Green Point. Jason Lilley is a good mate and my kids love the pancakes there. But my favourite is to drive past on a work day, grab a braised beef pie for breakfast, sit outside with my pie, a coffee and an orange juice, and gather myself before I tackle the day.

We love eating at Bao Down in Green Point. It’s always fun, with great staff and delicious food. We’ll order the pork bao and chicken bao, the cucumber salad, the mussels (they are just ridiculously delicious), the beef tataki, and a side of fried rice with everything. For the kids (and this is a top tip), they’ll do the fried chicken and the bao separately, without the spicy sauces. Owner Graham Oldfield also has kids, so he understands! There’s also a nice little wine list.

My family also loves Obi Restaurant at the bottom of Long Street. Ben Bettendorf and Papa San always put on a great show with delicious food and, another top tip for the kids, they get you out quickly. They’ve always got Japanese beer and a great selection of Japanese whiskeys. We’ll usually have the aubergine and the salmon skin – two really good little snacks to start with – and my kids have noodles or sushi. Delicious.

He Sheng in Sea Point is always good. We love their spicy pork tongue salad, and their beef shin salad… but the xiaolongbao, or soup dumplings, are the reason we all go there; they’re very special. Start with a few snacks and then go on to the bao and dumplings. We even get the soup dumplings as takeout (they deliver with Uber Eats).

I’m a massive fan of Clarke’s on Bree Street. Obviously the burger is great… I love the fat patty, good bun and great fries. But they also do simple drinks really well. Ask for a vodka orange and you’ll get the best orange juice with vodka. Simple. I love their service as well; it’s quite chilled and the people are rad.

From a bar perspective, The House of Machines is always good. It’s my vibe… I ride motorcycles and I’m a little bit wild, so when I’m there, it feels like a kindred spirit. It’s got great music, and I love their drinks. They’ve got a little cocktail list which is nice and focused.

Tommys Chop Shop in the East City, behind an outdoor store called Just like Papa in Harrington Street, is really, really good fun… great bar, good vibes, amazing music. They’ve also got a food truck called Tommys Tuck Shop at the back, and they’re really rad together.

In Bo-Kaap, I recommend Turkish Döner Haus, a kebab shop next to Atlas Spices. Just go for a lamb kebab. It’s a long queue at lunchtime, so be prepared to wait for half an hour or so, but it really is rad. I order the full house with everything in it. It’s got tomato, a bit of slaw, chilli sauce, onion… very lekker. There’s also a rad little bakery in the Bo-Kaap called Lion’s Bread.

I recently discovered the fabulous Riva Italian in De Waterkant. I met owner Federico Rocca at a motorcycle thing, and he’s such a flippin’ nice guy. The food is focused on fresh fish and there’s a great little winelist. When we were there we had amazing fresh tuna, some crayfish tails and really good handmade pastas. For the kids, it was simple: my son had this pasta with a bit of parmesan and butter, and my daughter had a bit of roast fish. Federico is really good with kids, the staff are lovely, and the quality of the food is so good.

I love Ramenhead because it’s such a simple thing: you walk in for a bowl of ramen, you have some dumplings, maybe some fried chicken… Co-owner Jen Hugé  has a great drinks list, and it’s also an easy spot for us with the kids. It’s in and out in an hour.

In Gardens, there’s a little pastry bar called Custodian. They do a braised beef and ale pie that’s incredibly delicious, and super coffee. Very nice people and happy vibes.

If you want to have some fun, go on a walking tour with Rupesh Kassen of Eat Like a Local. He takes you on walking tours of the Bo-Kaap and other places, and is super-knowledgeable, especially when it comes to food-related stuff. You stop at little coffee spots and restaurants, and even spaces I’ve never been… like the little tea room at the back of the restaurant in the Company’s Garden for a tea-tasting. Or the coffee shop called Heaven in the Methodist church on Burg Street – great coffee and a stunning spot.

The best fine-dining restaurants in central Cape Town are probably Fyn and Salsify. I love what chef Ryan Cole of Salsify does. He’s such a lekker oke, and he has such a love of South Africa, which is important. He’s managed to put his restaurant on the world stage in a beautiful way, and it’s an amazing dining experience. That said, the side of Cape Town I like most is the divey side… You don’t find the real Cape Town in all the flashy bits. You find the real Cape Town in the cracks.

Restaurants and bars in Stellenbosch

In Stellenbosch, I probably go to Genki most often. It’s this little sushi joint where we love eating with our kids. If you get there, speak to owners Richard and Charlene Waite; they always have a few special bottles of wine in the back if you want to drink something a bit different. And if they’ve got tempura soft-shell crab on the menu as a starter, it’s really good.

If I’m being biased, my other favourite for everyday eating is Spek & Bone, my little tapas bar. There’s a great winelist and, if you speak to Finn Adendorff, the manager and wine guy, he also always has one or two special bottles under the cupboard. There are really good small plates to share, so order as you go. My go-to is the Korean fried chicken. I hate having things on the menu for a long time, but the Korean fried chicken and the sauteed gnocchi with mushrooms have been on since day one. We’ve tried to take them off, but people give us a hard time so we put them back on.

I also like to visit a little place called Pane e Vino on Distillery Road. It’s only open for lunch, and serves great Italian wines and super-simple, incredible Italian food. The other great Italian restaurant in Stellenbosch is Decameron, a beautiful old-school restaurant that’s been around for 40 years.

Then there’s Mertia, an amazing restaurant in town. Matt van den Berg is the chef there and he’s a great guy. When it opened a couple of years ago, it was probably my favourite fine-dining restaurant of the year. The multi-course set menu is really skilfully prepared. Jess van Dyk from Post & Pepper does really good stuff as well.

If you walk along Dorp Street, have a drink at De Akker, an old student bar we love going to. It’s my favourite bar in Stellenbosch because there are always brandy-and-Coke specials. In fact, it’s not even a special anymore; it’s just given.

Up Andringa Street, there’s Balboa Balcony Bar, another stunning little spot with great drinks. Below it is Stellenbosch Books, my favourite bookstore in town. They have good imports, and some vinyl sometimes too. Our rule at our home is that you can buy whatever books you want. We love going there with the kids to pick up books, then get an ice cream next door. Ramon Corie owns both, and there’s also a little clothing store called Courage and Candy in the building.

Out and about in Stellenbosch

At the bottom of Dorp Street is the Rupert Museum. What’s amazing is that entry is free of charge, and they’ve probably got the biggest collection of Pierneef paintings in South Africa. I’m a big Pierneef fan and I sit in that Pierneef room and just take it in… it’s really cool stuff.

There’s also the Stellenbosch Museum, which doesn’t get as much airtime as it should. It’s really cool to see where Stellenbosch started and how our town came to life. Just across the road is the Botanical Garden, so you can walk all of this in quite a short time.

We’ve got a thing in Stellenbosch called The Bergpad, which is a multi-use trail behind the university rugby grounds. Again, it’s free of charge, and it’s where locals head for morning walks and runs; you can go all the way up the mountain for the best views. It’s a beautiful circular route and you can run it in about half an hour – up and down, through the neighbourhoods – or walk it in 45 minutes to an hour. It’s busy, so there are always people around you.

Wine-farm favourites

I love Rust en Vrede because of the hospitality offering. I love what chef Fabio Daniel does at the fancy restaurant, but I also like the fact that I can also go for a quick steak at the Tasting Room – it’s called the Winemaker’s Lunch and it’s really good. The wines are fabulous; I particularly love the Donkiesbaai Chenin.

I’m a big fan of Meerlust as well; their chardonnay and pinot noir are always good. Capensis Wines, over the Helshoogte Pass, make super-cool chardonnays.

Vilafonté Wines, Mike Ratcliffe’s brand, is also loads of fun. It’s on Distillery Road in town, but you can taste by appointment only so you need to plan in advance. They do three wines: Series C is predominantly cabernet sauvignon, Series M is merlot-driven, and then there’s a beautiful red blend called Seriously Old Dirt, which is an incredible everyday wine.

Lucas van Loggerenberg is probably one of South Africa’s coolest young winemakers, although again, you have to make an appointment for a tasting. He and his wife work extremely hard at their business, and Lucas makes amazing chenin. He’s just one of those winemakers that seems to do it better every year. And he’s such a peaceful personality…

I would also recommend Kaapzicht, an unassuming wine farm on the Bottelary Road, on the other side of Stellenbosch, owned by Danie and Carin Steytler. They’re just the raddest people… and the nicest people always make the coolest wines. Danie is like a proper leader in the wine industry, and his Kliprug Chenin is great. He’s also got a chenin called The 1947 – I think that’s when the family farm was established – which is also amazing.

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