Gigi Rooftop at Gorgeous George: A Sky-High Designer Café + Bar

Opened in May 2019, just off the bustling St Georges Mall precinct, this gorgeous designer café gets top marks for style! The minute you step out of the lift onto the restaurant’s sixth-floor landing, you’re transported to a super-cool hotspot in Istanbul, Marrakech or Barcelona, where up-to-the-minute design, top-notch tipples, excellent service and great food await.

Design destination

Situated on the sixth-floor rooftop of Gorgeous George (one of 300 privately owned hotels worldwide in the Design Hotels stable), this chic 80-seater watering hole has been exquisitely renovated, refurbed and decorated, with a curated selection of the city’s hottest design talents adding their creative mark to the heritage building. Award-winning designer Tristan du Plessis is responsible for the plush, contemporary-African interior design, with lighting and furniture by David Krynauw, Gregor Jenkin, Studio 19 and Douglas&Co. Lucie de Moyencourt’s Delft-esque table tiles will have your jaws wagging!

Outside, an emerald-green glass-panelled swimming pool, and views of whitewashed heritage buildings, give the wooden and terracotta-tiled pool deck a slick design edge, but the vibe here is easy and laidback, with lots of noise and chatter – the odd family can even be spotted among the hip city slickers.

Easy eats

Chef Kyle du Plooy (who took over the kitchen recently) has focused his menu on simple modern classics with a sustainable edge. Kyle, who honed his craft with Bertus Basson at Eike, combines a love of foraging, gardening and seasonal ingredients with the Cape Malay cuisine of his mother and grandmother’s kitchens.(Check out his Cape Malay fish tartare with ginger and curry leaf.) You’ll feast on magnificent meat and fish dishes simply braaied over coals, baked Dalewood camembert, sumptuous salads, and divine vegetable dishes such as charcoal-grilled celeriac, or roast pumpkin and potato gnocchi.

Cocktail hour

And then there’s the bar, where creative cocktails infused with playful, exotic flavours are served in an adventurous but super-chic, elegant way.

“The heart of Gigi is community. It’s where a melting pot of well-travelled, storied creatives meet with local powerhouses to have fun. It’s a rich blend of art, culture, romance and intrigue, so it’s only natural that our cocktail menu reflects that adventurous, playful colour, vibrancy and truly global craftsmanship.”

Open to the public from 7.30am until late, Gigi Rooftop is a one-stop destination for (design-savvy) diners seeking top-drawer fun with dollops of edge. Be it for a pre-work breakfast, light lunch, late-afternoon cocktail or a celebratory dinner, this cosy café provides a delicious escape away from the hustle of downtown Cape Town – from sunrise to sunset.

Opening times Breakfast: Monday – Sunday, 7am – 10am
Lunch: Monday – Sunday, 12pm – 5pm
Dinner: Monday – Sunday, 6pm – 11pm
Bar: Monday – Sunday, 12pm – 12am
Contact 087 898 6000, hello@gorgeousgeorge.co.za
Where to find it Gorgeous George, 118 St George’s Mall, Cape Town
Book through DinePlan

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