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One of the best restaurants in the world, La Tupina consistently wins plaudits, but remains incredibly good value. You're likely to see owner Jean-Pierre Xiradakis cooking doorstops of beef over an open fire. And the wine list is more like a book, and handwritten.
6 Rue Porte de la Monnaie; tel: 5 56 91 56 37; www.latupina.com
Try the blueberry smoothies, I have thought about them ever since I returned to London from Cape Town four years ago!
Long Street
A lovely place to sip a coffee, glass of wine or local beer and watch the world go by. Friendly staff abound. Perfect for taking an afternoon break or making a night of it.
259 Long Street
A botanic garden, naturally, but it has thousands of plants all native to South Africa. It takes all day, but there is a nice eatery there too, as well as a bookshop. And from the back you can climb the old track up Table Mountain.
A bus goes from the bus station in the middle of the town, but check times. Journey is under 30 mins. The gardens are inland from the town centre.
This restaurant is a wild place to go - its speciality is chilli chocolate steak - and the place is very bohemian and buzzing. Once the food (which is very good) is served, the music gets turned up and fun begins. Everyone gets a silly hat to wear and the chance to dance to Abba, should the mood take you. If not, just sit back and enjoy the very relaxed atmosphere.
192 Loop Street
Cape Town
Explore the craft shops of Kalk Bay and have breakfast/lunch/dinner at
Olympia Cafe. It's a quirky and casual restaurant in Kalk Bay where fresh fish from the harbour is served daily.
Kalk Bay or St James Station
Hard to believe, but the latest craze in Brazil is coffee bars, due to the fact that until the mid-90s, all the good stuff was exported leaving the dregs for the locals. Luckily, the charge has been led by discerning locals rather than Starbucks.
Santo Grão is actually run by a Kiwi who married into a traditional producer's family but with the zeal of the newly converted he has opened a large café which organises tastings and also sells bulk coffee - try the coffees from Minas which are smoother than traditional Paulista ones, notably Cerrado Mineiro, but make sure they grind it properly.
Oscar Freire, 413
www.santograo.com.br/
Tucked away in the centre of SP but one of the great food markets of the world (IMHO) in a railway-station like building dating from 1928 - best place to buy fish/meat/cheese/fruit/spices - anything edible in SP (NB if you're going to buy fish like tuna/salmon, look for the Japanese owners and ask for sashimi quality)
Has also undergone a pleasing renovation with a glass-floored balcony section that allows you to admire the stained-glass windows or watch the commotion below while eating the famous pasteis de bacalhau - a fried A4 size pasty full of shredded salt cod, or sandwiches with gravity defying amounts of ham/salami/mortadella/cheese, etc. Not very good on veg, but there is a more conventional market across the road which sells live animals.
Rua da Cantareira - Metro São Bento (turn right and go down the hill to 25 de Março, then turn left).
Near the gates to Golden Gate Park in the Haight Ashbury (hippy dippy) district, the Citrus Club serves wonderful noodle dishes and soups at very low prices.
Sit at the bar and watch the chef operating his magic wok over a flame-thrower of a hob.
Perfect for lunch before a long tramp around the park.
Get the bus to Haight Ashbury and walk down the main drag towards the park (lots of thrift shops to dawdle in on the way). The Citrus Club is on the right, about 200m. before the park gates.
The food is superb and the wine is cheap and excellent. Solly and Jane welcome you and there is always something for the non-meat eaters. The best restaurant I have eaten in in South Africa.
108, Kloofnek Road,
Tamboerskloof.
Tel: (021) 424 3838
Indulge in afternoon tea at the Mount Nelson Hotel. Sandwiches, endless cups of tea, fabulous cakes (as much as you can eat). Served in a lovely lounge or on the shady terrace. Tea is served every afternoon. It is useful to book.
Mount Nelson Hotel, 76 Orange St.
Tel: 23 1000.
A delightful seafood braai (BBQ) on the beach. A crayfish for everyone, and delightful fresh fish, mussels and home-baked bread. It's a bit of a drive up the west coast, but you could stop along the way at the small fishing villages like Ysterfontein, or visit Africa's only nuclear power plant at Koeberg.
An organised drive through the vineyards and estates of Paarl and Stellenbosch. You get to taste wines at the estates, and can buy wine directly from them. A great way to see these delightful towns, the mountains and vineyards, and get some advice on SA wines. A picnic at Boschendal is highly recommended, but there are many other places to eat.
Drive yourself, or go on an organised tour. The local tourist board will have details
Old style taverna in the once run down but newly trendy area of Exarchia. Don't expect sophistication, this is simple traditional Greek food chosen by the time-honoured method of pointing at it behind the counter.
Do expect however, a complete cross section of Greek society - from business men in suits to students to society kids from nearby Kolonaki - wonderful food, and a sense of the "real" Athens. A word of warning though, make sure you visit the toilet before you go as they too are of an authentic Greek nature.
Expect to pay no more than 10 euro a head for salad, main course and a beer.
Emanuelle Benaki
Exarchia
Nearest metro: Panepistimio
The Market Square in Krakow is the heart of the city – both physically and figuratively - in so many ways. Situated almost at the centre of the Old Quarter, roads branch off into other areas of the city making it a good starting point for exploring.
In summer, tables spread out from the surrounding cafes turning the square into an outdoor bar. Towards the end of the year, a Christmas Market brings stalls selling gifts, decorations and hot wine to cut through the cold evenings.
It’s a thoroughfare, meeting place, promenade and, at 656-feet-square, the Rynek Glowney is the largest town square in Europe. Surrounded by the colourful facades of merchant’s houses and palaces - with fantastic names such as “Under the Lizards” and “Palace of the Rams” – the square also encloses the wonderful Cloth Hall, St. Mary’s Church, and the Town Hall Tower, all that is left of the old Town Hall.
Visitors to Krakow will probably find themselves returning again and again to the Market Square either to sit and watch the world go by in one of its restaurants and bars, to admire its buildings and architecture or stretch their legs with a walk around its perimeter. Or maybe the city simply draws people back to its vibrant, bustling and magnificent heart!
In the middle of the Old Quarter
An amazing burger bar where the meals are huge and absolutely delicious. There are loads of burgers to choose from and it has a great 50s diner feel. You will not go away hungry.
273 Long Street;
tel: 21 422 4536;
Closed Sundays
Situated in a peaceful, quite courtyard very close to Divan Yolu, Yerebatan Sarayi and Aya Sofya this is a perfect place to stop for lunch or a drink.
The medresseh itself houses workshops and exhibition rooms highlighting traditional Turkish crafts such as calligraphy, ceramics, jewellery and so on which you can look round either before or after your meal.
The food was well prepared and very tasty and our kick-boxing, friendly and attentive waiter was great!
The menu reflects more of a cafe than a restaurant feel with dishes such as lamb meatballs served with chilli and spaghetti and scrambled eggs with tomatoes and chilli
Caferiye Sokak., Sogukkuyu Cikmazi No 1
Quite easy to miss but is signposted from Caferiye Sokak
The phrase “everything stops for tea” is certainly true of this charming teahouse situated on Stari trg in the heart of the old town.
You can either sit inside or, if the weather is good, under an awning on the other side of the narrow street. They serve a huge variety of green, black, flavoured and herbal teas. We tried Golden Nepal, Almond, Coconut Tea and a Darjeeling.
The tea is served from beautiful individual oriental style teapots and you pour it into fine bone china cups and saucers. The cups have a silhouette image of a Geisha on the base. You cannot help but feel genteel!
They also offer light snacks and cakes (hot chocolate muffin - delicious!), and there is also a shop selling teapots, cups and other tea-related bits and pieces.
This is a great place to chill out and people watch, the service is excellent and the tea wonderful. Go there and treat yourself
Stari trg 3
The Evening Cultural Experience at Imizamo Yethu Township is a rare opportunity to see the real South Africa; a unique opportunity to eat real South African food and dance with local people in a township shabeen where togetherness is what it is all about. It's an experience that I will never forget. My children ran off and played and exchanged addresses with township kids who took them into their homes made of corregated iron or in some cases cardboard. This is the real thing, a rare insight into the reality of South African people and their everyday lives, well away from the classic tourist hotspots.
Imizamo Yethu Township (Mandela Park) is situated near Hout Bay. Pick up point outside 259 Long Street Café;
tel: 021 790 5817;
Mondays and Thursdays 7-10pm
Eat under the stars, in a treehouse or lounge around on the huge outdoor sofas and enjoy tribal dancing and other performances. Under 12s can join in a drumming workshop (parents allowed too!) or take an ecology tour around the grounds - there's a cheetah centre on the estate too. Almost forgot, Spier Estate also has a great deli; buy food and wine for lunch and picnic at the lakeside.
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