Cape Town keeps its tasting rooms for the working week. La Colombe, FYN and Salsify, the menus that draw visitors to the Constantia hills and the city bowl, treat Sunday as a rest day, so the evening a traveller most wants to spend at a great table is exactly when the marquee kitchens go dark. The rooms that stay open are the hotel dining rooms, the seafront seafood houses and the wine-estate lunches. Seven confirmed Sunday tables follow, led by Nobu and the Mount Nelson, with hours and rand prices.
Most of the city's tasting rooms go dark Sunday; Nobu and the Mount Nelson hold the line. Book a Sunday lunch table.
Cape Town's reputation rests on its tasting menus, and almost all of them close on Sunday. La Colombe and Salsify above Camps Bay, FYN in the city bowl, the Constantia estates: these are weekday and Saturday operations that rest the kitchen on Sunday. A visitor with a free Sunday evening, the most common gap in a Cape Town itinerary, finds the headline rooms dark.
What stays open is a different and often better-value tier for a Sunday: the hotel dining rooms that never close, the seafood houses strung along False Bay, and the wine-estate lunches in Constantia. The order below leads with the most upscale Sunday rooms, then the seafront and all-day kitchens, with hours checked against each restaurant's published schedule. For the rest of the week, start with the Cape Town dining guide.
Sunday hours: Sunday, 12:00–15:00 and 18:00–22:00
Nobu Matsuhisa's Cape Town outpost sits inside the One&Only at the V&A Waterfront, the most polished Japanese-Peruvian room in the city. Black cod miso and yellowtail jalapeño anchor a bill around R600 to R1,100 a head. It is one of the few high-end kitchens to keep a full Sunday, with a waterfront lunch from noon and dinner from six, which makes it the most upscale Sunday booking in town.
Sunday hours: Sunday, lunch into the evening from 12:00
Belmond's pink landmark on Orange Street has anchored the Gardens quarter since 1899. Its restaurants and the Planet Bar run daily, and the Sunday lunch under the oaks is a Cape Town institution alongside the celebrated afternoon tea. Expect R450 to R900 a head depending on format. The garden terrace is the Sunday table to request, well ahead in summer.
Sunday hours: Sunday, 12:00–15:30 (lunch; closed Mon–Tue)
The restaurant at the Buitenverwachting wine estate in Constantia, one of the Cape's oldest farms, keeps a Sunday lunch from noon to half-three while closing Monday and Tuesday. The kitchen cooks a tasting built on estate produce, around R650 to R950 a head with wine. A Sunday on the vineyard lawn is the most scenic lunch on this list.
Sunday hours: Sunday, 12:00–22:00
Harbour House perches directly over the water at Kalk Bay harbour, with waves breaking under the windows and line-fish landed nearby. It serves every day, noon to ten, so Sunday is a standing booking. Grilled catch of the day and Saldanha oysters run about R350 to R650 a head. Book a window table for the False Bay view, which is the reason to make the drive.
Sunday hours: Daily, 12:00–22:00
Hugo's runs an all-day kitchen in Sea Point, breakfast through dinner, seven days. The menu moves from brunch plates to grills, about R300 to R550 a head. Sunday is one of its easier prime bookings, which makes it a dependable fallback in the city bowl when the tasting rooms are dark.
Sunday hours: Sunday, 12:00–22:30
Maru runs a contemporary sushi counter in De Waterkant, open every day including Sunday from noon to half-ten. Nigiri, hand rolls and a sashimi spread land around R400 to R700 a head. The counter seats are the move for a solo Sunday or a quiet two-top away from the Waterfront crowds.
Sunday hours: Sunday, lunch 12:00–16:00 and dinner from 18:00
Little Fox cooks a produce-led menu on a Constantia smallholding, with two Sunday seatings, a long lunch and an early dinner. Plates run about R450 to R800 a head. The garden setting and the daily-changing card make it the Sunday choice for an unhurried meal, and the two seatings give a Sunday more flexibility than most rooms on this list.
Because the marquee tasting rooms are closed, the Sunday task in Cape Town is choosing among the open upscale rooms rather than chasing a scarce seat. Book Nobu and the Mount Nelson a few days ahead through their websites or by phone, as both fill on a Sunday. Beyond at Buitenverwachting takes Sunday-lunch bookings directly with the estate. For a solo Sunday, the counter at Maru is the easiest seat and a strong solo-dining move; for a first date, Little Fox's garden seatings flatter a long, unhurried meal; and to impress a client, the waterfront room at Nobu does the most work.
Most of Cape Town's tasting rooms, including La Colombe and FYN, close on Sunday, but several upscale kitchens stay open. Nobu at the One&Only runs a Sunday lunch and dinner, the Mount Nelson serves all day, and Beyond at Buitenverwachting keeps a Sunday lunch in Constantia. Harbour House, Hugo's, Maru and Little Fox all open Sunday too. Book the Nobu and Mount Nelson tables ahead, as they fill first.
Yes. Nobu inside the One&Only at the V&A Waterfront serves Sunday lunch from noon to 3pm and dinner from 6pm to 10pm, and it is the most upscale Sunday booking in the city. Black cod miso and the yellowtail jalapeño are the dishes to order, with a bill around R600 to R1,100 a head. Reserve several days ahead for a waterfront table, especially in the summer season.
For a vineyard, Beyond at Buitenverwachting in Constantia runs a Sunday lunch from noon on one of the Cape's oldest wine farms. For the sea, Harbour House sits directly over the water at Kalk Bay harbour and serves all day Sunday. The Mount Nelson's garden terrace in the Gardens quarter is the third option, with oaks and a long lunch service that suits a leisurely Sunday.
A service charge is not usually added for tables of fewer than about eight, so a tip of 10 to 15 percent is standard and appreciated, paid by card or cash. Larger groups may see a 10 percent service charge already on the bill, in which case an extra few percent for strong service is the convention. Sunday service is tipped the same as any other day.
Hours verified against each restaurant's published schedule as of June 2026; confirm directly before travelling. Restaurants for Kings is editorial, not sponsored. Some reservation links may earn an affiliate commission, which never affects a ranking or a score.