Port Elizabeth became Gqeberha by government gazette in February 2021, and four years on the city still answers to both names, signage included. This is South Africa’s windiest coast, wrapped around Algoa Bay, and the cooking reflects it: snoek braai’d on a beachfront where the wind is part of the seasoning, bunny chow from a 19th-century Indian community, and sourdough that travels across the Eastern Cape in ice boxes. There are four tables worth your evening here, from the bakery that put the city on the food map to a beach braai that tastes of nowhere else. Here is how Gqeberha eats, and where to book.
How Gqeberha Eats
Dinner runs early by European standards. Kitchens fill around 19:00 and most stop sending plates by 21:00, so a 20:30 booking is already late. Friday and Saturday are the only nights that need a reservation at the city’s sit-down rooms; the rest of the week you can walk into all four of the tables below, and at Vovo Telo the queue is for breakfast, not dinner. Sunday belongs to the long lunch, especially along the Summerstrand beachfront.
Tipping is 10 to 15 percent and almost never built into the bill. A 10 percent service charge is sometimes added automatically for tables of six or more, so check the slip before you double up. Pay in rand. Cards work everywhere that matters, and the mobile apps SnapScan and Zapper are as common as a card machine, but keep cash for the smaller kitchens.
Plan around load-shedding. South Africa’s scheduled power cuts still reach the Eastern Cape, and while every serious restaurant here runs a generator or gas, the published schedule tells you whether your candlelit dinner is by choice or by Eskom. Dress is smart-casual across the board. No room in this city asks for a jacket, and a beach braai (barbecue) positively discourages one.
The food is unmistakably South African. Expect the braai at the centre of things, snoek and crayfish off the Indian Ocean, bunny chow and biryani from a deep Indian-South African community, and biltong on every bar menu. Portions are generous and the prices, by global fine-dining standards, are gentle: the city’s most expensive table tops out where a London mid-tier room starts.
Best Neighbourhoods for Dinner
Summerstrand
The beachfront suburb along Marine Drive, with Hobie Beach, the boardwalk and most of the city’s hotels. This is where the holiday crowd eats, and where Weskus Fish Braai puts snoek and crayfish on a terrace facing the Indian Ocean wind. Come for sunset, and bring a windbreaker.
Humewood & Brookes Hill
The next bay along, anchored by Kings Beach and the Brookes Hill Suites complex, where Ginger Restaurant has been the city’s most ambitious kitchen for years. It is the address for the dinner that needs to feel like an occasion.
Central
The historic core around the Donkin Reserve, the lighthouse and the Route 67 public-art walk. It reads quiet after dark, but it is home to Royal Delhi, the table of record for the Eastern Cape’s Indian-South African community and the best biryani in the city.
Walmer
The leafy, moneyed suburb between the centre and the airport, full of coffee culture and Saturday-morning traffic. Vovo Telo’s sourdough bakery is its anchor, the wood-fired institution that did more than any single room to make outsiders take Gqeberha’s food seriously. Richmond Hill’s Stanley Street strip, a short hop north, is where the city drifts between drinks and small plates.
The Gqeberha Top Four
Gqeberha’s flagship fine-dining room at Brookes Hill, and the address for a dinner that has to count. Book it for an occasion.
The wood-fired sourdough institution that made the city a food destination. Go for the best breakfast on the Eastern Cape coast.
Four generations of Eastern Cape Indian cooking, with the best biryani and bunny chow in the city. Book it for a group.
Snoek and crayfish braai’d on the windiest beachfront in South Africa, a taste that exists nowhere else. Worth the wind.
Best for a First Date
A first date in Gqeberha works best where the room does the talking for you. The beachfront and the bakery both hand you something to look at when the conversation needs a beat, and none of these tables runs to a three-hour tasting menu that kills it.
Start with Vovo Telo Bakery & Café for a low-stakes daytime date over sourdough and serious coffee. Move to Weskus Fish Braai for a sunset on the Summerstrand sand with cold beer and crayfish. Or book Royal Delhi for a relaxed, generous dinner where the biryani gives you something to share. The wider playbook is in our guide to the best first-date restaurants.
Best for Closing a Deal
Deals in the Eastern Cape get done over generous plates, not amuse-bouche. Pick a room with space to spread out papers and a kitchen that will not rush you out for the second seating, because here there isn’t one.
Take the client to Royal Delhi, where a shared biryani and a quiet Central dining room let the talking happen. Use Weskus Fish Braai when the relationship is informal and a beachfront beer seals it faster than a boardroom. For an early start, Vovo Telo’s Walmer café is the city’s default breakfast meeting. See the national shortlist in our guide to closing the deal over dinner, and the data behind it in the restaurants where deals actually get done.
Gqeberha Dining FAQ
What are the best restaurants in Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha)?
The four reviewed tables are Ginger Restaurant, Vovo Telo Bakery & Café, Royal Delhi and Weskus Fish Braai. Ginger at Brookes Hill is the city’s flagship fine-dining room; Vovo Telo in Walmer is the celebrated wood-fired bakery; Royal Delhi in Central serves the best biryani and bunny chow; and Weskus braais snoek and crayfish on Summerstrand Beach. Read each full verdict before you book.
Why is Port Elizabeth now called Gqeberha?
The South African government officially renamed Port Elizabeth to Gqeberha in February 2021, alongside several other Eastern Cape place-name changes. Gqeberha is drawn from the isiXhosa name for the Baakens River that runs through the city. In practice both names are still used, including on restaurant signage and in everyday speech, so a booking under either name will reach the same table.
How much should you tip at restaurants in Gqeberha?
Tip 10 to 15 percent, and assume it is not already on the bill. A 10 percent service charge is sometimes added automatically for tables of six or more, so check the slip before adding more. Tipping in cash is appreciated at the smaller kitchens such as Royal Delhi, even when you pay the bill itself by card or by SnapScan.
What food is Port Elizabeth known for?
Gqeberha’s signature dishes come from the coast and from its communities. Expect snoek and West Coast crayfish braai’d at Weskus Fish Braai, the biryani and bunny chow of the Eastern Cape’s Indian-South African community at Royal Delhi, and the wood-fired sourdough that made Vovo Telo a national name. The braai, generous portions and Indian Ocean seafood run through all of it.
Do you need a reservation to eat out in Gqeberha?
Only on Friday and Saturday nights at the sit-down rooms. The rest of the week you can walk into all four reviewed tables, and Vovo Telo’s queue is for weekend breakfast rather than dinner. For a beachfront table at Weskus Fish Braai at sunset, or a celebration dinner at Ginger, call ahead in season, when domestic holidaymakers fill the Summerstrand strip.
Which neighbourhood is best for dinner in Port Elizabeth?
Summerstrand and Humewood, the beachfront suburbs along Marine Drive, hold the hotels and the sunset seafood, including Weskus Fish Braai. Walmer is the leafy café quarter built around Vovo Telo, while Central keeps the historic core and Royal Delhi. Richmond Hill’s Stanley Street is the bar-and-bistro strip for drifting between drinks and small plates.
Where can I eat seafood in Port Elizabeth?
Weskus Fish Braai on Summerstrand Beach is the city’s defining seafood room, braaing snoek with apricot jam and garlic butter in the Cape manner and halving West Coast crayfish over the coals. The Indian Ocean position and the famous Gqeberha wind are part of the experience. For how it compares globally, see our best seafood restaurants worldwide.
Is Port Elizabeth good for a first date?
Yes, and the beachfront does the heavy lifting. A sunset at Weskus Fish Braai or a daytime coffee at Vovo Telo gives you a view and a low-pressure room, while Royal Delhi offers a relaxed, shareable dinner in Central. None of the city’s tables runs a long tasting menu, so the conversation never has to compete with the food.
Nearby Cities
Heading along the coast or up-country? Read the Cape Town dining guide, the Durban dining guide for more Indian-South African cooking, the Knysna dining guide on the Garden Route, the wine-country tables of Stellenbosch, and the Johannesburg dining guide. New to scoring a city this size? Start with our seven signs of a great restaurant.
The Port Elizabeth Directory
Our editorial team is finishing the long-form Port Elizabeth guide. The directory below lists every restaurant we've reviewed in the city — click through to read the full verdict, scores, and reservation strategy.
