RFK Rankings · Cape Town
Best Restaurants for Brunch in Cape Town 2026
Brunch · Cape Town · 6 tables ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 18, 2026 · Updated June 18, 2026
Eggs Benedict was never the point in Cape Town. The city's brunch runs on Table Mountain light, a serious coffee culture and a generation of bakeries that treat sourdough as a craft. The best mornings split between two moods: the loud, design-led rooms on Bree Street and in Woodstock where chefs cook proper plates past noon, and the quieter neighbourhood cafes in Sea Point and Gardens where a croissant and a long black stretch into the afternoon. There is a real boozy-brunch scene too, anchored by Luke Dale-Roberts' Sunday spread, but the through-line is sunlight and good produce rather than bottomless prosecco. Six Cape Town tables, ranked.
1.The Pot Luck Club
Luke Dale-Roberts' sixth-floor Sunday brunch is Cape Town's marquee morning; book weeks out for a celebration with a view.
Luke Dale-Roberts built The Pot Luck Club above the Old Biscuit Mill at 375 Albert Road in Woodstock, a glass box on the sixth floor with a 360-degree view over the city and the harbour. The Sunday Winter Brunch, which runs roughly May to October, turns his small-plate format into a sharing feast: beef fillet on black pepper sauce, the famous fish on a stick, salmon-trout flatbreads and a steady pour of bubbles, with the set brunch running around R250 to R320 a head. Dale-Roberts is the chef behind the now-closed Test Kitchen, long rated South Africa's best restaurant, and this is his most accessible room. Book on the website weeks ahead, take the lift to the top, and let the plates and the view run long.
Book it for a celebratory Sunday brunch with a skyline view and a serious kitchen behind it. | Skip it if you want a quiet weekday breakfast or a quick walk-in plate.
2.Clarke's
The Bree Street diner that set the city's brunch template; drop in for buttermilk pancakes and a great flat white.
Clarke's opened on Bree Street more than a decade ago and effectively wrote the rules for the modern Cape Town brunch: Scandi-spare room, carefully sourced produce and an all-day menu that locals still queue for. The kitchen runs buttermilk pancakes, a properly built breakfast burger, shakshuka and a brisket hash, with most plates around R90 to R180 and a coffee program to match. It sits in the thick of the Bree Street strip, easy to fold into a morning of browsing. There are no bookings for small groups, so arrive before the mid-morning rush, take a window seat, and order the pancakes with a flat white.
Book it for a classic, well-sourced city-centre brunch and the best people-watching on Bree Street. | Skip it if you need a guaranteed reservation or a quiet, spacious room.
3.Sonny and Irene
An art-deco Sea Point bakery-cafe doing elegant brunch and boozy cocktails; reserve a weekend table for a stylish late morning.
Pink terrazzo, gold trim and a glass pastry case set the tone at Sonny and Irene, the Kove Collection cafe-bakery at Station House, 19 Kloof Road in Sea Point. The all-day menu leans healthy-with-a-wink: house granola, a fruit bowl, eggs on house sourdough and ricotta hotcakes, alongside an unusually good cocktail list for a bakery, with most plates around R80 to R180. It opened in 2022 and quickly became the Atlantic Seaboard's stylish brunch address, equal parts café and aperitivo bar. Reserve a weekend table, sit under the deco light, and pair a hotcake with a morning spritz.
Book it for a chic, design-led Sea Point brunch with pastries and a cocktail list. | Skip it if you want a big hearty fry-up or a budget plate.
4.Kloof Street House
A candlelit Victorian villa pouring weekend brunch in a leafy garden; book the garden for a long, romantic late morning.
Kloof Street House occupies a restored Victorian house at 30 Kloof Street in Gardens, a warren of chandeliers, velvet and a back garden strung with greenery that plays as well by day as by night. Brunch runs Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 4pm: eggs Benedict, steak and eggs, a build-your-own breakfast and bottomless-bubbly options, with most plates around R110 to R220. It is the city's most atmospheric brunch room, theatrical without being stiff, and a reliable group booking. Reserve a table in the garden, order the Benedict and a bottle of bubbles, and let the morning drift.
Book it for an atmospheric, leafy garden brunch with bottomless bubbly and a romantic streak. | Skip it if you want a minimalist room or a fast in-and-out breakfast.
5.Jason Bakery
Jason Lilley's cult bakery turns out the city's best pastries and a Saturday doughnut drop; go early for croissants and coffee.
Jason Lilley's bakery reached cult status in Cape Town long before the brunch boom, and the Green Point store at 71 Waterkant Street is where the queue forms now. The draw is the baking: laminated croissants, the weekend "Hoenkoek" doughnut drop, sausage rolls and a short savoury menu of egg plates and toasties, with most items around R40 to R140. The original Bree Street branch closed in 2020, so Green Point is the address to know. It is more counter-and-coffee than sit-down service, casual and fast. Arrive early on a Saturday before the pastries sell out, grab a stool, and pair a croissant with a flat white.
Book it for the best pastries in the city and a quick, casual coffee-and-croissant morning. | Skip it if you want a full table-service brunch or a quiet seat at peak hours.
6.Pauline's
A warm Sea Point coffee shop with a bougainvillaea-shaded courtyard; drop in for cardamom buns and a flat white.
Pauline's grew from a small Sea Point coffee shop into a local favourite with branches in Sea Point, Green Point and Gardens, built around an intimate room and a semi-enclosed courtyard draped in creepers and orange bougainvillaea. The kitchen keeps it tight and good: cardamom buns, a pear and polenta cake, open sandwiches, eggs and excellent flat whites, with most plates around R70 to R160. It is the neighbourhood end of the Cape Town brunch scene, the spot regulars walk to on a Sunday rather than book. There are no reservations, so wander in mid-morning, take a courtyard seat, and order a cardamom bun with coffee.
Book it for a relaxed, walk-in neighbourhood brunch with standout buns and coffee. | Skip it if you need a reservation, a big menu or a lively party scene.
Avoid for brunch
Great kitchen, no brunch service
La Colombe and FYN. Both are among the best restaurants in the country, but they run lunch and dinner tastings only, with no weekend brunch. Save them for a long set-menu lunch and take your morning to Clarke's or Kloof Street House instead.
A view, not the food
The hotel rooftop bars on the Atlantic Seaboard. Several pour a pretty weekend brunch with a sea view, but the kitchens are an afterthought behind the cocktails. If you want a view with real cooking, book the sixth-floor brunch at The Pot Luck Club instead.
Closed, do not plan around it
The original Jason Bakery on Bree Street. It shut in 2020 and old listings still float around online, so head to the Green Point store at 71 Waterkant Street, which carries the full pastry program.
Booking a Cape Town brunch
Cape Town brunch splits by neighbourhood and mood. The city-centre and Woodstock rooms, Clarke's and The Pot Luck Club, are the destination end, with the Pot Luck Sunday brunch needing a booking weeks ahead and Clarke's running mostly walk-in. The Atlantic Seaboard cafes, Sonny and Irene, Pauline's and Jason Bakery in Sea Point and Green Point, are the neighbourhood end, quick to reach and easy to fold into a beach morning. Decide first whether you want a set-menu feast with a view or a croissant and a long black.
Timing matters more than in most cities. The summer season from December to March packs the popular rooms, so reserve where you can and arrive before 10am at the walk-in spots. The Pot Luck Club's headline brunch is the Sunday Winter Brunch, running roughly May to October, so plan that one for the cooler months. Tip around 10 to 15 percent, and remember bottomless-bubbly deals at Kloof Street House and Sonny and Irene are usually a fixed per-person price with a time limit.
Frequently asked
What is the best brunch in Cape Town?
The Pot Luck Club's Sunday brunch is the standout. Luke Dale-Roberts, the chef behind the celebrated former Test Kitchen, runs a sixth-floor glass room above the Old Biscuit Mill in Woodstock with a 360-degree city view and a sharing menu of beef fillet, fish on a stick and bubbles, around R250 to R320 a head. For an everyday city-centre brunch, Clarke's on Bree Street is the long-running favourite.
Where can you get brunch in Sea Point?
Sea Point is the heart of the Atlantic Seaboard brunch scene. Sonny and Irene at 19 Kloof Road is the stylish art-deco choice for hotcakes and cocktails, while Pauline's is the warm neighbourhood coffee shop for cardamom buns and a flat white in a bougainvillaea courtyard. Jason Bakery in nearby Green Point handles the pastries. Most plates run R70 to R180, and weekend tables fill by mid-morning.
Does Cape Town have bottomless brunch?
Yes, though it is built around bubbly rather than a buffet. Kloof Street House in Gardens runs bottomless-bubbly brunch in its candlelit garden, and Sonny and Irene in Sea Point pours boozy weekend options with its cocktail list. The Pot Luck Club's set Sunday brunch keeps the bubbles flowing alongside the plates. Bottomless deals are usually a fixed per-person price with a time limit, so confirm the terms when you book.
How much does brunch cost in Cape Town?
Plan on roughly R120 to R250 a head before drinks at most of these rooms. Cafe and bakery plates at Pauline's, Jason Bakery and Clarke's run about R70 to R180, while the set Sunday brunch at The Pot Luck Club is around R250 to R320 a person. Add a 10 to 15 percent tip, and budget more for the bottomless-bubbly packages at Kloof Street House and Sonny and Irene.
Do you need a reservation for brunch in Cape Town?
For the destination rooms, yes. The Pot Luck Club's Sunday brunch books out weeks ahead and Kloof Street House takes garden reservations, especially in summer. The neighbourhood cafes, Clarke's, Pauline's and Jason Bakery, run mostly on walk-ins, so arrive before 10am on a weekend to beat the queue. Sonny and Irene takes weekend bookings and is worth reserving for a group.
What time is brunch served in Cape Town?
Most Cape Town brunch runs from mid-morning into the afternoon. Kloof Street House serves brunch 10am to 4pm Tuesday to Sunday, Clarke's opens early for all-day breakfast, and the Sea Point cafes, Sonny and Irene and Pauline's, open from around 7:30 to 8am. The Pot Luck Club's Sunday brunch starts late morning and runs through the early afternoon. Summer mornings are busiest, so the earlier you arrive the better the seat.
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Browse the full Cape Town dining guide, read up on The Pot Luck Club and Clarke's, browse all RFK cities, open the full RFK rankings index, or see our ranking methodology.
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