(On left, The General Store and on right, Delish Sisters)
Cape Town
Harvest Café and Deli, Bo-Kaap
Harvest Cafe and Deli is a calming and restorative oasis in the bustling Bo-Kaap. Its views could be up there with some of the best the Mother City boasts but the food, service and overall experience is just as good. They offer breakfasts and lunches with a slant towards wholesome, healthy options like quinoa porridge with coconut and turmeric. Coffee is by Deluxe and comes with (big) homemade oat crunchies or shortbread. They are officially open this weekend and will be rolling out their full menu for all to enjoy!
Hokey Poke, CBD
It’s poke all the way here, and owner Max Botha has put his own spin on things with a build-you-own option whereby poke bowls can be custom-made to your dietary requirements. The space itself is special too, with a distinctly 80s theme with a cinematic feel to it, which looks like it belongs in downtown LA. Choose between five types of bases: sticky rice, kale slaw, brown rice, baby leaves or gluten-free nachos.
Wild Sprout, CBD
A new addition to Cape Town’s inner city hot spots, Wild Sprout’s ethos is based on a conscious way of eating where meals are prepared with equal emphasis on nutrients and taste. The founders of Wild Sprout wanted to create a place that catered to various dietary requirements and eating habits, so you’ll find a lot of vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options, which are not menu afterthoughts but a central feature. Everything from the sauces to the date balls are made from scratch in house, and they also have a lovely selection of smoothies and fresh juices.
The General Store, CBD
A gourmet eatery that is all about the salads. Salads that one could liken to Ottolenghi, with those bright ingredients, bursting with nutrients and natural flavour. Colette Robert has a knack for combining a few simple complementary ingredients, to create a wholesome meal. It’s a very tiny space so order a take-away of 3 salads and a protein – the salmon is always a good choice.
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The Kitchen, Woodstock
A Woodstock institution, The Kitchen was one of the first to introduce the harvest table-style eating, where fresh salads and protein based dishes are prepared daily, and then put on display for customers to pick and choose. The café and deli is not confined to health food, they also make a mean ciabatta filled roll and are famous for their pork bangers. The beauty of the kitchen is that you can tailor your meal exactly as you’d like it, choosing between salads with a desired protein in a large or small size, either for sit-down or take-away.
Sababa Kitchen and Deli, Sea Point and Olami, Bree Street
Sababa is another harvest table type of café with a focus on vibrant and flavourful Middle eastern and Mediterranean-inspired salads and wholesome dishes. Olami is the little sister to Sababa, offering the same food but in a smaller setting, that sits alongside Bree’s vibey restaurants and bars.
Scheckter Raw’s, Sea Point
Scheckter’s Raw pulls a serious crowd of diners with dishes that see health food taken to new gourmet heights. Toby Scheckter aimed to bring a new kind of health food to Cape Town after experiencing New York’s finest in the way of healthy options. His philosophy is about serving exciting, inventive food without compromising on flavour and nutrients. Food is organic and vegan and served with a real passion for healthy living.
IYO Burgers, CBD
A burger joint isn’t usually considered a health spot but IYO fits nicely into this category for their versatile menu that allows for a variety of healthy options. These healthy options come in the form of a burger bowl, which is utterly delicious and totally satisfies that burger craving. The burgers come topped with home grown alfalfa and sunflower sprouts. There is a variety if veggie patties and grass fed beef patties. Also try their spiralised Asian salad, the sweet potato fries or kale fries, and if you feel like a cheat, the curly fries are organic.
Café Frank, City Bowl and Century City
Café Frank feels like a typical New York city café. They focus on nutritional and ethically sourced on-the-go food, as well as freshly squeezed juices and great coffee. You’ll find free-range meat and poultry, seasonal salads and delicious gourmet sandwiches all of which can be eaten-in or taken away.
Orchard Jucie and Health Bar, CBD
Orchard, on Long Street, is a lovely clean, natural sanctuary in the vibrant city center. The have an extensive menu that focuses on cold pressed juices and smoothies. They also have a small menu of vegan and vegetarian wraps, sandwiches and salads.
Joburg
Grove Green Café, Parkhurst
Grove Green serves fitness food, food that fits in with your active lifestyle. You’ll find high protein and low carb dishes as well as smoothies and juices for on-the-go. They are also known for their incredible guilt-free sweet treats like dark chocolate brownies and quinoa crunchies. Grove Green will leave you feeling fresh and light and ready for any activity.
Conscious 108, Greenside
A totally vegan café that doesn’t neglect the importance of tasty, good food. As the name suggests, the café strives on their philosophy of kindness to the natural world around them. They encourage a consciousness about food choices, by serving vegan wraps, vegan burgers, and salads. Try the almost perfect veggie burger and the potato quinoa croquettes.
The Green Side Café, Greenside
This vegan café has been open for a number of years now, promoting a green lifestyle, in the perfectly suited suburb of Greenside. At a glance the menu looks like your average restaurant menu with a large variety of burgers, pizzas, pastas and breakfasts. Upon closer inspection you will see that everything is vegan, making the extensive menu really impressive. Even non-vegan eaters will most certainly find something to enjoy, which might even encourage you to go green!
Fresh Earth Food Store, Emmarentia
Fresh Earth is both a store, and online store and a café that promotes healthy and conscious eating. They steers clear of any cooking or preparation methods that impact negatively on the food and the environment, so all food is preservative free, and full of nutrients. They combine ideals of health and sustainability to give their customers natural vegetarian food. Look out for their buffet tables that cater for vegans and banters.
Love Food Kitchen, Braamfontein
Silwood graduate Jamie is totally passionate about food and it’s evident in her healthy, home-style cooking. The café space will make you feel right at home and totally relaxed. Jamie draws inspiration from cuisines around the world. You’ll find deli foods, Middle Eastern flavours, British-style dishes and many more. The deli table is freshly prepared each day with changing dishes.
Durban
It’s All Good Organic Café, Durban North
A wholesaler and café, It’s All Good, provides Dubanites with vegetarian and vegan food with gluten-free and sugar-free options. Menu items reference famous movies and TV shows, like Notting Hill and Casablanca. For breakfast try the smashed avo and poached eggs and for lunch try The Mexican wrap.
Delish Sisters, Ballito
Delish is run by a sister-duo who’ve created a lovely, modern country restaurant in the Litchi Orchard at Salt Rock. They are driven by a serious passion for good quality, honest and wholesome food. Each day a beautiful harvest table is prepared, with dishes changing on a weekly or daily basis. They offer both healthy and indulgent with dishes driven by seasonal availability and whatever is currently inspiring the chefs.
Market, Greyville
A large, clean, industrial-style space with an expansive garden courtyard that makes you feel like you’re in the countryside. It’s a great place for big groups or a celebration. Food is locally sourced and organic where possible. The cuisine doesn’t stick to any kind of health plan, but you will find a variety of wholesome dishes made from premium quality ingredients. Lunch options include burgers, both meat and vegetarian, pastas, fishcakes and ploughman’s platter.
Pretoria
Carlton Café + Delicious, Menlo Park
Chef Rachel Botes focuses on seasonal, wholesome food. She incorporates South African cooking techniques and flavours with cuisines from around the world. Her cooking-style is creative and unique to the Pretoria area. The menu includes sarmies, breakfasts, and comfort food, with changing specials.
Pure Café, Colbyn
Pure pride themselves on catering to specific dietary needs like Paleo, Banting and vegetarian. The menu consists of wraps, salads, sandwiches and pastas as well as breakfast. There are also changing daily bakes like cakes and quiches. If you’re after simple food and light meals then Pure is the place for you.
Café Zing, Menlyn
Café Zing has branches in both Pretoria and Joburg. Their food is mostly organic and totally preservative free. They serve grass-fed and hormone-free meat and free-range chicken. The cafés serve a variety of gourmet burgers, salads and sandwiches which include vegetarian options. They also offer fitness meals that are delivered to your door and developed by a dietician.
Afro-Boer, Die Wilgers
This café has earned it’s title as of one of Pretoria’s finest eateries and a go-to for many locals. Although it cannot be strictly considered as a health spot in the general sense, it does however offer its customer’s flexibility in food choice. Afro-Boer offers Banting and gluten-free options like their homemade breads as well as different daily bakes and dishes, like the chocolate macadamia cake and the crustless quiche.