A visit to Cape Town could be a culinary trip offering a menu of metropolitan cuisine from various continents. The city is home to a wide selection of restaurants specializing in an equally vast range of gourmet's delights such as spicy Asian dishes, traditional African food, Cape Malay recipes and Mediterranean dishes. Reasonably priced, the foods that could be had are served in restaurants that are supervised by chefs with international training. The choices from the wine lists of these establishments are likewise diverse, ranging from the local wines to European imports.

Experiencing the culinary delights of dining in Cape Town is superbly matched by the spectacular views and impressive ambience in most of the city's restaurants. As a port city, Cape Town is naturally the home of waterside and beachfront restaurants each with its own distinctly endearing sceneries to boast of. Venturing into the City Bowl, for instance, one could find servings of dinner with the Table Mountain looming in as some spectacular background.

For some the food tastes even better with sunset as the backdrop. To them, the beachfront setting in restaurants at Clifton, Camp's Bay or Bantry Bay would be enticing dinner date destinations. The same could be said for dining establishments at Kalk Bay and Simon's both of which hug the False Bay coastline.

And for those who can't seem to get enough of the unforgettable Table Mountain, they would find another vantage point at one beachfront restaurant or another in Blouberg. At the top of Table Mountain itself, a visitor could enjoy a drink or two at the peak's bar and casual restaurant while relishing a bird's eye view of the entire city.

A visit to the wineland towns of Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Constantia also takes the tourist to culinary adventures partaken amid the charm of mountains and vineyards. From French cuisine to traditional Cape dishes, restaurants in these three towns are ready to bring some unparalleled delight. Most often cited in tourist guide books are those award-winning dining establishment in Constantia, at either the Buitenverwachting or the Constantia Uitsig wine estate.

The culinary influence from France is most pronounced in restaurants at Franschhoek where French Huguenots have settled. Outstanding choices there include Le Quatier Francais, La Petite Ferme and Reubens, all offering the fine dining experience amid a memorable vineyard setting. Not to be outdone are the dining establishments of Stellenbosch where a visiting gourmet can find Mediterranean fares at places like the Olivello. Picnic-style dining may also be had at the Delair Wine Estate in the Helshoogte Pass or at the Le Pique Nique at Franschhoek's Boschendal wine estate.

An interlude with the nightlife in Cape Town would be one relaxing way to cap a day's tour of the winelands. Bars and clubs in the city usually get busy starting from 11 p.m. during which many restaurants are also still open. A drink may be had at the many bars and restaurants at the city center, V&A Waterfront and Atlantic Seaboard's Camps Bay and Clifton.