4,984 reviews
#5 of 889 Restaurants in Cape Town CentralRR - RRR, African, Grill, Vegetarian friendly+27 21 421 7005+ Add websiteImprove this listing
Hours
Sun
11:00 - 23:00
Mon
11:00 - 23:00
Tue
11:00 - 23:00
Wed
11:00 - 23:00
Thu
11:00 - 23:00
Fri
11:00 - 23:00
Sat
11:00 - 23:00
What is Travellers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Ratings and reviews
Travellers' Choice 2024
RATINGS
Food
Service
Value
Atmosphere
Details
Someone from this business manages this listing.
Learn More
CUISINES
African, Grill, Beer restaurants
Special Diets
Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options
Meals
Lunch, Dinner, Brunch, After-hours, Drinks
features
Details
About
We are a Truly South African Restaurant situated in the World Class V & A Waterfront. We serve traditional unpretentious good South African cuisine to international guests and locals alike.
CUISINES
African, Grill, Beer restaurants
Special Diets
Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options
Meals
Lunch, Dinner, Brunch, After-hours, Drinks
FEATURES
Reservations, Outdoor Seating, Seating, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Wine and Beer, Free Wifi, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service, Live Music, Waterfront, Non-smoking restaurants
Contribute
4.5
4,984 reviews
Excellent
3,205
Very good
1,123
Average
375
Poor
148
Terrible
133
martinrmn
119 contributions
Feb 2020 • couples
We ate here twice,the first time we ate outside, the second time inside. Both visits were lovely, the food, ambience and service were all excellent. Staff were very informative and we never felt rushed. This was our first visit to Africa and definitely not our last. Prices were very reasonable and we both tried local dishes which did not disappoint. Wine was excellent and again well priced.
Written 14 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Alwyn D
Coventry125 contributions
Feb 2020 • none
My family and I, six of us went here to celebrate my birthday. We wanted some local cuisine and from the good reports we had read and the restaurant being local to our hotel, this was the place to go. We were not disappointed! The menu is varied with local dishes being their speciality, the service was good, if not a little slow, but the food was delicious and well presented. You can choose to eat inside or outside. The general atmosphere in the place is upbeat and friendly and they even allowed a choir of local singers in from a nearby town to entertain us. A wonderful evening was had by all. It can get very busy at peak hours in the evening so we booked a table in advance and this may be the best thing to do to ensure you don’t have to wait or avoid disappointment.
Written 16 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Clarice
Amsterdam13 contributions
Feb 2020 • family
Very nice restaurant in Cape Town Waterfront. Waiters are friendly quality of the meat is top, you can find different types of South African dishes which are really good.
I truly recommend it
Written 25 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
priscarver
Cape Town4 contributions
Jan 2020 • none
We took our overseas guests here for dinner on a Saturday evening. We wanted them to have some South African food. Cape Town has so many excellent restaurants that there is no need to choose this one. The food was bad, over priced and my beef curry with a few pieces of dry beef was luke warm when served. Our waiter was no where to be seen to ask him to warm our food up. Although friendly, our waiter's accent made understanding him extremely difficult in noisy surroundings. I can't imagine understanding him if English was my second language like so many tourists here. The dancing was a nice touch for tourists but it went on for way too long and was way too loud for the cramped setting.
The restaurant is over priced and it was actually embarrassing when our guests paid the bill for us!
Choose another restaurant. It is generally over priced at the Waterfront although festive and to pay a bit more for the surroundings is one thing but to also get bad food is another. Unacceptable.
Written 29 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Peter D
Stoke-on-Trent73 contributions
Feb 2020 • couples
Have been here previously and very much enjoyed the ambience and the food.
My wife had a Bobotie which she enjoyed and loved cooking when we lived in SA, but the Karibu version was very mediocre and not as good as she anticipated.
I had trimmed Karoo lamb chops which I had had there previously and greatly enjoyed, but this time I had to send them back as they were full of sinues and had very little edible meat. Attempted to eat two but gave up and rejected all four.
Chef couldn’t guarantee replacements would not be any different and suggested a rump steak which I had as replacement and which was excellent.
Finally the bill was incorrect in including the more expensive chops rather than the steak.
Written 14 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Curious57103676578
2 contributions
Jan 2020 • family
Family of 4 had a terrible experience at Karibu at the V&A waterfront on new year's. We waited for 2 hours for food and when it arrived it was not up to scratch. I had
ordered the 400 g oxtail and my wife ordered the waterblommetjie stew. Both were watery and tasteless. I guess the kitchen could not handle the large number of patrons on the day but does not excuse the waste of time and money we were subjected to.
Written 1 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Michael O
32 contributions
Jan 2020 • none
Agreed it was New Year’s Day, but we had a reservation and arrived for our 7pm slot. The restaurant had been highly recommended by friends so we were looking forward to it.
The first intimation that things were a bit ‘random’ was when our waiter returned with still water when the order had been sparkling. But our first course and wine arrived with the sparkling water, so recovery seemed to have occurred. We finished our first course (nice food) by 7.30pm and the plates were collected by 7.40pm — the last time we saw our waiter!
At 8.20pm we asked a passing waiter about our main courses — he reported the issue to a manager who came over and apologised.
At 8.40pm she returned with more apologies (but no interim food or wine) and I stated that 9pm would be our deadline — if our main courses had not arrived by then, we would leave. We also spoke to one of the front of house staff, who came by to ask if all was well and was surprised by the response!
At 9pm, we got up to leave and spoke for a final time to the manager, who continued to apologise but had no explanation for why our orders (nothing complicated— a chicken curry and a lamb bredie) had still not arrived.
If you have hours to spare and are not hungry, this may work for you. But I have never experienced worse service and an absence of an explanation for it in 45 years of eating out.
Michael
Written 1 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
KaribuRestaurant
Thank you for the feedback about your experience at Karibu on New Years Day.
We will most certainly look into this as it is not our usual exceptional standard and take these matters very seriously.
We were extremely busy on New Years Day although this is not an excuse and this should have been rectified immediately by us and we do apologize for this.
If you are ever in Cape Town again please give us a call so we can rectify this issue.
Written 16 January 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
nora g
1 contribution
Jan 2021 • couples
Visited the restaurant today together with hubby. We were both pretty much looking forward to a great meal but instead were served old rump steak that had a smell to it😢. I had already had a few goes at it until i noticed a funny taste and smell to it, rather nauseating! The waiter called on the manager on duty and all he had to say was ‘sorry’-not even a lame excuse to ease how I felt! Utterly disappointed at having to pay for the rest of the bill after such sickening food quality. Still hoping my tummy has it good through the night.
Written 24 January 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Emily
Cape Town Central5 contributions
Jan 2020 • friends
This restaurant is located with a lovely view of the Barbour on the waterfront and we got a lovely table outside with a blanket for the cooler evening. The service was fantastic with very polite and friendly staff and food arriving promptly. The menu was great with a good variety of South African dishes. I had the cape Malay curry which was very nice but was not very warm, however this could have just been a one off. The portion sizes were ok but for the price of about R230 for the meal and a 750ml bottle of water you could probably find somewhere with bigger bang for your buck. Nevertheless it did make for a nice evening meal.
Written 26 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Igor M
Johannesburg5 contributions
Feb 2020 • couples
We ordered two ostriches meat, one filet other braail, both served cold. The price is expensive and not worth the money. It was one of the worst food of our trip in South Africa. You'll be able to find other place with a better value of money.
Written 18 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MikeyJP17
Goudhurst126 contributions
Jan 2020 • none
We had a rather disappointing meal here. The location is fine, the service was generally good, but the food was uninspiring. I had a fish pate to start with, which was served with some dull bits of bread and salad; the pate was little better. This was followed by lamb chops, which were tough, and there were only 3 of them, which usually I would think of as being a bit light, but on this occasion it was good not to eat any more. The wine was ok, but expensive relative to other places nearby. I had to go and find our waiter to ask for the bill. Not a great evening!
Written 9 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Karishma-Kim
London455 contributions
Nov 2021 • family
Sadly, this restaurant turned out to be more hype than anything else. They had Cape Malay food and some interesting dishes on their menu, so we decided to give it a chance.
Our drinks weren’t bad. My non alcoholic mojito was good, the Karina kiss came with a chocolate elephant that was appreciated and the peach Bellini tasted fine (even if it came without a stirrer and needed to be stirred with a knife)
For starters we ordered grilled calamari which was salty, the prawn cocktail - the prawns weren’t fresh, the crayfish - wasn’t bad.
I ordered a Cape Malay chicken curry as we have loved the cape Malay curries we have had over the last few days and a putu & chakalaka as a side.
My dining companions opted to wait for the starters before deciding their mains, as portion sizes in this part of the country have been much larger than Joburg.
The portion sizes were tiny, but given our disappointment with the starters, they opted not to order anything else. I requested our server to just bring my main course as the others wouldn’t be ordering. It took 45 minutes for my mains to arrive.
The curry was stodgy, the quality/taste of chicken wasn’t good and it didn’t taste fresh.
The putu tasted like it had been sitting uncovered and drying out for awhile before it was served under the chakalaka (which wasn’t bad), but we just couldn’t eat it. And after tasting everything, we just decided to pay the bill and leave.
When the manager approached us, we explained what l problems we had with the food, she offered a 10% discount for us to be used at another occasion, but after an experience like this, we wouldn’t go back even for free.
Karibu is a tourist trap. Avoid as far as possible.
Written 10 November 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
sus67
London274 contributions
Jan 2020 • solo
This restaurant on the waterfront serves delicious African food. They did a “safari” platter for me where I tried various game - kudu, impala etc - delicious but extremely filling! Service was very good and there is a good selection of wines. It is a bit pricey but I think it was worth it.
Written 29 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sharon C
Gravenhurst3 contributions
Feb 2020 • none
This restaurant is really worth a visit. The food and service is first class. Our waitress - Angela was a real gem and really explained the food for us. The Bobotie Spring Rolls were to die for and we actually got to eat Ostrich & Impala along with Beef (Brai) which our waitress Angela recommended for us which was delicious. She made the whole experience all the better by being so attentive without being intrusive.
Written 23 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MJH H
Reading40 contributions
Feb 2020 • none
This restaurant is well located on the wharf with great views of Table Mountain when eating on the terrace. The food selection is excellent with International cuisine and South African specialities.
The staff are all very well trained to describe the food or the wines and help with explanations of some of the local specialities such as putu and chakalaka.
The menu is so good we visited twice - the first time Clever was our waiter who guided us through the menu for a wonderful dinner. The second time Emmerson was the waiter who looked after us extremely well. On both occassions we were guided through the excellent wine list by Daniel.
Not only was our food traditional South African style it was well presented and local musicians came to sing in the restaurant.
This is a restaurant that must not be missed and if we return to Cape Town it will be one of our first stops.
Written 23 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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