The best Sunday roasts in Cape Town

Bergvliet locals know all about Lime Tree Cafe. This relaxed neighbourhood restaurant has built a loyal following, not least for its regularly changing Sunday roast. Likely offerings include roast beef sirloin and roast pork leg with roast potatoes, cauliflower bake, roast vegetables and gravy. Did we mention the garlic-and-rosemary baby potatoes and butternut mash? Delicious. 

This isn't a formal carvery or a drawn-out set menu, but rather a generous plate of Sunday comfort food in an easy-going suburban café. Booking ahead is a good idea.

Shop 8, Sherwood Centre, corner Children's Way and Dreyersdal Road, Bergvliet

There are few Cape Town institutions better suited to a Sunday roast than Foresters Arms. Forries has been doing the pub thing in Newlands for generations, with tables out beneath the oaks in summer and fireplaces and pints indoors when winter rolls in.

The Sunday carvery has long been a signature, and we can think of few better ways to end a morning walk in Newlands Forest than settling in for a good feed at Forries. The kitchen works with the chef's roast of the day, but you’ll always find traditional trimmings: crisp roast potatoes, butternut, creamed spinach, broccoli and cauliflower in cheese sauce, savoury rice and a proper homemade Yorkshire pudding. It's generous, uncomplicated and exactly what a carvery should be. Families are well catered for, with a large children's play area outside.

52 Newlands Avenue, Newlands

In the same neck of the woods, but with plenty of polish, head through the gardens of The Cellars-Hohenort to The Conservatory. The five-star Constantia hotel gives the British tradition the white-tablecloth treatment. The three-course 'Roasting Sundays' menu currently costs R455 and begins with a choice such as garden pea and Parmesan velouté or twice-baked cheese soufflé. For the main course, there is free-range beef sirloin, chicken or roast leg of lamb, each accompanied by crispy potatoes, seasonal vegetables, Yorkshire pudding and jus. The roasted cauliflower steak for mains will keep vegetarians happy. Lunch runs from noon to 2.30pm, but allow time afterwards for a stroll through the hotel's gardens.

93 Brommersvlei Road, Constantia

This delightful deli might be better known for its bakery and café fare, but come Sunday you’ll certainly want to book a seat at Chardonnay Deli at Uitsig. Every Sunday from noon, the restaurant serves a set roast built around the roast of the day (usually lamb or chicken) and gravy, with Yorkshire pudding, sweet carrots, broccoli bake and roast potatoes. Dessert is included, with a choice between homemade ice cream with chocolate sauce or a dark-chocolate brownie with ice cream.

Constantia Uitsig Wine Farm, Spaanschemat River Road, Constantia

Tucked beneath the oaks of historic Oakhurst Farm in the upper Hout Bay valley, Quentin at Oakhurst leans into old-fashioned Cape hospitality, and Sunday lunch is very much a reason to visit. 

The winter carvery costs R545 per adult and begins with homemade wholewheat bread, pumpkin soup and Saldanha Bay mussels. Then things get serious: wood-fired prime rib of beef, roast free-range chicken and grilled linefish, accompanied by duck-fat roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, cauliflower gratin, glazed peas and carrots, and cinnamon-roasted butternut. Red-wine gravy, horseradish and cranberry jelly complete the table. Dessert is just as impressive, with malva pudding, bread-and-butter pudding and salted-caramel chocolate tart on the menu. The menu changes seasonally, but abundance is non-negotiable. Reservations are essential. Come with an appetite.

Oakhurst Farm, Main Road, Hout Bay

For most of the week, Farro is an intimate, dinner-only restaurant where chefs Alex and Eloise Windebank serve modern European cuisine, happily embracing the trinity of butter, cream and wine. It’s superb and always worth a visit.  

But on the last Sunday of the month, Farro lets its hair down just a little. Farro's monthly Sunday Roast is deliberately more convivial than its regular set-menu dinners. The three-course lunch is served largely family-style, opening with dishes such as arancini and focaccia, before the table fills with Yorkshire puddings, roast meat, gravy and what Farro calls the 'roast potatoes of your dreams'. What’s not to love?

There’s dessert too, but happily, that doesn’t have to be shared, so you can be greedy and selfish. Quite right, too. Bookings are essential and  – unlike Farro's regular dinner service – children are welcome at the Sunday roasts.

30 Wandel Street, Gardens

Tucked into Meadowridge Shopping Centre, The Rambling Rose Café has the feel of a local café: unfussy, owner-managed and much loved for its home-style food, cakes and generous breakfasts. On Sundays, the café serves a three-course roast special with a glass of wine included: roast meat, potatoes, vegetables, Yorkshire pudding and gravy, followed by dessert. Job done.

Shop 7, Meadowridge Shopping Centre, Howard Drive, Meadowridge

With a history dating back to 1864, Fireman's Arms is a city institution brimming with old-school pub atmosphere: memorabilia on the walls, draught beer behind the bar, sport on the screens, and a menu packed with British-style comfort food.

It’s no surprise that the Sunday Roast Lunch remains a fixture. Expect the full pub-roast treatment, not a dainty ‘gastro-pub’ plated lunch, with a trio of meats and a substantial helping of ‘roasties’ and veg. It’s available on Sundays from noon until 8pm.

Corner Buitengracht and Mechau streets, Cape Town

Hidden away down Klein Constantia Road, Little Stream has all the charm of a country garden, just a short drive from the city. The historic property, with its trees and lawns, sits between Constantia's wine estates, making it one of the prettiest options for a leisurely roast. Sunday lunch is served buffet-style between 12.30pm and 2.30pm, but with a difference: instead of paying a flat rate, you load your plate and pay by weight. The current spread includes roast beef and pork belly alongside fried chicken, seasonal roast vegetables, savoury rice and plenty of gravy. Current prices are R29 per 100g.

Klein Constantia Road, Constantia

Turn the drive into the destination. Dixies has occupied its enviable spot above the False Bay coastline since 1978, with a large terrace overlooking the water towards Simon's Town. The restaurant itself retains the unpretentious, family-run feel that has kept generations of Deep South locals coming back.

Sunday lunch is properly old-school, and locals love it. Expect a three-course affair, beginning with the soup of the day, followed by a choice of roast lamb or pork, accompanied by rice, roast potatoes and three seasonal vegetables. Dessert? Of course.

There are more elegant roasts in town, but that misses the point: Dixies is about generous plates, no-frills flavours and a long lunch with False Bay as the backdrop.

134 Main Road, Glencairn

A neighbourhood favourite with a French-Italian twist, The Brasserie is popular for midweek meals, but works just as well for a long family Sunday lunch. Roast meat, crisp potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, vegetables and plenty of gravy. Few frills, great flavours, family-friendly vibes.

Shop 1, Forest Glade House, Tokai Road, Tokai