South African food is a direct expression of its history — Dutch, Malay, Indian, British, and African influences that have been cooking together for three centuries.
The Braai
The braai — Afrikaans for barbecue, though the word barely does it justice — is a national institution. It is done over wood, not gas, and it is more of a social ritual than a cooking method. Boerewors (a coiled, spiced beef and pork sausage flavoured with coriander, cloves, and nutmeg) is the centrepiece, alongside lamb chops and chicken. At a proper braai, opinions are offered loudly and freely. Consider attending one if invited.
Biltong
Cured, air-dried meat — usually beef, but also game (kudu, springbok, ostrich). Unlike jerky it is not heat-dried, which gives it a softer, more complex texture. You will find it everywhere: filling bowls on bar counters, sold in plastic packets at petrol stations, and sliced to order at specialist shops. Get it with a bit of fat, which carries more flavour. Also try droëwors — spiced dried sausage that travels well.
Cape Malay Cooking
Cape Town's oldest culinary tradition, brought by enslaved people from the Indonesian archipelago in the 17th and 18th centuries. The defining dish is bobotie: minced meat (usually beef or lamb) spiced with curry, turmeric, and dried fruit, topped with an egg custard and baked. It is mildly spiced and unexpectedly good. Bredie (a slow-cooked meat and vegetable stew) and sosaties (meat skewers marinated in a sweet curry sauce) are other classics.
Durban Curry
KwaZulu-Natal has its own culinary identity, shaped by the Indian community that has been here since the 1860s. The curries in Durban are famous across South Africa — richer and hotter than the Cape Malay versions. Bunny chow — a hollowed-out half-loaf of white bread filled with curry — is the city's signature street food, born in the Indian community and now beloved by everyone. Order a "quarter bunny" (quarter loaf) to start.
Pap
The staple starch for most of the country: a stiff maize porridge similar to polenta. It is served alongside everything from braai meat to stews. Umngqusho (Xhosa: samp and beans, slow-cooked) is a variation that is deeply satisfying. Nelson Mandela's favourite dish, by his own account.
Chakalaka
A spiced vegetable relish — beans, onions, peppers, carrots, chilli — that turns up alongside braai meat and pap everywhere. It is one of those simple things that is almost impossible to stop eating.
Wine
South Africa makes genuinely world-class wine, especially from the Winelands region around Stellenbosch, Franschhoek, and Paarl. Chenin Blanc (locally called Steen) is the variety the Cape does best — bone-dry versions of real elegance. Pinotage is the local invention: a cross of Pinot Noir and Cinsaut that divides opinion sharply. Try it at a serious estate before writing it off.
Rooibos
Grown only in the Cederberg mountains of the Western Cape, rooibos ("red bush") tea is caffeine-free, mildly sweet, and excellent. Drink it with milk or without. It is now sold globally, but it is best here, fresh.