A list of places in Cape Town to indulge in something sweet.
Natalia Joynt Paizee has put together a list of a few of her favourite places, where one can happily indulge themselves to their heart’s desire and satisfy your sweet tooth without being expected to order a 5-course meal or be frowned upon for only opting for a dessert.
Pajamas & Jam
32 Van Zyl Street, Strand
This outstanding venue was started by the De Villiers family. From the early hours of croissant baking to cake icing, to eventually, slowly working their way to greeting the morning guests, beginning with serving their breakfasts to seasonal daily specials and then finally lunch. This place is one of the most unique places in Cape Town, leaving you with a very memorable afternoon.
The restaurant is divided into 3 sections, one being a gift and clothing shop, the main dining area is earthy, neat, clean and simple, then you get to the back room which is my favourite with mismatched chairs and a long white oak table, couches and antiques adorning the place, giving you a warmly feel of time gone by and good times once lived. So much time and different types of ingredients go into each cake, making them visionary, spectacular and teasing the taste buds with all the different herbs and spices, making each cake a one-of-a-kind masterpiece.
On offer is The Lady Holy peanut butter and caramel cake, The Lady Patricia pineapple and pina colada cake, The Lady Cara chocolate muddy topped with caramel and rice crisp meringues, Lady Olga Oreo and Nutella cheesecake, Lady Cynthia chai spiced white chocolate and honey, Lady Valentine vegan carrot, orange and cardamom cake, Lady Tia fig, dark chocolate, and honey cake, Lady Chelsey with ginger, toffee, and honeycomb to name a few. These names and cakes are fit for royalty. They also have a wide selection of teas on offer.
The Creamery
2 Park Roadd, Mouille Point
One of the best ice-cream spots Cape Town has to offer and they also specialize in freshly baked waffles, banana splits, warm chocolate pudding with Cocofair’s 65% chocolate, thick milkshakes made from 100% ice cream and sundaes.
The banana split is next level good and is the pimped-up version of the traditional one, with the banana drizzled with caramel, set and crystallized with a blow torch and served with a choice from their eye-watering ice cream selection. I chose the nectarine flavoured ice cream where the nectarines are sourced from the Timberlea farming trust. They are roasted then blended and churned into this delicious ice cream.
My Sugar
77 Regent Road, Sea Point.
This is the brainchild of chocolatiers Kaylah Greenberg and chef Asher Isaacs. Every item is handcrafted in-house using the finest local and global ingredients.
The store has been open since 2015 in Sea Point and I have fond memories of bringing my daughter here as an after-school treat for their legendary milkshakes. They specialize in the most delicious, perfected handcrafted chocolates, bonbons, doughnuts, and of course their rich, creamy milkshakes that could make a grown man weak at the knees.
I Love Coffee Roastery & Deli
103 Garfield Road, Claremont.
We ordered the white chocolate tart, French-style apple tart, and the dark chocolate tarts to share in our sweets selection and every single tart was delicious, the white chocolate being smooth and creamy and the French style apple tart being thinly sliced, baked, and caramelized apples tossed with sugar and cinnamon in a sweet pastry shell.
The dark chocolate tart was a rich, dark, creamy chocolate in a pastry shell and even though each tart had its unique qualities, this was my favourite one. Every item is freshly baked on the premises in their open plan kitchen, their friendly staff serving you with smiles on their faces, from our gorgeous waitress to the cheerful baristas and chefs … and every item is only R40!
I highly recommend supporting this amazing gem and find that will make you an instant regular.
Dip n Dip
V&A Waterfront.
Halaal.Using the first Belgian chocolate, this idea started with 2 friends who shared a vision to make chocolate desserts that were unique and fun.
They started with a kiosk and now 7 years later they have 130 branches around 18 countries. They specialize in chocolate crepes, dip n share boxes, pancakes, waffles and milkshakes. Although not cheap, good quality ingredients go into this with a outstanding finished product.
Jason’s Bakery
83 Main Road, Green point
Brother and sister team Jason and Brigitte Lilley are no strangers to the industry, opening their first shop in Bree Street in 2007, which closed in 2020.
They are famous for their Doughssant – a hybrid between a doughnut and a croissant. The croissant dough being cut into the shape of a doughnut and deep-fried before being filled with a weekly different flavour.
They have quite a variety on the menu, from breakfasts to lunches and have a display of artisan delicatessens on display, ranging from piggie in a blanket, doughssants, pasteis de nata, gammon fromage, Canneles de Bordeaux to different flavoured croissants. Everything is freshly made every morning and limited amounts are produced, so go early to avoid disappointment.
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La Belle
The Alphen Boutique Hotel and Camps Bay
Lovely lazing around on a Sunday afternoon, sipping your tea, relaxing to the sounds of nature and enjoying one of La Belles’s fine cakes and tarts on offer.
They have a wide selection in their bakery from milk tart, scones, brownies, petit gateaux, New York and red velvet baked cheesecake, chocolate fudge cake, chocolate ganache, lemon meringue.
Their carrot cake is amazing, very fruity similar to a Christmas cake with carrots, walnuts, pineapple, cranberries, and lemon drizzle. Their salted caramel tart has a chocolate pastry filled with baked, rich chocolate, salted caramel, white chocolate Aero and salted hazelnuts.
Makers Landing
The Cruise Terminal, Waterfront
KAPOOCHKA
Serving different poockas, mini puri shells stuffed with different fillings. A popular Indian Street food. We ordered the dessert poochka which were mini puri shells layered with caramel, bananas and cream topped off with a piece of banana bread on each one.
EMAZULWINI
Has their own little restaurant inside the market specializing in Zulu cuisine. I ordered all 3 of their desserts. The Uphuthu Namasi which had maize cake, whey jelly, whey caramel, amasi ice cream and puffed mielie rice. The Isijingi which was sweet pumpkin porridge ,cinnamon tuile, orange caramel and pumpkin pieces. The Anabela, sorghum genoise, banana caramel, mango curd, puffed sorghum, toasted nut, maltabella ice cream with Amarula cream sauce. All of them were outstanding and so different.
We finished off with the lightest, fluffiest koeksisters from Fuzzy’s Foods which were fried in front of you, came out warm and were coated in a sweet syrup, and dusted off with coconut. Heavenly little balls of joy.
Schekter’s Raw
98 Regent Road, Sea Point
Specializing in healthy, light, vegan, and vegetarian food. You will find things ranging from unique smoothies, smoothie bowls, beyond beef burgers, flapjacks, vegan scrambled eggs, pasta, curry, poke bowls to cold-pressed juices on their menu, plus more.
Their vegan flapjacks are absolutely amazing and visually spectacular. The pumpkin pie flapjack is made from pumpkin puree, stone-ground flour, pea protein, organic cinnamon, vanilla extract and topped with strawberries and banana and served with vanilla cashew ice cream.The unicorn flapjack is made from beetroot juice, organic white quinoa, organic coconut oil, lucuma powder, homemade almond milk, gluten-free flour, bananas and topped with seasonal fresh berries and served with either coconut cream or vanilla cashew ice cream.
Coco Safar
Artem Centre, 277 Main Road, Sea Point
This place is Culinary Couture to the finest and brings you the first Michelin quality luxury coffee and patisserie.Everything is produced especially on-site from the roasted coffee beans to the couture patisserie to the handcrafted chocolate. The decor is done up with finesse and class, matching the beautiful masterpieces on display while you spend hours trying to select which one to indulge in. Every dessert matches it’s description and isn’t just pleasing on the eye but heavenly on the tastebuds too.
Tessa’s Bakery
Milpark Centre, Jasmine Road, Milnerton
Tessa specializes in customized cakes baked with the finest ingredients and made with love. The cakes are piped, swirled, and decorated by hand. She has carrot, chocolate caramel, chocolate, death by chocolate, red velvet cheesecake, salted caramel, vanilla vegan oreo, and sweetie pie cupcakes. She sells cakes by the slice, quiches, and tarts. The granadilla tart with fresh granadilla pulp is delicious.
Ala Turkish
110 The Rockwell, Napier Street
Kunefe – this is a heavenly Turkish dessert made with kadayif. It’s a traditional shredded wheat dessert that’s layered in stringy, gooey cheese and served with a sweet, sugar-based syrup. It’s similar tasting to baklava but the Ferrari version of it. AfterwardS, we were debating whether this should be a dessert a or starter. I could order it as a main course and have it as my staple meal, that’s how much I fell in love with it. Extremely rich but equally as satisfying, for the taste buds, not the hips.
Honest Chocolate
36 Wale Street, Cape Town
Honest Chocolate is a small artisanal bean-to-bar chocolate company. Everything is handcrafted using old-school methods using quality and organically produced ingredients. They specialize in chocolates, pastries, cakes, and tarts. I always go for their banana bread bunny chow which is a mini banana bread filled with chocolate spread, ice cream and roasted nuts. Mouthwatering. A must-try. All their cakes look scrumptious and moist and definitely worth the visit.
Infusion On Long
Prepare to excite your taste buds with this new CBD infused restaurant which has a variety of Mediterranean influenced cuisine with optional CBD infused dishes to chose from which offers a global fusion of fresh flavours. They are also child and pet friendly.For dessert we had the churounds with a CBD cinnamon and chocolate sauce for R50. The cookies and spicy kush for R65 with CBD chocolate and almond, CBD white choc and cranberry and the CBD peanut butter and oats. Best biscuits I’ve eaten, freshly baked and crumbled in your mouth while being dipped in the creamy thick sauce. Lastly was the O.G kush lemon and rooibos for R65. Curd on shortbread with brulee Italian meringue and a CBD pink velvet cookie crumb.
Quince
Massinger Road Diep River. At Little Orchard Nursery.
Graham and Rael are no strangers to the hospitality industry, previously owning the infamous Lime Tree Cafe. Quince opened on the 17th December 2019 and seats up to 120 people.
Graham runs the restaurant and kitchen and Rael does the admin and marketing and also oversees the guests. Graham is a man of many skills and makes all the homemade delicious jams, preserves, chutney, pickled foods to name a few which are sold in their amazing country style deli adjacent to the dining area. He even makes his own soaps and hand creams and is up every morning at 3am making all his handmade creations.
The restaurant has 2 kitchens, one for the food, the other for the baking.They make the best apple strudel and flourless chocolate cake I have eaten in my life. I actually went back for seconds in a space of 2 weeks. The Apple strudel has a soft flaky crust filled with sweet, roasted cinnamon apples, and raisins. The flourless chocolate cake has a rich chocolate mousse texture and flavour.
Mochi Mochi
161 Longmarket Street
This little cafe specializes in Wagashi, traditional Japanese confectionary.
Mochi is a Japanese rice cake made from mochigome and filled with different ingredients such as Turkish delight, molten toffee, black sesame, choc peanut, almond, matcha, milk tart. It has a soft, chewy texture.
The Mitarashi Dango are sweet rice dumplings fried in butter and topped with soy caramel and Kinako. The Japanese cheesecake was amazing, creamy and light and melt in your mouth served with sticky soy caramel.
Newport Deli
125 Beach Road, Mouille Point
Newport Deli was founded in 1997 by Allan and Briony Schapiro. Over time the Californian-inspired street cafe deli grew from a deli to a South African institution. Everything is handmade on the premises from the sourdough bread to the muesli biscuits and everything is fresh and homemade. The malva putting is served warm and rich and their famous New York-style baked cheesecake is light, creamy, and fluffy with hints of lemon and vanilla.

Where to buy the best cheesecake in Cape Town.