Game Meat In Cape Town Full Review For Travelers
This Cape Town Game Meat review provides you with the meat type, location, price, and even tasting notes, for you to enjoy these special meats during your travel there.
I have been to Cape Town twice. Apart from being amazed by its natural landscape and modern shopping malls at Waterfront, it is also a paradise for steaks. Not only do they serve very high-quality cheap lamb and beef chops, but they also have a variety of game meats in store at affordable prices.
Unfortunately, there is not much game meat information in Cape Town online. I googled several times during my visit there and all it shows is only the butcher locations. Worse most of them are far from touristy places. However, with this information, you can fit game meat tasting into your Cape Town itinerary.
So I wrote this blogpost for you to enjoy game meat during your visit to the city.
Game meat types available in Cape Town
There are over 10 types of exotic meat you can have locally. For better categorization, I usually classify them as venison family members, such as springbok, kudu, eland, impala, springbok, wildebeest,t, and hartebeest, and non-venison family members, such as warthog, zebra, ostrich, wathog and crocodile.
Where to eat game meat in Cape Town
There are several restaurants in Cape Town serving game meat. But do you know raw game meats are also available at supermarket chains such as Woolworths. If you look for game meat in the form of jerky, they are everywhere.
My recommendation is to cook at your hostel. The 2nd option is to dine at the restaurants. The jerky (Biltong) should be for souvenir or snack.
Cooking it at your hostel
There are several merits to cooking your game meat. First, it is cheap and easily available at supermarkets like Woolworths. Second, you have a say on the doneness level. In fact, most game meats especially the venison family are best cooked at medium or medium well level.
By cooking it yourself you will have the best taste of the cuisine.
Lastly and most importantly, not many restaurantsCape Towntown serve game meats. Even if they do, the variety is limited. Even the best game meat restaurant such as the City Grill cannot compare to the variety of meats you can buy at Woolworths.
I used Table Mountain Inn for my accommodation during my visit to Cape Town. They have a student dormitory standard pantry and cookware. You just need to buy your game meat and Uber back to enjoy.
Eating at local restaurants
If you are willing to pay a bit extra and do not intend to taste every single type of game meat, you can have them in the local restaurants. Karibu restaurant and City Grill Steak House at V&A waterfront are the most famous and affordable options.
Personally, I prefer City Grill over Karibu. First, Karibu only provides choices of Vension but City Grill on another hand also provides Zebra, Ostrich, Crocodile, and Warthog. Especially, you can’t really find Warthog steak at Woolworths and many other places. (don’t know what Warthog is? Well, it’s Pumbaa in Lion King, Timon’s best friend).
, Also City Grill Steak House is more well decorated and looks like a high-end restaurant (despite the price is only mid-range). Karibu on the other hand looks more like a food court.For City Grill Steak House, you can check out their full menu here. For Karibu food menu, you can check it here.
Also, City Grill’s menu includes a page describing the game meat they serve under the traditional South African delicacies page.
As for the price City Grill Steak House is slightly pricier but you can have a good game meat dinner for two at around 42 USD (~ 780 Rands). Remember the restaurant is located at V&A Waterfront with a fascinating environment.
Game meat via Biltong (jerky)
If you have very limited time to locate the games. No worries, you can find it in the form of Biltong (South African-style dried meat) everywhere from supermarkets like Woolworth and Pick N Pay; or convenience stores, or even souvenir shops at the airport.
The usual exotic dried meats available include Kudu, Springbok, and Ostrich. They also have different kinds of beef jerkies as well. Despite the convenience, you can hardly tell the difference between meat mainly because most of the dried meats are heavily seasoned with salt, pepper, coriander, and other ingredients.
Still, it is a great way to have access to game meats there and the only way you can buy it as a souvenir and ship it back for friends and family.
It is worth mentioning that Biltong itself is famous and available around the world. But mostly you can only find beef except for South Africa where you can also have the versions and ostriches.
Price for the game meat in Cape Town
Regardless of the ways you hunt for your meat above, they are very affordable. For buying raw meat from a supermarket, it would cost you less than 10 USD (~ 200 Rands) for a 300 g fresh venison steak.
If you go for the restaurant route, a typical exotic meat dish would be around 15 USD (300 Rands). It is not expensive, considering that most restaurants are located in prime areas such as V&S Waterfront.
For buying a small pack of game meat Biltong. It would be around 5 USD (~100 Rands). It is comparable to more expensive than going to a restaurant or cooking yourself. However, the convenience of snacks or souvenirs should make it worth
Tasting note
Most of the games are red meat, except for Warthlog and Crocodile. So not only do they look alike they taste very similar.
From my personal experience, most venison including Zebra tastes like a medium beef sirloin steak and it is relatively gamey. After tasting all, the tastiest game meat I would pick Hartebeest, as it tastes juicy, not too g, Amey, and more like high-quality beef steak.
Other than that Wathlog is a very good choice too given it tastes like boar (another game meat) or pork but with more texture.
Below is a brief tasting note for the game meats I introduced, again everyone is different.
If you have any inquiry or experience, feel free to leave your comment below.
| Game Meat | Tasting Notes |
| Springbok | Flavor: Mild, slightly sweet Texture: Tender and lean Notes: Delicate flavor, versatile for various preparation |
| Kudu | Flavor: Rich, slightly gamey Texture: Lean and firm Notes: Depth of flavor, great for grilling or stew |
| Eland | Flavor: Mild and sweet, similar to beef Texture: Lean with marbling Notes: Tender; ideal for roasts and steak |
| Impala | Flavor: Mild, slightly sweet Texture: Very tender Notes: Flavorful; excellent for quick cooking methods. |
| Wildebeest | Flavor: Stronger, gamey taste Texture: Lean and somewhat tougher Notes: Best when marinated or slow-cooked. |
| Hartebeest | Flavor: Robust and slightly gamey Texture: Lean with a firmer bite Notes: Great in stews or slow-cooked dishes. |
| Warthog | Flavor: Rich and slightly sweet Texture: Lean and tender Notes: Similar to pork; delicious when roasted or grilled. |
| Zebra | Flavor: Sweet and rich, with a hint of gaminess Texture: Lean with a firm texture Notes: Excellent for biltong or steaks. |
| Ostrich | Flavor: Mild, similar to beef but less fatty Texture: Lean and tender Notes: Great for steaks and burgers. |
| Crocodile | Flavor: Mild, with a slight fishiness Texture: Firm and lean, like chicken or fish Notes: Versatile in dishes, often grilled or fried |
