Last week I was doing a little lunch search on Yelp. I almost never write reviews on Yelp but I use it a lot to help me discover new things. As I was scrolling through the list for Miramar I skimmed over an entry for “Capetown” and in the first paragraph I saw “Deli SA” and a little light went off in my head – HEY, this place is run by the people who did Deli SA and all those meat pies! I knew right then we (David, Matt and I) had to go check it out.
Cape Town Pub is off Miramar Road. If you’re heading west on Miramar, it’s about a block or two before you get to the pyramid. This used to be where Sam’s Cheesecake was – a place I tried to go way back in the day but it seemed like it was never open. This location sat empty for a long, long time before Cape Town Pub moved in.
Inside the restaurant is quite spacious. There’s plenty of tables and a long bar with about 5 TV’s showing various sports like cricket, soccer and rugby.
Just like at Deli SA, there is a little corner market selling various goods like sauces and snacks.
As well as various sweets and treats.
And wines!
There is also a spot along one wall for African art and handmade goods from Africa.
Here’s the menu! For a place like this – where most people are unfamiliar with the food – I wish they had a photo menu. It’s hard to imagine what some of the items are and you just kind of have to guess. We saw at a table near us this guy had a large hollowed out bread with a bunch of stuff inside – it kind of looked like a bread bowl with stew in it but we couldn’t figure out what it was since we were trying to see what on the menu came with bread (looking at Yelp later I saw that it was “Durban Bunny Chow” – too bad they don’t mention the bread bowl in the description).
After we ordered the three of us had fun looking over this menu and trying to figure out what everything was (like there looks like a lady who’s jumping in mid air? What is she supposed to be doing? Para sailing with no sail? Zip lining? No idea.)
[peri peri chicken sandwich with slap chips / $9.95]
David and I ordered the same thing – the Peri Peri marinated chicken sandwich with slap chips. Our waitress explained to us what slap chips are – she said “They’re like soggy fries… but soggy is a bad word, they’re not really ‘soggy’ and they have vinegar on them.” This description confused me but I got it anyway but without the vinegar because I am just not a fan of vinegar. David got his with the vinegar since he is pro vinegar.
The slap chips are kind of like soft fries. They are housemade with the skin still on the potatoes and they are cooked all of the way through so they are a bit creamy inside. These taste more “potatoey” then American french fries. The outside is soft with a very light crispness on the edges. They look like french fries but they are really not! I really enjoyed them!
I was curious about the peri peri marinade since David’s review of Peri Peri. I was slightly worried it would be really spicy.
The chicken was very moist and you can see a bit of the sauce from the marinade. It was NOT super spicy like I was worried it would be – the spiciness is subtle and it gradually builds up a little as you eat it but it never became overwhelming and had a really lovely flavor. The veggies put into the sandwich were quite fresh and I liked the shredded lettuce with it. The bread was soft and fluffy like a French bread but still had a bit of crust on top – the bread roll was delicious.
David said this was not as spicy as some of the items he had at Peri Peri and that was a bit milder.
[gourmet savory pie with slap chips / $9.95]
Matt got this – something very similar to what we all tried when we first went to Deli SA. I don’t remember exactly which pie this is, but they have a rotation of which flavors are offered each day.
[Lammingtons / $7]
David got the lammingtons which I had before at Deli SA. They are cake squares with marbled chocolate and vanilla cake on the inside and are coated in coconut. Now they come with a little drizzle of chocolate sauce. I didn’t partake this time but David raved about these – I remember liking these a whole lot!
[Milk Tart / $6]
I wanted to try a different dessert and decided on a milk tart to go. I had no idea what this was before I ordered it and it wasn’t what I was expecting. It looked like pudding!
On the inside of the milk tart I was incredibly surprised to find that the bottom of it was a soft spongy cake! I see the word “tart” and I think of something with a pastry crust so I was surprised to see cake on the bottom. It was very light and airy and delicious. The top of the tart is a milky sweet custard with a good dousing of cinnamon sprinkled on top. It was sweet but not overly sweet and very creamy. I really loved it!
I can’t wait to go back and explore more of the menu – I really want to try that “bunny chow” that comes in the hollowed out bread and try out the other desserts as well.
Cape Town Pub: South African Fusion
7580 Miramar Road
San Diego, CA 92126
858-800-2700
Oh the pictures are beautiful Mary! I’ve heard about this after I read Minion’s review on Peri Peri. It’s nice to see this place offering lunch specials. I used to frequent Miramar alot but always found it funny how these restaurants would be located in office-like spaces. Kinda like Wich Addiction. The bread on your sandwich sold me on this place. I wonder if they’re open for dinner?
Hi Faye – They do offer dinner! They have like regular operating hours. I feel like they might have happy hour, too, but maybe I’m just dreaming. Miramar seems like a dead zone for a long time for any interesting restaurants so I’m happy to see places popping up around here! The bread was really good, too.
Mm I’ll have to check out this place! I’ve never had South African cuisine before. The desserts look yummy, and I’m quite intrigued by the fries 😀
Hi Jinxi – I hope you do! They have interesting looking stuff on their menu. I also want to try all of their desserts again!
Your picture of the sandwich + fries is amazing! And I think I would love the milk tart too. This place reminds of Brazil by the Bay (ethnic market + restaurant) but the South African version.
Hi J.S. – Thank you! I visited Brazil by the Bay awhile good – that place is good, too. Though mostly I just remember the cheese bread. 🙂
Gotta check this out! I remember liking their meat pies from the one time I went when they were still Deli SA (after that family nearly bogarted the whole $%#@ inventory). Interesting that their milk tart had a sponge cake within too. Nice big space….glad they expanded!
Hi CC – I think you’ll like it here! There’s so much more stuff to try and it’s as good as it was at Deli SA – plus more parking!
Finally went here! Yay for the entertainment book coupon, woo hoo. We loved our meal here…
Hi CC – yay I’m glad you finally got to try it! The food here is really good. It’s different and quite tasty. I also love their desserts.