Mariam's Kitchen

Mariam's Kitchen is one of the best-known names for a halaal lunch in Cape Town's city centre. Its restaurant at 31 Heerengracht Street on the Foreshore feeds office workers, visitors and families with two Cape Town favourites — the gatsby and the salomie — cooked with a family spice mix. A second Mariam's Kitchen in the city centre, at 101 St George's Mall, is especially popular for its salomies.

The gatsby

The gatsby is Cape Town's own sandwich: a long roll filled with hot chips, sauce and a meat filling, usually cut into portions to share. At Mariam's Kitchen you can choose steak, chicken or masala, and the steak gatsby with egg and cheese is the most popular. If you prefer it mild, ask for a non-spicy version and add extra toppings.

Salomies, samoosas and pies

The salomie — soft flatbread wrapped around a curry filling — is a lunchtime classic in Cape Malay homes and takeaways. Mariam's makes its salomies with paratha and fills them with steak, chicken, mince, beans or vegetables, all cooked in the family's own blend of spices, which makes it a good stop for vegetarians too. The menu also has samoosas, pies, toasted sandwiches and simple plates such as viennas and chips. Discover where these dishes come from in our guide to Cape Malay food.

Halaal

Mariam's Kitchen is listed among the halaal-certified eateries of Cape Town's city centre and is described as strictly halaal. If you need certificate details, ask at the counter. For more options, see our halal guide to Cape Town.

Finding it

The Heerengracht restaurant is on the Foreshore, within walking distance of the Cape Town International Convention Centre and hotels such as The Capetonian on Pier Place, which makes it handy for a quick lunch between meetings. The St George's Mall branch is in the pedestrian heart of the city, close to Greenmarket Square and the Slave Lodge. There is also a Mariam's Kitchen on Kromboom Road in Crawford. From the city centre, Bo-Kaap is about twenty minutes' walk uphill — see our list of halal restaurants in Bo-Kaap and the city centre.

Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Warren Rohner, CC BY-SA 2.0; Ranjithsiji, CC BY-SA 4.0.