Afternoon tea is having a moment in Cape Town, and the latest entry comes from The President hotel in Sea Point, where Executive Chef Chanté Rabie has built an entire menu around one ingredient: honey. Not just any honey — varietals drawn from across the Western Cape, each with its own character depending on the flowers the bees fed on.
The format follows the classic pattern but with a distinctly local accent. Diners choose two teas from a South African-rooted list, including a premium single-estate organic rooibos called The Connoisseur, herbaceous buchu (a plant indigenous to the region), and Sticky Naartjie, a rooibos blend with honeycomb that tastes, as the menu puts it, of home. Chamomile-and-lavender Afterglow and a classic bergamot Earl Grey round out the options for traditionalists.
Then come the tiers, and they read like a tour of the province. Sandwiches pair Kalahari-flamed ostrich with mushroom and African beechwood honey on grilled brioche, plus fynbos honey chicken with a naartjie balsamic glaze. Savoury plates move geographically: a Saldanha-inspired tartlet with West Coast wildflower honey aioli, a Karoo lamb croquette with Overberg honey compote, honey-glazed kingklip, and creamed thyme brie with honey-poached pears and pecan brittle.
Scones come three ways — citrus zest, curled buttermilk and a savoury wild rosemary — served with clotted cream and naartjie curd. The sweet tier keeps the Cape theme running: a rooibos and lemon cheesecake petit gâteau, a Boland eucalyptus and buchu tea opera with apricot curd and cinnamon mousse, a fynbos and naartjie yoghurt tart, a dark forest berry financier, and a honey and orange blossom macaron.
Behind the menu is Rabie's philosophy, shaped by her grandmother, who passed down the family's eight-hour game potjie recipe on the condition of consistency and patience. She now runs a kitchen of around 80 chefs and back-of-house staff, and credits that team for the detail on every plate.
For travellers, this is a genuinely Cape Town experience rather than a generic hotel high tea — the kind of afternoon that works as a treat after a Table Mountain hike or as the centrepiece of a girls' weekend. Book ahead, pace yourself, and take the two-tea selection seriously; the rooibos alone is worth the seat.
