4 Best Restaurants in The Northern Cape, South Africa

What a nice and welcome surprise! Good coffee is generally hard to find in such remote parts, but the owners here have got this right. Though they are not quite baristas, their "flat whites" nevertheless taste like real coffee. The café is also a deli, stocking yummy chutneys (try the peach), relishes, and more. It's got a nice atmosphere and serves good, hearty lunches (it closes at 5). One interesting fact to know is that the owners' husbands work for opposing engineering firms, but that hasn't hindered their cooperation. If you're headed toward Springbok, it's worth calling ahead for a table; there are not many good places to eat here.

Cecil John Rhodes used to stop for a drink at Halfway House, halfway between the Kimberley and Bultfontein mines, and because he was short, and it was difficult for him to mount and dismount, he was served on his horse. Today, Halfway House is a lively hotel with several restaurants—the best of which is Hussar Grill, a nationwide chain that many regard as the best steakhouse in Kimberley—and this lovely, relaxing courtyard café, where you can get excellent coffee, pizzas and flatbreads, and lovely cakes.

Some nibbles may be required on your journey, and this would be the ideal place for a snack, particularly because stops in this area are few and far between.

Finish off your tour of Barkly West with a drink or light snack at the Pump House Bar, on the important Vaal river and within a stone's throw of the museum. It's a great place to meet locals, enjoy a good steak or other pub fare, and contemplate the waters of the Vaal River.