You eat Middle Eastern food at COOKED in the Watershed building at the V&A Waterfront, where the kitchen works from recipes passed through generations. The menu leans on seasonal ingredients, with hand-rolled bagels boiled the traditional way. Dishes draw from Mediterranean and Middle Eastern roots, with a few contemporary additions.

The dining room sits in the Watershed, a repurposed industrial space near the harbour. The kitchen prepares dishes like Bobba’s cheesecake, a recipe that has travelled from Lithuania to Cape Town. Tables take groups for shared meals, the way the recipes were originally served.

The Adelphi Galleria in Sea Point holds a second location with a separate menu. Both sites work from the same set of family recipes, adapted slightly for their settings. At the Waterfront, you eat in a space that was once part of the docks, now lined with tables instead of cargo.