Top of the chops

For convenience - supermarket meat is all well and good. But for truly good cuts you must venture to the specialist – the butcher.

Burly men with muscled forearms and stripy aprons...

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Butchers were once iconic cornerstones of the community. But in recent times, they appeared to be a dying breed, their craft replaced by drab meats stuffed in styrofoam.

Our modern lifestyles mean we live in an era of double-booked schedules, fast food and sound bites. But deep down we’re not wired for the rapid pace we live; we all yearn for quality and memorable experiences.

So if you prefer proper meat worth paying for, here are some of Cape Town’s best butcheries.

Frankie Fenner Meat Merchants
On offer is 100% free-range lamb, acorn fed pork, grass fed beef and pasture-reared chicken.
Metal Lane, 8 Kloof Street, City Centre, 021 424 7204

Gardens Continental Butchery and Deli
A wide range of meats - which includes Karoo lamb and Namibian game. Most of it is free range or organic.
120 Kloof Street, Gardens, 021 423 6944

Mzoli’s (aka Mzoli’s Meat, Mzoli’s Butchery and Mzoli’s Place)
A popular tourist attraction in Cape Town, Mzoli’s is provides tasty chops and beef steaks, along with an unbeatable atmosphere.
NY115, Shop 3, Gugulethu, 021 638 1355

Raith Gourmet Butchery and Deli
Specialises in German-style deli meats, pork neck and spare ribs. 
Gardens Shopping Centre, Gardens, 021 465 2729
* Raith Gourmet also has a branch in Constantia.

Black Forest German Butchery and Deli
The German-trained butcher specialises in a variety of cold cuts of meat; along with a selection of braai meat, ribs and sosaties.
Shop 53, Mullers Building, Gabriel Road, Plumstead, 021 762 4874

Gogo’s Deli
Specialise in free-range grass-fed meat, wild meats, and biltong slow-dried in leather bags.
6 Cardiff Castle, Main Street, Newlands, 021 671 0573

Sacks Butchery
Offer excellent poultry, especially chicken and Cape-grown duck.
5 Westlake Drive, Westlake, Tokai, 021 701 8885

Super Meat Market
Master butchers Stuart and Peter supply quality meat: rib eye steak on the bone, free-range Karoo rack of lamb, or plump farm chickens.
Probhako House, 274 Main Road, Kenilworth, 021 797 5595