Food tours and nightlife in Johannesburg

6 min read Updated November 2026 Compare all tours

A few words help on any food tour here. A braai is a barbecue, pap is maize porridge and chakalaka a township relish of vegetables and curry. Amagwinya, also called vetkoek, are fried dough cakes, and a shisa nyama is a township braai or steak house, usually with a butchery attached, according to In Your Pocket’s food glossary.

Kota and bunny chow

The kota is the township sandwich Soweto is known for: a quarter loaf of bread, hollowed out and filled. Daily Maverick describes the Soweto version as often filled with mince and mashed potato, while in the townships of Pretoria it comes with polony, Russians or Viennas, cheese, atchar, slap chips and sauces. It is also known as spatlo, and In Your Pocket lists spathlo and skumbani. The curry version is called bunny chow in KwaZulu-Natal. It was developed by South Africans of Indian origin, and the name goes back to the Gujarati bhania, a trading caste; there are no rabbits involved.

Many Soweto tours stop for a kota. On the One Day Africa walks and the tuk-tuk tour it is the included lunch, and the Soweto Experience tours below build the whole morning around food. More on these tours on Soweto tours.

African kitchens in Maboneng and Yeoville

The Taste of Africa walk takes three hours and runs in two neighbourhoods. In Yeoville it starts at 15:00, and in Maboneng at 12:00 and 17:00. Each tasting includes at least four dishes from South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Zimbabwe and Congo, with an optional African beer tasting on top. Pickup from Sandton is included, alcohol is not, and the tour is not suitable for wheelchair users. In Yeoville the walk also covers the history of the suburb, which the listing describes as a once Jewish neighbourhood that has become a meeting place of cultures from across the continent, and of the Westminster Mansions.

Guests mention guides who take them to places they would never have found alone, and the history of the neighbourhoods along the way. These are simple eateries, though. One guest found the hygiene at a street stall unacceptable, and on a Sunday one of the planned stops was closed.

Street food in Fordsburg

Eenblond’s walk through Fordsburg takes two and a half hours with a guide born in Johannesburg. The operator describes Fordsburg as the city’s most lively Muslim neighbourhood, and the tour tastes its way through Indian, Bangladeshi, Syrian, Turkish, Jordanian, Pakistani and African stalls, meeting traders along the way. Snacks, meals and drinks are included, so arrive hungry.

Food and beer in Soweto

Soweto Experience starts its tours at its office at 7346 Kumalo Street, opposite the Hector Pieterson Museum. The bike tour takes four hours through Vilakazi Street and Orlando East, with traditional beer as a welcome drink, two meals, among them amagwinya and a kota for lunch, and two beer tastings at local taverns. The route is a little hilly but easy. The tuk-tuk version takes three hours, with amagwinya in the morning, another township snack and a kota, and beer at each stop. Bring small notes for souvenirs.

The same team runs a three-hour art afternoon with BOOK IBHONI: a short walk past murals in Orlando West, a visit to a boutique and a sip-and-paint session with a glass of local wine or a non-alcoholic drink. No painting experience is needed, groups can reach 30 people, and you take your canvas home.

Markets

The Rosebank Sunday Market fills the rooftop parking deck (level 4) of Rosebank Mall, at 50 Bath Avenue, every Sunday from 09:00 to 16:00. Entry is free, and the stalls sell fashion, vintage, antiques, crafts, books, vinyl and street food. 44 Stanley in Milpark is a collection of boutiques, galleries, restaurants and a bakery around two courtyards in a former industrial depot. Rosebank is also the first stop of the red hop-on hop-off bus, so the Sunday market fits a morning before a ride round the city.

Amapiano, kwaito and a night out

Kwaito emerged in the 1990s, with roots in the late 1980s, when producers began remixing international house tracks to give them a local feel. South African History Online traces the name to the Afrikaans kwaai and names artists such as Arthur Mafokate, Bongo Maffin and Trompies and labels such as 999 and Kalawa Jazmee. Its lyrics use Isicamtho, a township slang. Amapiano followed around 2012 in Gauteng. Music In Africa places its centres in Alexandra, Soweto and Katlehong in Johannesburg and in Atteridgeville, Mamelodi and Soshanguve near Pretoria, describes it as an offshoot of kwaito mixed with deep house, and notes that its exact origin is disputed.

The nightlife tour, run by the same company as the Taste of Africa walk, goes in search of amapiano and Afrobeats for five to eight hours. It visits three parts of the city, Maboneng among them, with one or two bars in each, a welcome drink at three of them and a club at the end. Transport in a party bus and drop-off are included, drinks in the bars and clubs are not. For a quieter evening, the night tour on city tours ends with a beer tasting in Soweto and dinner on Vilakazi Street.