Great lunch spots on Johannesburg’s hop-on, hop-off red bus tours

05 May 2017 | Carina van Wyk

Piza ē Vino in The Zone @ Rosebank. (Image: City Sightseeing)

So, you're on Johannesburg's hop-on, hop-off red bus, timetable in hand, but you're not sure where to hop off for lunch. Don't spend a second longer worrying about it – the red bus tours boast several stops with great lunch spots.

Here are a few of the City Sightseeing team's suggestions:

The Zone @ Rosebank

With more than 20 eateries – from restaurants and coffee shops to takeaway joints – you won't go hungry at The Zone @ Rosebank, which is also the first stop on our Green Tour and home to our ticket office. Grab a bite to eat before you hop on the bus or enjoy a late lunch or dinner at Tasha's, Piza ē Vino, Ocean Basket, Nino's or one of many other restaurants at The Zone.

Zoo Lake

Sweet treats for dessert at Moyo Zoo Lake. (Image: City Sightseeing)

With its green lawns and shady trees, Zoo Lake (stop 2) is ideal for a picnic, but if it's traditional African cuisine you're after, why not opt for a delicious brunch or lunch at Moyo Zoo Lake? The à la carte menu includes a variety of dishes, from classic oxtail stew or a Klein Karoo venison potjie to crocodile-tail pie, Nigerian beef kebabs and an Egyptian vegetarian platter. On Saturdays and Sundays, Moyo also has a buffet breakfast available from 8.30am to 11.30am and a buffet lunch from 12.30pm to 4pm. Click here for more info or to make a booking.

SAB World of Beer

Hop off the red bus at stop 15, go on a beer tour at the SAB World of Beer and end it off with a hearty pub lunch. Try one of the Tap Room classics, such as the hake in a Castle Lager batter, chicken basted with Hansa Marzen Gold, or the Castle Milk Stout beef pie.

Hake in a Castle Lager batter. (Image: SAB World of Beer)

Castle Milk Stout beef pie. (Image: SAB World of Beer)

Braamfontein

There's much more to the Neighbourgoods Market than spring rolls and samosas, but these look and taste great. (Image: South African Tourism)

The Braamfontein stop (stop 17) is definitely one of the culinary highlights on the City Sightseeing Johannesburg City Tour. Every Saturday from 9am to 3pm the Neighbourgoods Market buzzes with an eclectic mix of people enjoying their favourite foods. Hop off the red bus here and you'll find anything from Polish cold meats and sausages to Indian curries, Turkish flatbread, dim sum and seafood paella.

Those with a sweet tooth will have difficulty deciding between huge pieces of creamy fudge, Nutella-filled pancakes, mouth-watering cakes, macaroons, cupcakes (almost as beautiful as they taste) and doughnuts.

Try a piece of white-chocolate cheesecake with salted caramel at the Neighbourgoods Market. It's divine. (Image: South African Tourism)

If you prefer a restaurant, however, there are several options to choose from. Just next to the Neighbourgoods Market is The Smokehouse and Grill, a carnivore's dream. It is described as a southern-style BBQ and offers a variety of meat, including ribs, pulled pork brisket, aged steaks and 100% pure beef burgers.

Try a pizza at Eighty Six Public. (Image: 86public)

For those who'd like a light but tasty meal, Daleah's eatery (6 De Beer Street) is perfect. The menu includes a selection of sandwiches, sliders, pastas and salads.

You can never go wrong with pizza, particularly at Eighty Six Public Pizzeria, just opposite the City Sightseeing bus stop in Melle Street.

All pizzas are prepared in a wood-burning brick oven, and if an ordinary crust or tomato paste is not for you, choose a different crust (beer, stout, lager, sourdough, wholewheat or low gluten) and pizza sauce (chilli tomato, Peppadew tomato or mushroom pesto). If you'd like to try something different (and delicious), go for the bacon, dark chocolate, feta and pear topping.

Vilakazi Street restaurants (City Tour and Soweto Combo)

If you've decided to go on our City Sightseeing City Tour and Soweto Combo, you'll hop off the red bus and on to our bright-red SoWeToo taxi at the Apartheid Museum (stop 14). If you go on the first or second tour to Soweto, South Africa's biggest township (departing at 11.15am and 12.15pm), it'll allow you enough time to have lunch in well-known Vilakazi Street, which was once home to two Nobel Peace Prize winners, Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu.

There are several restaurants to choose from in Vilakazi Street. (Image: South African Tourism)

The street boasts several restaurants, most of them serving traditional South African cuisine as well as a variety of other meals like pasta, burgers and salads. You can try mogodu (offal) at Sakhumzi, Nambitha, Nexdor, Vuyo's and Restaurant Vilakazi, while most of these Vilakazi Street restaurants also serve dishes such as ox liver, oxtail and boerewors (South African farmers' sausage).

With all these options to choose from, you certainly won't go hungry while exploring Joburg on a City Sightseeing hop-on, hop-off red bus. Why wait? Buy your tickets for the red bus now.