Review – Giovanni’s Deliworld, Green Point

Giovanni’s Deliworld seems to be somewhat of a Cape Town institution. I know a few people who live there: only drinking their coffee, or eating their freshly prepared takeaway dishes. It’s a friend to the Italian community, the Jewish community, the gay community, the hipster community, the Green Point mafia, as well as the Sea Point locals. This place is the real deal.

Address: 103 Main Rd, Green Point

Hours: 7:30am-8:30pm Mon-Sun

There seems to be a misconception that vegan food is expensive. This is really subjective and a ridiculous point to argue over as the factors are too variable to come to a definitive conclusion:

• WHERE are you shopping?
• what AREA are you shopping in?
• what KINDS of food are you buying?
• what is your INCOME (which defines what is “expensive” to you)?
• are you buying READY-PREPARED foods or COOKING AT HOME?
• are you EATING OUT or EATING AT HOME?

You get my point?

This is why I love Giovanni’s because if you shop smartly, you really can eat like a king on (what I would deem) a budget!

The challenge was to see how much food I could buy from Gio’s for R500. Here’s the result:

Once you see it laid out this way, you quickly realise that for this amount of money, it may just be easier to make use of a place like Gio’s far more often!

It’s clear that some of the speciality items (such as the dolmades and falafel) will be slightly pricier, but others like the ready-prepared Veg Masala Curry is an absolute bargain. If I had to REALLY cut back on budget I’d live on the various vegan soups which are a whopping 600ml and really pack a nutritious punch for an absolute steal!

What’s REALLY helpful is that the products are labeled to within an inch of their life – so you know exactly what’s going into your belly when you pick up one of their containers. Every ingredient is carefully listed and you can quickly spot which products are “accidentally vegan”.

Takeaways aside, they have a (small) sit-down area inside with a coffee bar that divides it from the (equally tiny) outside area. So arrive early to get a seat and watch the world go by.

A flower seller has set up shop just outside the entrance (to help solve the fight that you and Bae just had), and there is a whole shelf (or three) of imported chocolates/sweets/treats to break the bank if you are so inclined.

The same staff members have been there for YEARS, working tirelessly around the clock to both prepare and serve some of the freshest, tastiest and healthiest foods in Cape Town. This means that you will be greeted by familiar faces every time you walk through the door into this crowded little deli.

Thank you Giovanni’s Deliworld for recognizing that the world is changing and for changing with it.

I wonder what’s for dinner tonight?

Peace xx

Before you go, check out my Eateries by Map page and don’t forget to pop on over to my YouTube channel as well! If you’re feeling generous and want to help me with the upkeep of this all (because I do it all for free), then click on my Patreon link.

Liked it? Take a second to support Cape Town Vegan on Patreon!