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The Story of Rick’s Café Américain - Cape Town
“Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world…”
There are restaurants you visit for a meal — and then there are places that become part of your story.
Welcome to Rick's Cafe Americain, Cape Town’s own little corner of Casablanca.
Rick’s Café Américain first opened its doors in 2005, just off Kloof Street on Park Road. From the beginning, the idea was never to create another formal restaurant. It was to create a place where people could relax, eat well, drink well, meet friends and feel at home.
The inspiration came from the legendary 1942 film Casablanca — but Rick’s is not a replica. It takes the spirit of the movie and mixes it with the character of Cape Town.
From Morocco to Cape Town
Owner Per Géza Menkö arrived in South Africa in 1989 after working as a young chef in Germany and Bermuda. Before opening Rick’s, his career included senior chef positions at the Jo'burg Sun & Towers, Mount Nelson and V&A Hotel, as well as Kennedy’s Cigar Bar & Restaurant on Long Street.
But Per wanted something different.
He had travelled through Morocco in his twenties in a red VW minibus, and the colours, flavours and atmosphere stayed with him. When Rick’s was created, those memories found their way into the restaurant.
The result was deliberately not purely Moroccan, not purely American and certainly not purely European.
Just like the fictional Rick’s in Casablanca, it was meant to be a meeting place for different cultures, different people and different stories.
Good food. Big portions. Great drinks. No pretension.
That became part of the Rick’s philosophy.
A new home on Kloof Street
In 2020, Rick’s moved into its present home at 103 Kloof Street, in a historic Victorian villa. The building, dating from the early 20th century, was renovated while retaining its old-world character.
Today, Rick’s stretches across several levels, each with its own personality.
Downstairs is the lively bar — packed with an impressive collection of spirits and more than 80 tequilas, along with hundreds of other drinks. It is also home to Live Jazz on Friday and Saturday nights, where local musicians turn the bar into a little Cape Town version of Rick’s famous nightclub.
Upstairs, the restaurant offers a more relaxed atmosphere, surrounded by Moroccan-inspired décor, old photographs and reminders of Casablanca.
And then there is the Roof Terrace.
High above Kloof Street, guests can enjoy cocktails, lunch, dinner or sundowners with Table Mountain as the backdrop.
Food without the fuss
Rick’s menu follows the same philosophy as the restaurant itself: a little bit of everywhere.
There are Moroccan and Mediterranean specialities, seasonal Global Tapas, fresh seafood, prime steaks, salads and the famous Rick’s burgers.
It is food designed to be enjoyed rather than analysed.
Generous portions, good ingredients and plenty of flavour — the kind of food that encourages you to stay for another drink.
And the story continues...
Over the years, Rick’s has become much more than a restaurant.
It has hosted first dates, birthdays, business meetings, family dinners, tourists discovering Cape Town, locals meeting after work, jazz nights, rugby celebrations and countless “just one more drink” evenings.
It has become a meeting place between locals and travellers, Cape Town and Casablanca, old friends and new ones. That cultural crossroads is precisely what the original movie represented — and it is what gives Rick’s its personality today.
The building may be historic.
The movie may be from 1942.
But Rick’s is very much alive.
So, whether you come for a burger, a Tajine, a steak, a cocktail, live jazz, a rugby match, a sunset on the roof or simply to meet someone special — pull up a chair.
Because at Rick’s Café Américain...
“This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”
Rick’s Café Américain
103 Kloof Street, corner Weltevreden Avenue, Gardens, Cape Town, South Africa
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