On my first full day in Cape Town (Sunday, March 7), I walked down to the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront. Situated between Robben Island and Table Mountain in the heart of Cape Town’s working harbor, the V&A Waterfront is one of the most popular destinations in South Africa, for locals and visitors alike. Picture Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, and multiply the area by three. There are many shops and restaurants to explore while enjoying street entertainers and taking in the smells and sounds of a busy waterfront harbor — all with gorgeous views of Table Mountain.

I found Mitchell’s Waterfront Brewery and Scottish Ale House and stopped in for lunch. The food, beer, and service were excellent.  There were five house beers on tap, and I tried four of them:

• Bosun’s Bitter, an English-style Bitter (3.6%)
• Mitchell’s 90 Schilling, a traditional Scottish Ale (5%)
• Raven’s Stout, a delicious, smooth Stout (5%)
• Milk & Honey, a strong and sweet Ale (6.7%)

The beer I didn’t try was the Old Wobbly (11%). The lunch hour wasn’t the time to get wobbly.

For lunch I ordered the Cheese & Chorizo Basket, which came with slices of spicy Portuguese sausage, potato bites (aka tater tots), and fried mozzarella sticks. The pub grub was a perfect complement to the tasty brews, and our patio seats on a beautiful sunny day made for a memorable lunch.

On my last night in Cape Town (March 11), I stopped for a beer at the place next door to Mitchell’s – the Ferryman’s Tavern. Ferryman’s is a landmark of a tavern, and I ordered the Ferryman’s Ale, which is brewed exclusively for the tavern by Mitchell’s.