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A candlelit table at Libertino, the menu in oxblood leather, a leopard print chair against the red wall

LIBERTINO

The wild side of Italian

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De Waterkant · Cape Town

li·ber·ti·nonoun · Italian

From the Latin libertinus, a freed man. Later, a libertine: one who lives by appetite rather than by rules.

That is the whole idea. Italian cooking done the proper way, by people who refuse to be solemn about it. A small room in De Waterkant with the lights low, the pasta made that afternoon, and a wine list that rewards the curious.

Come as you are. Leave a little later than you meant to.

Sheets of fresh pasta being pulled by hand under the kitchen lamps
The kitchen

Made here.
Every day.

The chef holding up a long sheet of pasta

Pasta is made in this kitchen, by hand, every afternoon. What the room eats at eight was flour and egg at three.

Oysters on ice. Antipasti to share. A tiramisu that arrives with two spoons.

A bowl of pasta in tomato sauce on a wooden board
The room

Eleven o'clock
on a Thursday.

A table set with a candle and a glass of wine Burrata and tomatoes being served A forkful of spaghetti lifted above the plate An espresso martini on a dark table A guest reading the menu in the corner banquette A dish carried to the table
A disco ball held up to the light

And then the disco ball comes down.

The list

Italian, then Cape,
in roughly that order.

A wine list built for drinking rather than reading. It changes when we find something better, and the best bottles are the ones you ask about.

Spaghetti lifted on a fork against red velvet
The Libertino leopard with a slice of cake
Custom cakes

Say it in icing.

Four sizes, six flavours, your words on top. Order it with your booking, a day ahead.

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The Libertino leopard eating spaghetti

Two seatings
a night.

Tuesday to Saturday
6pm and 8:30pm
Sunday
Brunch from noon
Monday
Closed
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Tables of six and up are held with a R250 a head deposit that comes off the bill. Card only.

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