Features

South Africa - The Strandloper: culinary heaven on the beach

by Andrew Young

Sure, Cape Town has a whole raft of wonderful sights: Table Mountain, Camps Bay, the Winelands, Robben Island, Cape Point - and all should be given ample attention during a visit to South Africa's Mother City.

And the restaurants are out of this world - Blues, Morton's, Hildebrand's - all brilliant, all expensive, and all a touch too "mwah mwah dahling" for me. Now, imagine a restaurant with a beach for the floor, the ocean a stone's throw away, an extensive, fresh and delicious menu, a reasonable price-tag, and no pressure to order-eat-leave. Fantasy? The Caribbean? No chance. How about The Strandloper?

This absolutely unique "restaurant" opened its fishing net doors about 20 years ago. Despite this long-standing history, it's still relatively unknown both to local South Africans and foreign tourists. This is due, in part, to its location - about 110kms from Cape Town centre, and partly because it's on the West coast - a more desolate and sparsely populated coastline than the warmer-watered South and East coast (and much the better for it!)

It's a simple principle: arrive around noon, bring your own booze (although there is a bar), sit under the fishing net roof or out in the sun, and let the 11-course feast begin! Fresh-baked bread, Mussels, Crayfish, Snoek (local fish), Angel Fish, Paella - the list is endless! And it's incredibly fresh, tasty and truly local. Inbetween courses, local guitarists/singers/waiters blast out traditional folk Malay songs and jokes, and of course, the beach is right on the doorstep, so swimming, lying in the sun or jumping off the rocks with the local kids is an option if the food overwhelms you!

It's a truly unique, truly local day out, and it's dirt-cheap, around £12 per person.

Get there: hire a car, or get your B&B host to take you - drive up the West Coast highway out of Town, it takes just over an hour and the scenery is breathtaking.

Website: http://www.strandloper.com

Don't miss: jumping off the rocks into the small bay