Beach restaurants

The West Coast near Cape Town offers a spectacular, casual seafood extravaganza. Traditional, open air, “restaurants”, which consist of no more than a simple shelter made from bushes (yes, small shrubs!) a few poles and some shade cloth, offer a spectacularly delicious, really unusual, gourmet experience. The floor is sand and the furniture rough wooden tables and chairs that may be no more than tree-trunks. “Cutlery” is a sea-shell. There is no piped music, and all the cooking is done on an open fire. It’s a set menu, with only crayfish (lobster) being an optional extra.

Dishes usually consist of a fish or mussel soup, grilled fish, fish stew, mussels, and whatever else happens to be available just behind the back break. Fresh bread baked on the fire with homemade jam, and a bit of salad, are the only relief from an almost intimidating procession of fishy dishes. Most people make a whole day of this and wander down to the water for a quick dip between courses. This option is only available in summer.