One Waterfront Restaurant Review

Photo from the Cape Grace Hotel website.

One Waterfront Restaurant at the Cape Grace Hotel was one of the best places we ate at while in Cape Town. It's more of an upscale experience with attentive service(think white tablecloths) but still very affordable by Western standards.

The style of food is western with heavy South African influence. When I ate there, the menu boasted a variety of game meats and traditional South African desserts like Malva pudding and Koeksisters. Everything we had was well prepared and delicious. The breads were good too!

Here's what I had. A foie pate and South African lamb:


My companions had springbok steak:


Dessert of Koeksisters (L) and a chocolate cake (R)



Chomp Meter: A great restaurant for a nice dinner at the V&A Waterfront with gorgeous views. It's not as centrally located but I think that's perfect since you get away from the crowds. I tried several restaurants at the V&A Waterfront itself like Baia and the food there was mediocre as with most touristy hotspots. It's also nice because you can walk back to the mall after dinner for some shopping.

Some other restaurants I wanted to visit but didn't have the time are Aubergine, Showroom (ex chef from One Waterfront), Five Flies and Savoy Cabbage.

One Waterfront Restaurant
Cape Grace Hotel
West Quay Road, V&A Waterfront
Cape Town, South Africa
Tel: +27 21 410 7100

Ocean Basket - Not worth the trip

Ocean Basket was one of the places recommended by some friends to go for seafood so we headed there one of the nights we were based in Cape Town.

We went to the Ocean Basket at the V&A Waterfront (touristy I know, but we are tourists!) The place was packed for a Saturday night and we had to wait about half an hour for a table.



I would say this place is more of a mid level chain. For lack of a better comparison, the Olive Garden price range, family focused, but for seafood. Their specialty is fried or grilled seafood on a large platter that you can share. If you are Singaporean, it is like Fish & Co which I am not a big fan of.

Our garlic mussel appetizer (32 Rand):


We also got a huge platter to share this included Kingklip (a type of fish from South Africa), King Prawns (yum! which we don't get much of in the US), and calamari. I can't seem to find the photo of our meal so here's one from the Ocean Basket website:


Honestly, it was greasy and we felt grossed out after eating so much. Our gluttony partly to blame.

Ocean Basket Locations
These are some of the more popular ones for visitors:

Ocean Basket V&A Waterfront
Shop 222, Victoria Wharf, The Waterfront, Cape Town
Phone: 021 419 4300

Ocean Basket Kloof Street
75 Kloof Street, Gardens, Cape Town
Phone: 021 422 0322

Ocean Basket Seapoint
Shop 17, 1st Floor, St. John's Piaaza,Main Rd, Sea Point
Phone: 021 433 0450


Chomp Meter:
Ocean Basket isn't anything special but I suppose it's conveniently located. If you want to get your fried/grilled seafood fix in large quantities. Head here. For similar food and price, I actually preferred Jimmy's Killer Prawns (partly because of the name heehee).

Vida e Caffe - South Africa's Starbucks?

I was surprised to find that there is no Starbucks in Cape Town but who needs mediocre Starbucks coffee when there are a ton of cafes serving awesome coffee!

My favorite South African "chain" is Vida e Caffe.
Vida e Caffe = Coffee and Life in Portuguese. I love everything about it, from the clean design of the store, chill music, to the coffee, the simple menu, pastries and the Portuguese theme.

Very trendy eh?


Vida Caffe serves a variety of coffee drinks including lattes, capuccinos, espressos, frozen coffees, all served with their signature, a small piece of Lindt dark chocolate.

You HAVE to stop by and grab a cup of coffee and a cream filled croissant(carnetti) or egg tart (pasteis de nata).

Chomp Meter: Highly recommended. Definitely stop by at least once!

Their Cape Town locations include:

Camps Bay
Shop 1 Isaacs Corner
55-61 Victoria Road
Camps Bay
Phone: 021 424 5829

Canal Walk
Shop 404 & 406
Upper Level, Canal Walk Shopping Center
Century City, Milerton 7441
Phone: 021 552 3560

Green Point
Corner Portswood and Somerset/Main Rd
Green Point
Cape Town
Phone: 021 434 7266


Kloof Street
Shop 1 Mooikloof
34 Kloof Street
Gardens, Cape Town
Phone: 021 426 0627

Sea Point
Shop 11
Da Luz Mall
Sea Point Main Road
Cape Town
Phone: 021 424 5730


V&A Waterfront
Shop 6100
Victoria and Albert
Waterfront
Phone: 021 425 9440


Wembley Square
McKenzie Street
Gardens 8001
Phone: 021 465 8644

(Lots of touristy locations so you have no excuse not to go!)

See complete list of locations.