The Cod Father - Unique Dining Experience

Isn't the name adorable? The Cod Father is a trendy restaurant in the Camps Bay area of Cape Town and has been reviewed in many guide books. I was afraid that it would be all hype but our experience there was pretty good!

There is no menu at The Cod Father. After you are seated, your server will take you to the glass cases in front and show you the specials of the night. Every kind of fish, shrimp, and shell fish imaginable. You make your picks and tell the server how much you want. I believe you can get it either grilled or fried. (I don't recall exactly). We chose for ours to be grilled. There's also a variety of sauces you can dip your fish in (peri peri, garlic butter, apricot chilli).

Most of the seafood/fish etc. come from the Mozambique area. For some reason I thought it would be from Cape Town. The selection includes king klip, blue marlin, butterfish, and cape salmon.



The inside of The Cod Father:


We got a seat by the window which was nice. There was a cool breeze blowing into the restaurant. We got oysters for appetizers. They were from Namibia. I usually like oysters but I didn't like these because the taste was really intense (briney and fishy). SO didn't mind them so he was happy to eat what I didn't :)



Here's our main course. We got some Tiger Prawns and a sampling of fish. Sorry it's been a while and I don't remember what we chose. It tasted pretty good though. I recommend getting smaller pieces and sampling more types. You can choose your sides. A carb like rice and veggies.



The Cod Father
37 The Drive
Camps Bay
8001
Phone: +27 (0) 21 438 0782

(You walk to what seems to be the end of the main road in Camps Bay and head up a little hill.)

Chomp Meter: A good choice in Camps Bay for seafood. Many of the restaurants there are more about being seen at than eating with significantly higher prices. Prices at the Cod Father are pretty reasonable. It cost us approximately US$70 for a meal with wine. I recommend calling ahead for reservations especially on weekends.

Jimmy's Killer Prawns - Killah!

After a couple nights of blah food, I was really excited to find Jimmy's Killer Prawns! Prawns / shrimp, especially large ones aren't as common in the U.S. and Jimmy's specializes in this. The shrimp are grilled to perfection with a special seasoning which makes it all the more yummy. The prices are also really reasonable. Approximately 20 Shrimp for US$12.

You can sit outside with Table Mountain in the backdrop at Jimmy's on Kloof street:



We went there twice while I was in Cape Town. *Gasp* What? To a chain restaurant and twice! Another confession, I ordered the same thing again because it was so good. I proceeded to finishing my 20 or so prawns and then sucked on the heads. Yes I know that is unladylike but soo yummy!

In case you are wondering, the dish is Jimmyz's Prawn Promise. Here it is below! This place was also a hit with my fellow diners.



Jimmy's Killer Prawns Locations

Kloof Street
1 Upper Union Street
Corner Kloof and Union
Tel: 021 426 0327

Hout Bay
1st Floor Jamaica Beach
1 Beach Crescent
Tel: (021) 790 2441

Table view
1st Floor Portico Building
Beach Boulevard
Next to KFC
Tel: (021) 557 7449

Chomp Meter: So anyway if you haven't figured this out from the rest of the post, I highly recommend stopping by during the trip. Get your fill of grilled prawns here!

Fun fact: Jimmyz has a branch in Dubai and France!

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).