Positioned on a private beach close to the V&A Waterfront, Grand Cafe & Beach is one of the most popular restaurant destinations in Cape Town. With a perfect backdrop of the Cape Town stadium, Signal Hill and Table Mountain, it’s one of my favourite places to bring visitors from overseas or to enjoy a lazy lunch with friends.
A revival of Grand Cafe and Beach!
Fredrik Aspegrén, CEO of the Grand Africa Group, mentioned that developments at the V&A Waterfront are in motion to upgrade the Granger Bay area with the walkway being extended to continue across the beach, while the beach area at The Grand will also be increased to provide more space. This will open many more opportunities to expand the premises at Grand Cafe & Beach and cater for more guests as the venue becomes more and more popular.
1. Hello, Natale Schotti!
New chef Natale Schotti has already been busy in her short tenure at The Grand. While the menu has largely stayed the same, processes in the kitchen have been optimised to cater for all guests that visit the restaurant every day. Especially in season, there are days when hundreds of people join for lunch or dinner. Expect Natale to put her own mark on the menu when the quieter winter season approaches.
Of the dishes served on the day, I loved the freshly chucked West Coast oysters that were served on arrival. With a crisp apple mignonette as well as a selection of herbs, these oysters were simply a dream that kicked off the lunch on a very good note. Moving on to the starters, there is one dish in particular that I want to recommend. If you’re only looking for a quick snack, you have to order the avocado and prawn popcorn. As they are deep-friend it adds a lovely crunch to ingredients that we already love to eat. As we continued to our mains, I had my eye on the grilled prime cut of beef. It was served with a smoky garlic butter prawns, house mustard and green vegetables. Cooked to perfection with lots of juicy flavour, this was a seriously good time. Lastly, the passion fruit and coconut panna cotta was my top choice for dessert. The intense flavour of the passion fruit balanced out very nicely with the sweet and thick creme. It was a lovely end to an incredible lunch at Grand Cafe & Beach.
2. Sushi & Bubbly on the Beach
Normally, alcohol isn’t allowed in public spaces, but there are several advantages of visiting a private beach. Drinking bubbly while stretching out your legs in the warm sand is one of them.
Construction is currently underway of a new elevated deck that will host a sushi bar as well as a new Pongraz Bar. Bubbly, sushi and a sun-downers will make this the most sought-after seats at the Grand Cafe & Beach. As no bookings are taken, these seats will be allocated on a first come, first serve basis.
3. Movies at Grand Cafe
As we continued chatting to Fredrik Aspegrén, he told us that there will soon be plans to host movie evenings in a picnic style environment at the Grand Cafe & Beach, which will surely be one of the most romantic settings in Cape Town. Watch the sun set over the Atlantic Ocean with a glass of bubbly, and enjoy tapas & your favourite move on the beach afterwards. It’s right at the top of my list of date-night ideas in Cape Town. No dates have been set for these movie evenings at the moment.
4. New Year’s Eve at Grand Cafe
Apart from the stylish venue and incredible DJs, I love the fact that the Grand Cafe isn’t as crowded as all other venues on NYE in Cape Town. As it’s such a big place, you will always find a place to chill and relax before heading back to the bar or the dance floor. The fireworks display hosted at the V&A Watefront will also be seen from here. Pacha once again takes up residency at Grand Cafe & Beach where you can expect nothing less than the extraordinary! Tickets are R750 per person and can be booked here.
Directions to Grande Cafe Granger Bay
Haul Road
V&A Waterfront
Cape Town
8002
021 425 0551
