Beer, burgers and beefy Gautengers
St Lucia Ski Boat Club Pub and Grill Sugar Loaf Road, St Lucia Call: 035 590 1376 Open: Daily, lunch and dinner
THERE can be few more enjoyable moments than watching the full moon rise over the sea, especially if it’s enjoyed in a relaxed setting with good friends and a glass of wine.
We had English family visiting and so we found ourselves in St Lucia at the town’s famed ski boat club taking in sundowners overlooking the estuary mouth. This came after a successful day in Hluhluwe iMfolozi National Park where four of the big five gave us quite a floor show.
The atmosphere at the club is relaxed, and there’s a large outdoor patio and grass area where kids can play and even swim. There’s a bar to the one side and indoor seating.
But all the action is outside. It is here that the contents of those big SUVs with GP plates in the car lot have come to play – minus the cooler boxes and gazebos, of course. But it’s a happy vibe and we’re content to go with the flow.
The menu is simple club fare but covers most bases. There is a proper wood-fired pizza oven and all the usual flavours are present, plus a couple that would appeal to the visitors from up north. The Boertjie pizza offers biltong, boerewors and jalapeno, and there’s even one that offers bacon, banana and garlic.
We ordered a couple of focaccia (R45) with mozzarella and garlic to help wash down the gin and tonics. They were surprisingly good.
Starters are simple and we decided to share. The jalapeno poppers (R55) wrapped in bacon and served with sour cream had a good bite. The snails (R60) were plump and juicy, the garlic sauce nice and strong but they were somewhat smothered in a blanket of cheese. The “magic mushrooms” (R45) served with tartare sauce, were pleasant although they could have done with a bit more magic.
For mains, the “boys” looked no further than the Easy Cheesy (R88), a homemade beef pattie topped with feta, cheddar and cheese sauce and piled high with onion rings. It was served with good, “rustic” chips. The burger was enormous and messy and there wasn’t much conversation while it was being demolished, so that’s a sign of approval.
We all opted for seafood. The calamari strips (R94) were enjoyable and nicely cooked, while the hake and prawns (R145) completely floored us. The hake was a meal for two, but it was nicely cooked and the six prawns advertised as medium were a good size.
Trying to be healthy we all opted for salad or slaw, which was very much on the boring side. I think this is chip territory and the enormous portions are there to satisfy the well-fed Gautengers.
Dessert included chocolate fudge pudding and cheesecake and a variety of speciality coffees. But we were so overfed by that stage, we couldn’t even force down a Dom Pedro.
Ratings (out of five) Food ★★★✩ Service ★★★ Ambience ★★★★