As good as it gets

If you want reassurance that SA is the place to be, have lunch in Kalk Bay — it will remind you how beautiful our country is

Iwas standing at the urinal in Harbour House, certainly one of the best seafood restaurants in SA, when I decided to strike up a conversation with the man next to me. “What a view,” I offered, sighing. He was quiet for a moment, reflecting on the view, or perhaps somewhat taken aback by the fact that I was interrupting one of the more sacred of manly activities. Yet, I felt, this was one of those moments of beauty which demand that propriety be thrown to the wind.

So I pressed on: “It’s not often that one eats so well and finishes it off with such a lovely view.”

On a good day, and this was one of those exceptional Cape days, if you are standing at the urinal of Harbour House you get a boxed view — from the small rectangular window — of the mountain, the green that runs up to the top, and the bluest sky you can imagine. This, after you have been tucking into fantastic wine and sumptuous seafood, with a view of the sea from Kalk Bay harbour.

The man sighed. Then he spoke: “Sometimes we forget just how fantastic this country is. You know, I am from Jo’burg, and I travel a lot, and this is as good as you get anywhere in the world. In fact, this is better than many parts of the world.”

I sighed. We stood there, quietly doing our business, looking at the view. No further words were necessary. We were at peace. Then we washed our hands, went back into the restaurant and continued with our lives.

I have not been to Harbour House in years. I have been to Live Bait, just downstairs from Harbour House, and I have sniffed at Kalkies, that fish and chip institution next to it. On a Sunday afternoon both places were packed. There was a line forming around Kalkies.

So my lovely wife and I went to Harbour House. We loved it the first time we went six years ago. We had dinner. The waves crashed against the walls. It was a spectacular, beautiful evening. The food was excellent.

This time we went for lunch. Now, Harbour House is extremely popular and has an international reputation, so be sure to book if you want a good table with a proper view of the sea. As we walked in an Australian was begging the maître d’: “We have come from Australia and would like to have great memories. We really, really would like a table by the window.”

Alas, these are gold dust. But the place has loads of good tables. We got a lovely table slightly on the inside, but still very nice. There is an absolutely divine table I will be booking in December, but I will not give you the table number. I do not love my readers that much.

We ordered a bottle of one of my favourite white wine blends, the light and lovely Waterford Estate Rose Mary. It is racy and gorgeous to drink, but lovelier to look at: a hint of pink, a touch of steel. A beauty.

My lovely wife ordered the gnocchi starter, which she declared to be a little bit too fussy. There was mushroom, parmesan, butternut and sage in it. Too many ingredients, she said, but otherwise lovely.

My tian of prawns could not be faulted. We both fell in and really enjoyed the dish. For my main I had a local fish which I had not had before, called the gurnard. The Harbour House chef grills it and lays it on a bed of spinach with tomato and orange slivers on the side.

The gurnard and spinach was extremely tasty, fresh and light. I was not convinced about the sauce, yet this was a very fine, satisfying meal.

My lovely wife’s tuna Niçoise was excellent. The tuna was fresh, seared just so, and melted on your tongue.

We were happy.