I spent a weekend in Paternoster recently with a group of friends and I decided that the West Coast fishing village is a fantastic place for a winter weekend break (especially if it’s not pouring with rain). While it was cold, the sun was shining and we went for long walks on the beach, soaking up the salty air and vitamin D. Some of us (not me, might I add) even swam. The rest of the weekend was spent sitting around reading books, playing guitar, drinking beer and… eating.
Obviously you’ve got to eat seafood when you come to Paternoster. It’s pretty awesome. We had a fish braai one night with some snoek that we bought off fishermen on the beach. For R30 we got two huge fresh snoek, enough to feed 10 of us.
If you’re going to eat out, you can’t not go to the Noisy Oyster for dinner. This charming, bohemian-esque restaurant has amazing food and a great, unpretentious, chilled vibe. The menu changes frequently and features whatever local seafood is available. If you’re an oyster fan, I can heartily recommend their fresh-from-the-sea oysters to start. After tweeting about my excitement at eating at the Noisy Oyster for the first time, I had a number of people tweet me back to recommend the Thai seafood curry. While the rest of the menu that night looked delicious, it was the seafood curry that I had to go for, big Thai curry fan that I am. Out of the 10 of us at our table, nine had the curry – that’s how good it sounded. It was indeed one of the best Thai curries I’ve ever had – the flavours were fresh and complementary, the sauce perfectly creamy and coconutty and the seafood was cooked to perfection. My only gripe was that it was a smallish portion – I could have eaten three times that amount. I managed to squeeze in a slice of delicious melk tert for pudding, while others at the table waxed lyrical about their creamy creme brulees.
All in all, it was a fabulous meal, made better by the fact that the restaurant charged us no corkage for the numerous bottles of wine we had brought with us and consumed. When does that happen?
Having drunk a lot of wine, we decided the night was not over once we had finished dinner, so we popped into the Panty Bar at the Paternoster Hotel, just a few metres down the road from the Noisy Oyster. Remember to bring a pair of panties with you when you go, to add to the tiny bar’s collection.
Another Paternoster foodie gem in Oep ve Koep, a seaside-rustic farm stall and restaurant. The farm stall has all manner of delicious West Coast goodies, from chilli pickled onions, smoked olives, spicy brinjal relish and homemade jams to freshly baked breads, cupcakes, caramel popcorn and souvenir t-shirts.
We came for lunch at Oep ve Koep and sat in the quiet courtyard under a shady tree. The menu was refreshingly local, with dishes incorporating wild herbs and plants that grow in the West Coast, and not just your usual local seafood. For starters, there was a winter salad of rocket, oxalis, nasturtium, quince, capers and feta that was full of flavour – peppery leaves, sweet grainy quince and salty-creamy feta. We all went for either the homemade chicken pie and salad (really well-priced at R40) or the calamari bobotie with beetroot, carrot and apple salad and lime custard, but the other options sounded interesting: sandveld bean dumpings with mushrooms, dune spinach and almonds and gemsbok sosaties with pan-fried quince and sambals.
I loved the calamari bobotie – it was a creative twist on the old favourite with unexpected elements that all worked together. The bobotie was made with minced calamari, so it had that authentic bobotie texture, which was complemented by a crunchy salad, blob of lime custard and sweet-spicy homemade chutney. For pudding we tucked into a chocolate cupcake (the last one!) and a slice of baked cheesecake. I’m a bit of a cheesecake snob – let’s just say I have high standards and I can get quite disappointed if they’re not met. This was honestly one of the best cheesecakes I’ve ever had: perfectly textured, delicious crumbly base and not too sweet. A slice of this is worth the one-and-a-half-hour drive from Cape Town.
We left Oep ve Koep as they were closing up and they had a few loaves of bread over, so they gave them to us for free. Even though we had just eaten lunch, we couldn’t resist tearing off hunks of dried-fig-and-herb ciabatta and rustic brown farmhouse loaf on the way home to Cape Town.
Restaurants in Paternoster
The Noisy Oyster
Tel: 022 752 2196
Address: St Augustine Rd, Paternoster
Opening hours: Lunch is Wednesday to Sunday, dinner is Wednesday to Saturday.
It’s essential to book ahead at the Noisy Oyster, particularly for weekends. Try and book a week in advance, especially if you have a big table.
Oep ve Koep
Tel: 022 752 2105
Address: St Augustine Rd, Paternoster
Opening hours: Open for breakfast and lunch, Monday to Sunday.
Kobus van der Merwe is the chef at Oep ve Koep. He writes a blog, Sardines on Toast, about running the restaurant, recipes and West Coast food. Check out the Sardines on Toast blog.
Accommodation in Paternoster
We stayed at a luxury beach house, As it is in Heaven, which is right on the beach at the far end of town. It sleeps 10 people in lovely rooms (all en suite) which have fabulous views of the sea. It’s a fully-equipped (down to fancy kitchen gadgets) self-catering house with TV, satellite, lounge, pool, two braai areas, a veranda, big balcony and large outdoor lounge. It’s expensive (at R10 000 for the weekend) but if there are 10 of you sharing then it’s pretty affordable, especially for such a luxurious place.
For more information on As it is in Heaven and other self-catering accommodation in Paternoster, and to book the house, go to Stay in Paternoster’s website: www.stayinpaternoster.co.za, or call 022 752 2048.
