Die Strandloper — Restaurant in Saldanha Bay Local Municipality

As a Capetonian, for as long as I can remember I have heard of this famous restaurant, and always very positive. I decided to take my wife and son for our wedding anniversary; a bit of an adventure as its a 4hr round trip and on the beautiful west coast. The venue was as expected, rustic, so no surprises there for us. This you really must understand before going there. I have never before eaten from a paper plate in any restaurant in the world nor did I need to use mussel shells as cutlery - but this is what makes this venue unique. Its on a public beach open to the elements other than the fisherman's nets used as shelter from the sun. Bring pillows too as the wooden benches get pretty hard after sitting for a while. The ablution facilities are porta loo's, if that's not your thing you will need to make alternative arrangements :) It was Human rights day so I guess staff would be excused for preferring perhaps to remain home but we found everyone extremely pleasant, helpful and polite. There is also a wandering musician who entertained all the guests. We could not have been more disappointed in the food though. I was expecting the food to be flavorful and fresh. Fish and fishbones go hand in hand, trying to remove them for an 8 year old with a mussel shell is rather challenging. As the meal progresses your hands get pretty grimy (and a single finger bowl per table of cold water does not cut it). A snoek or other large bone could be a serious issue. Needless to say he did not eat much at all other than the bread. Mussels - did not eat the plain as it looked the part. The garlic mussels were bland. Bits and pieces of broken mussel shell a major turnoff. Weskus Haarders - extremely bony. Bland. Fish Curry - odd, bitter sort of taste but the chunks of precut frozen carrots and peas not cooked through was unacceptable. Snoek, sweet potatoes and rooster brood - I skipped altogether. Wife said the Snoek was over cooked/dry, the sweet potatoes very nice though. The bread was "doughy" Beef Bredie - I skipped altogether and when I saw the amount people left on their plates it seemed the right decision. Angelfish - tastiest of the fish but a tremendous amount of bones and skin - perhaps it was just the piece I had. Linefish was Smoked Yellowtaill. This was the only redeeming course. As with all the other dishes no added flavouring and no sauce but it was meaty and substantial. Kreef - should state frozen then boiled and briefly placed on the fire. Worst crayfish I've eaten in my life. Mine was not even properly heated on the braai. Being pre-frozen its impossible to eat the meat from the legs. What a way to butcher a seafood delicacy! Not sure how coffee or tea counts as a course. Koeksister. I gave this a miss but was told they were quite nice. From my observation totally lacking in syrup and rather dry. An interesting observation was the amount of people queuing in the beginning for food compared to half way through, and I am convinced it was NOT because they were full, there were some large lads in the group. Before writing this review I first spoke to other persons who had eaten here and they gave a very different account. I also read mostly praising reviews on the restaurants Google listing. So I am not sure if they were having an off day however we will never go back nor can we possibly recommend it. P.S Don't worry I will be planning something for our anniversary immediately to make up this...

NZ guest requested to have the renowned Strandloper-experience. He loves seafood and needed to go to tick it off his to-do list. I have to mention that we have previously been here and I, in particular, am not a seafood lover at all. It was again an average food-experience for me which is understandable. Admittedly the weather was lovely even for the season, no wind at all, lovely and warm and it was a festive pleasant atmosphere. The self serve buffet-like 10 course meal is ok. If you are a higine fanatic like most Europeans are, there might be some concerns and discomfort with the whole setup. Our guest is a South African expat who was born and bread here and understands the concept of Outdoor restaurants like Stransloper, Muisbosskerm etc. He is married to a NZ citizen and thinks his wife might not be comfortable with it. NZ have very strict regulations with regards to health and higiene at eateries. Nevertheless seafood lovers might be in their element. Unfortunately I was again disappointed with the type of seafood on the menu. The lobster tails which should be the highlight I think, is served at the end and it leaves something to be desired since there is a limit to the portions.

The wood-fired home baked breads are deliscious( I love bread with fresh farmstyle butter - unfortunately there was no cheese only jams (very nice nevertheless). The koeksisters were delicious, moist not overly sweet and the entertainment in the form of a local musician doing "Weskus" songs on request while visiting each table, is really lovely. I think seafood lovers will enjoy Strandloper as well as the food. Unfortunately I am not convinced about the whole novelty of Die Strandloper but others may totally disagree. It is a personal thing and a unique experience. I also want to mention that guests who book with Strandloper might consider bringing their own cutlery as well as crockery and glasses since the paper plates and mussel shells(UTENSILS) provided, is not ideal. Take note water in a bowl with lemon as well as sanitiser together with rolls of paper towels, are provided on each table, to wash and dry hands after each course. I find it awkward and uncomfortable eating on paper plates. I would much rather prefer a hard plate and a knife&fork. The "bredie" and garlic mussle dishes tend to soak the plates which become soggy and uncomfortable. Please read my review with an open mind since Strandloper is an extraordinary experience which is great for foreign tourists who want to explore somerthing different to what they...

This is the most honest review you will get! STAY AWAY, if your looking for a good meal!

This should not be part of the West coast food route!!! We came here DESPITE the bad reviews, thinking that people are way to judgemental, boy was I wrong!

Besides the semi good vibe and friendly folks, i would rather have a picnic on the beach!

The beach shack offers, in theory a unique take on dining, paper plates, no cutlery, rustic dining (a great and unique idea if executed correctly)

Unfortunately you are literally paying them for the privilege to feed you (the beach is free, you can bring your own drinks, its paper plates and shells as cutlery, there is no table service, no decent restrooms or wash up facilities, slapped together plank benches and some fish net shack shading) and then the food is sub par!

The breads and Jam, is absolutely amazing! But it just cliff dives into disappointment from there

Read some of the other reviews on here before you come here!!! Dont expect service, running water, clean ablution facilities or electricity. (It's questionable how they prevent cross contamination or wash up during and after prepping for each course.

The muscels are watered down, over cooked and bland.

Their choice of fish is questionable (the most bones and least amount of fish possible) classics such as bones with snoek, bones with angle fish, bones with a side of harders are on the menue and, if not bought pre prepared you won't be getting descaled fish. Its quite the "spot the edible fish" game.

The fish curry seems to be the same musels and boned fish from the first courses, also watered down with no real flavor.

We skipped the stew when we saw that everyone was throwing their good away... suspicious.

The crayfish was not the open buffet style like the rest of the dishes, it is brought to your table and your tiny portion of pre frozen /bar boiled and braaied with butter water crsyfish is handed to you. It is chewy overcooked and bland!

We got up and left right after and left.

There is no passion or care put into the cooking, Johnnie st burger king puts more effort into customer service and serving edible food!

Money, time and appetite...