Ocean Basket Bloubergstrand — Restaurant in Table View

When asked by my family last night (27 May) what I want to have for supper on my birthday, it was a no brainer to say OB Blouberg because of the good experiences there, the last being mothersday! My sister called around 5pm to confirm the booking for 7 people, closing time for 10pm and checked for an option to pre-order but was told our anticipated arrival time 8:15pm will suffice to place the orders. Confirmed that Gran will be in a wheelchair (94yr old) etc and that we were set to be enroute from Oakdale Bellville (driving past Tygervalley OB and Canal walk OB by the way). We arrived around 8:05pm had a lovely welcome and placed our drinks order shortly after arrival whilst waiting for my aunt and cousin. Food was ordered at 8:50pm and was served promptly around 9pm whilst being told by Evelyn (our lovely waitress) that due to loadshedding and 'generator issues' the establish will close at 9:30pm - we have 30min to have our food and wine and get going! We obliged and tried to make the most of the experience with my sister requesting for something special for the bday girl (me) and the waiters/waitress' team sang for me! Loved it! Thank you! I however noticed the displeased expression on the one of the staff that was just visible on a distance (gentleman) on duty's face (probably due to the noisiness) as he was standing not so far from the team singing. His general demeanor for the night took away from the 'at home' feeling that OB Blouberg offers. There were two tables (ours included) occupied after 9pm and I am baffled and how this gentleman was just standing around looking very irritable that we are still there instead of checking on us or just making small talk. Please advise your floor staff to stay out of sight if they are not in a forthcoming mood as it dimmed our experience. The experience was worsened because the Chef was heavy handed on the salt and the favourate creamy garlic mussels (which were on the 3 platters shared) and the additional pan ordered, was sooo salty and it seems the prawns were also covered in the same sauce. We all had to have the meal with glasses of water along our other drinks. This was the same for the solemate platter, the crew's catch and the sharing platter for two and sadly the pan with the creamy sauce went back without being mopped clean like we always do. So disappointing. Granny could not enjoy the meal much and the village salad was drenched in salad sauce which doesn't help since the feta is so salty too. Needless to say desserts were not an option as we were already running a few minutes passed 9:30pm. We asked to take a quick family picture and was assisted by Epson (staff) which even escorted us out as we were so uncomfortable. R1720 might not be a lot for this establishment but in our current economic conditions it is to me/us and in my view could have been better spend elsewhere. Not the best birthday experience and it was my Namibian aunts first visit to the...

Have always for many many years loved coming to this Ocean Basket, but haven't been now for a very very long time... And what a disappointment. Unless the manager changes, I doubt I will be back again. We went on Saturday evening, and saw something new on the menu... Salmon rice dish with mussels. It looked divine on the menu, and thought it would be worth spending R100. My eyes almost fell out of my head when our friendly waitress brought it to the table. It looked nothing like it did on the photo on the menu (and in the past dishes served almost always resemble the pic on the menu) It was a relatively small portion, more like a starter, and a complete mush of rice. Not one bit of vegetable was to be recognised in it (was supposed to have been green pepper, spring onion, onions, carrots...) the fresh salmon had been shredded to a mince like constituency, and there were 3 small mussels looking a bit lost as if they were just decor for the unappetizing looking dish) The Manager, a young man, came.. His only reply was, this is how WE serve this dish. The pics on the menu are just an advert. But lol, I ordered the dish from seeing the incredibly yummy looking dish... Then I expect my plate of food to resemble it very closely. He didn't ask if he could get me anything else, or how he could make things right. I was just to accept it as it was. I however did send 8t back to the kitchen, I refused to pay R100 for such a measly mish mash, and ordered hake and chips instead. It was okay, but also not what it used to be. The chef in the kitchen is not up to scratch, and the manager didn't even bother to ask if everything was okay, even though he twice walked past the table. He only asked right at the end... Poor show. My feelings, if a chef isn't quite up to doing things properly, the manager should always be checking what leaves his kitchen, and definitely strive for the food to be what is depicted on the menu, and not something else. My boyfriend was also not impressed with his food, but didn't say anything. It was very poorly presented, and the slightly dry prawns were just plopped in an unattractive manner on top of his chips. Also a smaller portion than what ocean basket always served. The lady from the adjoining table glanced over after my food went back to the kitchen, and said she couldn't help but overhear, and saw.. And was equally disgusted about what they had brought me. She complained that her food had been cold when she got hers, but didn't say anything. But also wasn't very interested in going back to this ocean basket. Feeling exceptionally disappointed at what was once in my eyes, the best ocean basket around, has dropped to below standards one as a restaurant...

On January 28, 2024, I went to Ocean Basket Bloubergstand for lunch, only to witness a deplorable scene. To my utter dismay, the two managers were engaged in a one-on-one confrontation with a waiter right on the restaurant floor, at a table where customers were seated. The aggressive questioning and finger-pointing were not only humiliating for the waiter but also displayed a shocking lack of professionalism from the managers, who seemed utterly arrogant in their approach. It was evident that the waiter had cried afterward, despite her best efforts to conceal it while serving us.

It is absolutely baffling that a franchise like Ocean Basket would employ such incompetence in today's modern world, where information and training on effective leadership are readily available. The managers continued their disrespectful behavior towards the staff member in the kitchen, speaking loudly and without any regard for professionalism.

One of the managers even wore a cross around his neck, presumably symbolizing some religious belief. If this is representative of his belief system, then it's a glaring failure. Ocean Basket needs to invest in better manager training or hire individuals with more suitable leadership qualities. I am so appalled by this experience that I intend to contact the head office to provide them with my contact details and express my...