The Definitive Guide to Kalk Bay

Clutching sun faded tow­els and cloaked in floaty kaf­tans, the more adven­tur­ous res­id­ents of Kalk Bay make their daily pil­grim­age down to the tidal pools that gen­er­ously grace the False Bay coast­line. Splashing in refresh­ingly cold sea water every morn­ing could be the secret to the youth and vital­ity of the people in Kalk Bay, although per­haps it has some­thing more to do with the mys­ter­i­ous atmo­sphere of abund­ance and relax­a­tion that infuses its visitors.

Morning dips in the ocean are best fol­lowed by one of Cape Town’s best cof­fees at C’est la Vie, an unpre­ten­tious French peas­ant style café with their own tiny bakery on site or at Olympia Café for a hearty deli break­fast with kip­pers and fluffy eggs. Grabbing a few sup­plies for the pantry from the charm­ing Olympia Bakery is a ritual, before return­ing home.

Deriving its name from the word ‘kalk’ mean­ing ‘lime,’ the name was inspired by the 17^th cen­tury Dutch res­id­ents of the vil­lage who used to extract lime from the sea shell depos­its, used in con­struc­tion. In later years the bay became known for its boun­ti­ful treas­ures as a fish­ing vil­lage and has remained a work­ing har­bour for fish­ing ves­sels ever since.

Making a liv­ing off the sea has always held some strange romantic con­nota­tion, coveted by writers and poets the world over, which, along with the beauty of the sea’s tem­per and the quaint cobbled street vil­lage, and would explain the attrac­tion for the cre­at­ive com­munity. World renowned artists, poets and writers liv­ing in Kalk Bay, have often openly admit­ted to its inspir­ing change­able atmo­sphere, as muse, but there are no ivory towers amongst the arty folk or any­one else here, as they flit unre­cog­nis­ably from sea to soiree, rest­ing in their sum­mer sojourn or beloved fam­ily home inbetween!

Massive facelifts to the area, promp­ted by the impress­ive mul­ti­mil­lion Rand ‘Majestic’ res­id­en­tial devel­op­ment, have given rise to a lux­ury book store, ‘Kalk Bay Books,’ the exquis­ite ‘Majestic Spa’ and ‘Klipkantien,’ the gor­geous tapas venue over­look­ing the sea which hosts jazz even­ings twice a week and is a Kalk Bay staple. Residents and hol­i­day maker’s alike delight in the mid­sum­mer magic, dan­cing bare­foot with glasses of wine in hand, under the heavy moon, as if a spell were cast upon them by the land itself. For to be a part of the essence of the vil­lage, is to be unrav­elled and freed, if only for an evening.

Shopping in Kalk Bay
For Capetonians, Kalk Bay has always been a week­end get­away, a place to shop, eat pista­chio ice cream, over­in­dulge on a sea­food lunch, browse some more, take in a ginger­bread mar­tini and then return wear­ily to the city.

‘Kalk Bay Modern’ should be a must on any vis­it­ors top 10 list with its gor­geous gal­lery space set above the Olympia Café. It houses local artists and design­ers unique pieces from cush­ions and leather bags through to ‘raw’ setees, art works, fab­ric, Persian rugs and more. ‘Blossom,’ a new addi­tion to the Kalk Bay strip, believes vehe­mently in keep­ing the hand­made pledge and stocks delight­ful hand­made good­ies hark­en­ing back to the days of hand craf­ted goods, crochet and knit­ted objects.

Newest kid on the block, ‘Beatnik Bazaar’ stocks retro, vin­tage and mod­ern accent pieces for the home and only sup­ports loc­ally hand craf­ted designer soft fur­nish­ings, ceram­ics and gifts. ‘Aardvark Gallery’ across the road from Beatnik Bazaar, is a large con­tem­por­ary space with a mix of local hand craf­ted goods, sculp­tures, bronze, wood, art and some­thing for everyone’s taste. ‘Kalk Bay Trading Post’ and ‘Railway House’ have been fix­tures in Kalk Bay for years, offer­ing the curi­ous vis­itor plenty of eye candy and unique pieces to feast their eyes on, from massive doors to marble baths, to ori­ginal edi­tions of fam­ous comic books and tin toys. “JACK’s,’ or ‘JAPS’ is Jo-Anne’s antique car­pets and kelims and is run from her home with a stun­ning show­case of the most beau­ti­ful antique Persian car­pets you have ever laid eyes on.

‘Chinatown’ has moved round the corner and the place it left now belongs to three new stores, ‘Franky’s,’ for vin­tage inspired fash­ion, ‘Ska’ for relaxed fash­ion and ‘Sugarberry Trading,’ for antiques and art. ‘Mythology’ is the new­est con­tender in the women’s fash­ion stakes and is an exquis­ite show­case for local design­ers such as Miss Moneypenny and other gor­geous Goddess creations.

‘India Jane’ is famed for their fem­in­ine dresses and vibey atmo­sphere cre­ated by their won­der­ful shop assist­ants, guar­an­tee­ing you need never leave empty handed! ‘Catacoombs’ spe­cial­ise in eth­er­eal dresses and women’s wear, made with unique embel­lish­ments and lots of love while ‘Mystic Rose’ will always have the per­fect dress for that spe­cial occa­sion. ‘Gypsey’ and ‘Oh so Boho’ offer Indian cot­ton gar­ments and accessor­ies, ideal for those search­ing for that per­fect bohemian ‘Kalk Bay’ look!

Eating and drink­ing in Kalk Bay
It seems asthough you could live for five years in Kalk Bay and still not have been to every res­taur­ant, diner, cof­fee shop, fish shop or cock­tail bar around. Favourites include ‘Olympia Café,’ for break­fast and lunch, ‘Brad’s Bistro’ for their fam­ous lamb chops and relaxed sea­side atmo­sphere, ‘The Brass Bell,’ who have about 8 dif­fer­ent ven­ues within their one massive venue, all peer­ing over the rocks and onto the water.

‘Sirocco’ feels like a hid­den piece of Portugal or Spain, with its out­door al fresco din­ing area and fresh white aes­thet­ics, mak­ing it the per­fect lunch spot for fresh sea­food and gour­met offer­ings. ‘Polana’ and ‘Harbour House’ are loc­ated at the waters edge and are actu­ally perched on the rocks. Visit both for the best even­ing you’ll have in Kalk Bay! ‘Cape to Cuba’ is known for its Cuban aethet­ics, warm atmo­sphere and the best cock­tails on the pen­in­sula. ‘FiSH’ is the mod­ern and sleek sushi, sea­food, cham­pagne and oyster’s haven nestled beau­ti­fully within the newly developed area of the vil­lage and ‘Klipkantien’ next door offers break­fasts, lunch and din­ners in a tapas style, under a massive palm tree on a ter­race, over­look­ing the sea.

‘Satori’s’ is a pizza and pasta venue with a dif­fer­ence, crowded and bust­ling even in the middle of storms in winter. ‘Kalky’s’ at the har­bour is a ‘must visit’ for a taste of authen­tic por­tuguese infused fresh fish and chips, served Kalk bay style, on the pier. On the St. James side of Kalk Bay, oppos­ite Dalebrooke tidal pool, the sug­ary sweet cof­fee shop ‘Cassia & Figg’ opened their doors in December and is the place to go for a light lunch and the English style ‘Kalk Bay Pub’ just next to it offers gour­met pub grub and draft.

Reach it by train, car, and bicycle or on foot, but whatever you do, make sure you get there. Stay for a week­end or even just a day and you’ll feel a new lease on life because this little sea­side vil­lage will undoubtedly have charmed you. Perhaps you too will be dan­cing under the full moon before your day in Kalk Bay is through …

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For more inform­a­tion about Kalk Bay please see:
Kalk Bay Photographs
Kalk Bay Attractions
Kalk Bay Accommodation