I ♥ Hout Bay because ...

Hi, I’m Liz Bester from Chez Victor in Hout Bay, Cape Town.

HOUT BAY IS BEST KNOWN FOR its mag­ni­fi­cent moun­tains and spark­ling blue sea views, its vibrant cos­mo­pol­itan res­taur­ant life as well as its laid­back “vil­lage” life­style.
GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN ON Chapman’s Peak Drive which over­looks the Sentinel Mountain across the bay.
THE BEST VIEW PICTURES can be taken at sun­set from the top of Chapman’s Peak, cap­tur­ing the golden glow of the majestic moun­tains.
OTHER HAPPY SNAPS CAN BE TAKEN in the pic­tur­esque Hout Bay fish­ing har­bour with it’s amaz­ing views of Chapman’s Peak and the moun­tains, also from the Sentinel across the Hout Bay valley ...

 

WHEN THE WEATHER'S GOOD, I LIKE TO walk on the beach, hike in the sur­round­ing moun­tains where there are some won­der­ful hik­ing trails.  When I’m not feel­ing as ener­getic, I love to dine at one of Hout Bay’s many al fresco res­taur­ants such as Dunes on the beach or at the Lookout Deck in the har­bour.
WHEN THE WEATHER'S BAD, I LIKE TO get together with friends and braai in our thatched gazebo or just sit around the fire chat­ting about old times!
I THINK THE BEST TIME OF YEAR TO VISIT IS all year round!  Summer in Hout Bay speaks for itself – swim­ming, surf­ing, din­ing al fresco.  In winter we drive along the most stun­ning coastal road in the world to the V&A Waterfront which offers dozens of attrac­tions such as a world class aquar­ium, cinemas, theatres and of course great shop­ping!  This is about a 30-minute drive.

MY FAVOURITE BREAKFAST SPOTS IS Deli Delicious – abso­lutely fant­astic break­fasts!  Great sur­round­ings, close to the beach and it has the pret­ti­est bath­rooms in Cape Town!  Another good break­fast spot with spec­tac­u­lar views of Hout Bay and the val­ley is Suikerbossie Restaurant.
FOR LUNCH I sug­gest Chapman’s Peak Hotel for its world fam­ous cala­mari.  Also for sun­down­ers, noth­ing can beat the vibe of sit­ting on the “Chappies” ver­andah, sip­ping a glass of ice cold wine, tuck­ing into mounds of deli­cious grilled cala­mari!  They also serve super-fresh line­fish – so a fish and chips meal at Chappies is a must!  Snoekies in the Hout Bay har­bour also serves deli­cious fish & chips takeaways.
MY FAVOURITE RESTAURANT IS Papino’s in Earl Street.  Try their Hollandse Biefstuk or Seafood Spaghetti..
BEST LATE NIGHT SNACK from Pirates Restaurant – renowned for its juicy steaks and suc­cu­lent  ribs.

MY FAVOURITE PICNIC SPOT IS a spe­cial view site on Chapman’s Peak Drive where one can watch yachts racing or sail­ing socially in the bay.  In the whale sea­son, this is the best loc­a­tion to spot them.  In November, I had the priv­ilege of watch­ing four  whales, plus a calf swim­ming leis­urely in the bay.  A very spe­cial moment indeed!
FOR A NIGHT OUT ON THE TOWN TRY Mariner’s Wharf for upmar­ket sea­food din­ing.
IF YOU WANT TO MEET LOCALS, GO TO Dunes on the beach.  Some of South Africa’s top bands per­form there from time to time dur­ing the sea­son.  I can also recom­mend the Lookout Deck, which has a smallish but excel­lent menu – great pizza and sea­food.  There is live music every weekend.

HOUT BAY'S BEST KEPT SECRET IS the twice monthly fun quiz even­ing hos­ted by my hus­band Eugene and I!  These take place at Pirates Restaurant and are also a great way of meet­ing loc­als.
MY FAVOURITE THING TO DO WITH FRIENDS IS to be with friends and fam­ily at home, braa­ing freshly caught fish or ostrich fillets!

TO RELAX AND RESTORE MY SOUL, I LIKE TO visit Pure Essence Skin & Body.  In my opin­ion, Shana, the owner, is the best in the west!  She spe­cial­ises in all kinds of facials, mas­sages and hol­istic ther­apies.
IF YOU'RE FEELING ADVENTUROUS, TRY char­ter­ing a fish­ing boat and go deep sea fish­ing, hik­ing up the many hik­ing trails in and around Hout Bay or for a gentler activ­ity, try some horse rid­ing – there are some won­der­ful horse trails in and around the valley.

MY FAVOURITE DRIVES ARE are along Victoria Road from Hout Bay to Camps Bay and from Hout Bay to Noordhoek along Chapman’s Peak Drive – both have spec­tac­u­lar views of moun­tains and sea.
MY FAVOURITE SHOPS ARE Hout Bay Books and Seaweeds Boutique for inter­est­ing and exclus­ive clothes and swim­wear.
MY FAVOURITE MUSEUM IS is the Hout Bay Museum where one can find fas­cin­at­ing facts on the his­tory of Hout Bay.
MY FAVOURITE BUILDING IS the Cape Dutch style Kronendal Manor House which now houses the Kitima Asian Restaurant.

TRAVELLING WITH CHILDREN? A FUN OUTING IS is def­in­itely the World of Birds in Valley Road – reputed to be the second largest bird park in the world!

BEST CHEAP AND CHEERFUL OUTING IS a trip to Seal Island on one of the many pleas­ure boats oper­at­ing in the Hout Bay har­bour – my per­sonal favour­ite is the Nauticat. Also the weekly mar­ket (every Sunday) run by the Lions Club.
WHEN MONEY'S NO OBJECT, I LIKE TO I like to dine at the exclus­ive Hout Bay Manor for an unfor­get­table and exquis­ite din­ing exper­i­ence.
WHEN I WANT TO GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY, I sup­port the Hout Bay Craft Market almost every Sunday.  The pro­ceeds sup­port many of the local Hout Bay char­it­ies.  Another com­munity pro­ject I sup­port by host­ing quiz even­ings is to raise funds for “The Pets of Hout Bay”.  This pro­ject is headed by a Hilary Barclay who per­son­ally takes care of sick anim­als and imple­ments a much needed ster­il­iz­ing pro­gramme, espe­cially for town­ship animals.

I ♥ HOUT BAY BECAUSE of its cos­mo­pol­itan yet “coun­try” life­style and only being 30 minutes from down­town Cape Town and the Waterfront.

Chez Victor

Set in the lush val­ley of Hout Bay, sur­roun­ded by strik­ing moun­tains and bordered by white sandy beaches is our pretty, self-contained, cot­tage loc­ated in Victor Street, a quiet cul-de-sac, between Victoria and Empire Avenues. Guests in the cot­tage have unlim­ited access to a large swim­ming pool set in a lux­uri­ant garden. The pool is over­looked by a stun­ning thatched gazebo, with ...

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Desirable Digits

Dunes Restaurant +27 (0)21 790‑1876
The Lookout Deck +27 (0)21 790‑0900
Deli Delicious +27 (0)21 790‑5324
Suikerbossie Restaurant +27 (0)21 790‑1450
Snoekie's +27 (0)21 790‑1867
Chapman's Peak Hotel +27 (0)21 790‑1036
Papino's +27 (0)21 790‑4077
Pirate's Restaurant +27 (0)21 790‑0484
Pure Essence Skin & Body +27 (0)72 172‑6402
Sea Weeds Boutique +27 (0)21 790‑7270
Hout Bay Museum +27 (0)21 790‑3270
Kitima at The Kronendal +27 (0)21 790‑8004
World of Birds +27 (0)21 790‑2730
Nauticat +27 (0)21 790‑7278
Chez Victor +27 (0)21 790‑5753

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