We spent a week in Citrusdal over Christmas and with our family having driven up from Zinkwazi, Hilton and Durban in KwaZulu Natal, we thought we’d make a day trip out of going to Paternoster and then thought, what the heck, its Christmas so letโs book a long, lazy lunch at the one and only Noisy Oyster Restaurant in this charming West Coast fishing village …
We arrived in Paternoster and it was freezing cold so the only thing for it was to pull up at the rather well known Oep ve Koop general store for a coffee.ย The shop has a fabulous garden with a number of tables and chairs dotted around, old enamel signs up on doors and two old fishing boats filled with vegetables and flowers – who needs the Floating Market of Bangkok when you have the Oep ve Koop coffee shop!
With a bit of table rearranging we managed to secure nine seats undercover and sat down to wait for our ‘moer koffie’.ย It arrived, beautifully presented in shiny, stainless steel coffee pots on trays with gingham checked cloths, white crockery and fresh, homemade rusks.ย Absolute heaven.ย It was the perfect little snack to keep us going until our 12.30 reservation at the Noisy Oyster for lunch.
Spending a few minutes browsing Oep ve Koop is well worth it too; they’ve got some beautiful enamelware, antique china cups and saucers and as always, farm style breads and jams.
As always our lunch venue didn’t fail to disappoint and we barely noticed we had been there four hours when we left!ย The wine flowed and with the table tennis table set up and piles of Trivial Pursuit question cards placed on the tables one doesnโt mind waiting for the plate of quality food ordered.
We must have waited a bit longer than even management deems standard because we received two complimentary bottles of wine and all desserts ordered were on the house!ย The food when it did arrive was outstanding; we ordered a variety of dishes from sardines and Patagonia Calamari for starters to burgers and Yellowtail for main courses.
The unique, al fresco setting and friendly, knowledgeable service makes the Noisy Oyster a must visit restaurant; I’ve eaten there four times now and it gets better every time.
Paternoster Links
- Paternoster Attractions
- Things to Do in Paternoster
- Paternoster Guest Houses
- Paternoster Accommodation
- Cape West Coast Accommodation
