Live Bait is in the Kalk Bay harbour, next to Polana and underneath Harbour House. It used to be called Ek ‘n Jy. I ate there one evening last week.
When we arrived we saw some people we knew and went over to their table to say hello. While we were at their table, I was completely distracted by how fantastic the two salads they were sharing looked. The first thing I did when I received a menu was check out the salads and ordered one (R55). Rocket, crispy bacon,bella rosa tomatoes, avo and parmesan salad. Tossed in wholegrain mustard vinaigrette and fresh herbs. Served with garlic rubbed croutons, green peas, basil mayo and a soft-boiled egg. It was awesome.
For mains, I had the linefish which was Yellowtail (R95), served with mediterranean vegetables. It was good and it was fresh but I wouldn’t say it was the best I’ve ever had. My dining partner had the mussels (R68) in a creamy sauce and she seemed pleased with her choice. We drank wine by the glass, I didn’t look at the wine list but their wine by the glass options were pretty good.
Service was not great. We often found ourselves waving our hands, desperately trying to get some attention. It’s one thing when the waiters neglect you because they are really busy, but it’s quite annoying when you can see the waiters standing around staring into space but can’t get their attention without having to get up and walk to the other side of the restaurant.
One of the nice things about eating at any of those restaurants in the Kalk Bay harbour is the views, and Live Bait is no exception. We were seated at the window overlooking the harbour and even at night, it’s a lovely scene to look out on. Live Bait is a casual alternative to Harbour House and a little cheaper too. The menu is smaller and less sophisticated but the quality of the food is good.
Live Bait
Kalk Bay harbour
Tel: 021 788 5755
Comments
5 responses to “Live Bait review”
We had one meal here and were sadly disappointed as the fish and calamari was mediocre and oily
I ate here again on the weekend. We had the Live Bait salad to start again, it’s still fantastic. For mains we had the line fish which was Cape Salmon (R100), I’m still not wild about the very oily vegetables.
I took a closer look at the wine list and found it to be short and very reasonably priced. The service was the same as last time, fine but often scarce.
On the wall is a big poster of which fishes are overfished or not, which I think is very responsible of them.
I ate there on Valentine’s Night and the atmosphere was incredible. I’ve been there several times in the past few years and always love being at Kalk Bay Harbour – waves crashing against the window, cheerful restaurant, casual, not pretentious.
The time before I had the vegetarian pasta (being vegetarian myself). It was delicious. I ordered it again this time, and somehow it was lacking bite. After we’d left I realised they’d forgotten to add the caper berries. Poor show when a restaurant forgets essential ingredients. But it won’t stop me going back again – it’s my favourite place to have dinner in Kalk Bay. I suppose as a vegetarian, the quality of food is so lacking in Cape Town, that I always choose my restaurants based on atmosphere.
Max, thanks for the feedback. Check out my post on vegetarian options in Cape Town…
http://relaxwithdax.com/?p=743
No stars for this establishment I am afraid. We ate there on the 21st March and the ceiling collapsed down on us! The ceiling was totally swollen from water damage, so fortunately that softend the blow. The owner was well aware of the situation as two other areas of the ceiling are patched. he had the most appaling attitude when I eventually got to speak to him personally two days later. I decided that the minor damages we could recoup ourselves, as that would ensure that I would never speak to him again. Instead I sent him a text message saying that he could deal with the health inspector and the Cape Times.