I havn’t been to The Lookout Deck in Hout Bay in absolutely ages. General feedback had been that it was expensive and not worth it. A little while ago, we went there for lunch after a Just Add Heart outing, and I was pleasantly surprised. It was a lovely place and pretty good value too.
The Lookout Deck has a great view of the Harbour, framed by the mountains (hills?) which encircle Hout Bay. The decor is light and summery. As you enter, to your right is a more plush looking section with comfortable chairs in light tone fabrics with paintings of the sea on the walls. It’s very appealing, but lacks the close up of the view. To the left is the enclosed (de rigeur due to Cape Town weather) wooden deck with wooden bench tables. Slightly less appealing from a comfort perspective, it compensates with the awesome view.
As I mentioned, the menu offers quite good value. If you’re aiming for a quick inexpensive lunch, you could order the fish & chips (R65), or one of the snack baskets of calamari, fish goujons, prawns, etc (R45 – R60). We only had mains, one person had the butternut & blue cheese salad (R46), which was apparently not bad. The calamari basket (R48) was praised, and I enjoyed my fish & chips (R65). The platter for one (R150) looked like a feast and seemed to be done well.
We didn’t have wine but a quick peek at the wine list revealed that it was short and inexpensive. A few options per cultivar, all in the vicinity of R100 per bottle, with a couple of reds and whites available by the glass for under R20. That means you can have a decent meal with wine for a very reasonable price. In a venue like this, that’s a treat.
The Lookout Deck
Hout Bay
021 790 0900
www.thelookoutdeck.co.za