It’s drum rolls for Cape Town’s most chic hang-out of the season.
For those of us that lament the lack of beach venues with a definite vibe in Cape Town, here’s the penultimate addition. In fact, in a Marie Antoinette like move, The Grand created its very own beach in order to build a restaurant on it. Seems absurd given our stretch of coastline, but once you feel the undeniable pleasure of sipping a Ginger Rogers cocktail while the sand tickles your toes, it matters not a jot whether it is indigenous or imported.
The Grand is an adult’s playpen, a place that lets you take in the scene behind your rose-tinted Oakley shades until your heart is content. After nightfall the manager promises that things get rather raucous: the lip-shaped sofas in the sand invite discreet couplings and the chandelier begs to be swung from. Food seems almost an unnecessary addition to all the visual and auditory stimulation on offer, but a person needs something to soak up the Chardonnay and Champagne that inevitably flows in such settings. And so platters of excruciatingly thin-based pizza arrive, draped with seafood. My favourite dish is the Grand Club sandwich (R85/R180) with added seared tuna (R80).
The Grand claims to have grasped the notion that no one knows how much love can be held by mankind. I have no idea what that means. Perhaps I should order another cocktail to help me try to figure it out.
The Grand Cafe and Beach, off Beach Road, Granger Bay 021 425 0551
Dawn Kennedy – Dec 11th 2010, 00:00