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Harbour House restaurant was recommended to us on Instagram along with the Fish and Chips joint just below called Lucky’s Fish and Chips. Since we hadn’t eaten at a fancy restaurant on our holiday so far, we chose Harbour House.
Location
Harbour House is located at the popular Kalk Bay Harbour. There is plenty of parking available, just take the first right in the top parking area as the bottom one gets quite full. Keep some time aside for a walk along the pier with boats anchored on either side and a possible train viewing as the railway line runs through the harbour. This small harbour has a humble charm to it that you don’t find at other places.
If you’re lucky, you may even see local fisherman fighting off the resident seals from stealing their fish. The restaurant is on the top floor of the small shopping area boasts a lovely view of the sea.
Ambiance
Looking out the sea facing windows, it almost feels like you are at the same level as the sea. Try and get table close to the window as some times the waves crash into the rocks and splash onto the windows! The layout of the restaurant is quite cozy, with a small section that has a fireplace and couch.
Food and Service
We were here on Christmas day and as we entered, a host informed us that they are quite booked for the evening but we could check upstairs anyway. Upstairs we were greeted by another host who checked the booking and found us a table for 6:30, which is when their kitchen opened for the evening.
We returned at 6:30 and were asked to wait near the bar while the tables were being prepared, but were soon taken to our tables. Our waiter told us about the specials and we chose to go with the fried prawns starter (no idea what it was called) to share.
The dish had 3 tempura prawns surrounding an avocado, brinjal and tomato stack with a sweet chilli sauce (that looked and tasted like bottled sauce) and a basil sauce. The sweet chilli sauce was quite overpowering and so we could not really taste the basil sauce. In addition, the fact that it tasted like a store bought bottled sauce was a disappointment.
For mains, K ordered the grilled prawns from the main menu and I chose the Hake with potato bake and vegetable from the specials.
The hake was soft and juicy. The vegetables and sauce accompanying the hake were tasty and the portion sizes were good. When I think potato bake I think of a casserole with layers of potato mixed in with a sauce and some vegetables and herbs with a cheese topping. In the case of my dish it wasn’t that but I can’t say that it tasted bad.
The prawns were super fresh, soft and juicy but there was alot of excess oil in the plate which did not help the presentation. The accompanying rice was good and the salad was just tomato wedges and few slices of red onion as per the menu.
Overall, we could not fault the quality of the seafood but I cannot say that the food was magnificent. So a visit to Harbour House is a good outing especially given the location but even though the food is good, I wouldn’t pay those prices a second time.
The Details
Website: www.harbourhouse.co.za/
Disclaimer
All reviews are our own experience of the establishment. We are not in anyway influenced by any third party in what we have written above.
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