In exciting news for the Cape West Coast, new restaurant The Beach House is set to open at the end of October. Chefs and restaurateurs Darren Badenhorst and Callan Austin, of Eat Out three-star restaurant Dusk in Stellenbosch, are the masterminds behind this new spot.  

Described as a “barefoot eatery”, The Beach House is located on Yzerfontein’s 16-Mile Beach in an 80-year-old beach house. The restaurant is dedicated to celebrating West Coast authenticity, as well as embracing the rugged beauty of this unique part of the world.  

When it comes to food, diners can expect a menu that’s approachable and filled with comfort food. Badenhorst and Austin, who both spent their childhoods and formative years on South Africa’s coasts, have enlisted Jacques Grove to head up the kitchen and produce coastline cuisine prepared with world-class skill. With stints at the Chefs Warehouse group, as well as in London’s two-Michelin-star restaurant The Clove Club and three-Michelin-star restaurant The Ledbury, The Beach House menu is in good hands.  

As one might anticipate of a West Coast restaurant, foraging will play a role in what is on offer at The Beach House. Grove and his team will head out in the mornings in search of beach herbs and sea salads, strings of mussels will be kept fresh in the nearby tidal pools, ready to be harvested to order, and a dedicated local fisher has been tasked with catching sustainable seafood daily.  

The menu, which has been crafted with responsible consumerism in mind, will include items like the Baai Slaai – foraged salads including dune spinach, soutslaai and wood sorrel flowers – whole-baked line-caught fish prepared in the wood-fired oven, a classic fish and chips, coal-fired peri-peri chicken and a signature seafood platter. There’ll also be a 1.2kg prime rib on the bone á la Steak Florentine with a Café de Paris butter for the meat-eaters. The beverage list will highlight West Coast gems and crafted cocktails.  

Local resident and interior designer Hayley Breytenbach is in charge of reimgining the beach house and has tapped into Ralph Lauren’s summer-by-the-sea aesthetic to create a space that is classically beach house and nautical. There’s also a dedicated dog-friendly patio for parents and their pets to enjoy. 

Set to open on 24 October 2024, The Beach House will initially trade between Wednesdays and Sundays for lunch and dinner. Book via www.beachhouserestaurant.co.za or email reservations@beachhouseresraurant.co.za.