The place to be this summer is Cape Town’s first beach bar (albeit on a fake beach) the Grand Café & Beach. Located in Granger Bay, adjacent to Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront, a once-abandoned warehouse has been transformed into an eclectic fusion of international and local cultures, café ambience and fun beach elegance – and it’s perched uniquely on the edge of Table Bay with astounding views in every direction.

Following on from the success of the Grand Café and Rooms in Plettenberg Bay and the Grand Café in Camps Bay, the Grand Café & Beach has been created by using an old abandoned warehouse, adding a 46m sun-deck, day beds and a beach made from sea-sand harvested from surrounding areas that have been cleared by the Cape Town City Council.

The Grand CEO, Sue Main stated that the design inspiration for this exciting new project was “Cape Town meets St Tropez”. The Grand Café & Beach is a beach café that draws from the natural elements of this location, the landscapes and existing structures, the proximity to the ocean, the magnificent new Green Point Stadium and Table Mountain – all this creates a perfect setting for Cape Town dining at it’s most original.

The style is echoed in the grey and pink touches, Indian rugs, natural textures, antique furnishings, oversized chandeliers and Parisian café chairs. There is also an exhibition kitchen from which executive chef Seelan Sundoo will entice you to enjoy summer in Cape Town in a way that will set a trend for the future. And with drinking on beaches against the law in Cape Town, here is a legal way to enjoy that pleasure. It also has 2 portable swimming pools that offer relief from the heat, for those not brave enough to face the chilly/refreshing Atlantic ocean. These along with fresh outdoor showers and beach bar all add to the authentic South African beach vibe where you can roll up your trousers and enjoy that feeling of sand between your toes as you sip some bubbly or a fresh cocktail.

The bistro-styled menu includes a beach café fusion of The Grand Cafe’s famous tempura prawns, their Caesar salad, calamari, a gourmet crayfish sandwich, the delectable bouillabaisse, and incredible fillet béarnaise. From the pizza oven, stylish thin-crust gourmet pizzas will be served on long wooden platters – one of the pizza sizes will be 1.5m long and cut into rectangular shapes. It is quite a sight to see these creations being brought to the tables on wooden platters. Many people enjoy the the Grand Burger, a low carb, veal burger served with shredded lettuce, vinaigrette sauce and piles of chips.  All very delicious.

I have heard that the cocktails are a bit pricey and the service a bit slow, but that could well be feedback from the overloaded summer holiday period. So it should settle into a good rhythm and be there for all to enjoy. At least until the end of this summer! So give it a whirl on the next peachy summer’s eve.