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| Cooking on the open fire, Muisbosskerm |
How far would you travel for a special restaurant? Muisbosskerm,
an open-air restaurant on the Western coast of South Africa, is a about as hard
to get to as it is to spell. A direct
trip from New York requires nearly forty hours in transit including three
planes and a three-hour drive once landing in Cape Town. In this food lover’s opinion, the journey is
worth it because there is simply no restaurant like it in the world.
Most of the Western coast of South Africa is sparsely
populated, and the fishing village of Lambert’s Bay is no exception- a few
guesthouses and a discount market clustered near the end of a gravel road. It is a wonder then that Muisbosskerm, a
couple of kilometers south of town, has thrived for the last 28 years, now
attracting more guests (including more foreigners) than ever before.
We pulled into the parking lot as the sun was setting, an
early 6:30pm on our recent winter visit.
Mud walls were the only real structure, enclosing about four-fifths of
the interior, leaving enough space to walk out to the ocean and catch the
fading light over a Windhoek lager. Looking
up there was no roof, just the first stars.
This is because all the food we would be eating from grilled fish, to
simmered stews, to bread, would be cooked over the open fire.
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| Going back for seconds on snoek liver |
The owner, a large, friendly Afrikaner, told us to pace
ourselves, that the food would be served communally- we could eat as much as we
wanted but there would be a lot of food coming out over the course of several
hours. Keeping that in mind I held back as
the first arrival, a large platter of steamed mussels with a cast iron skillet
of melted butter and garlic, was set down on a high table. A few of the thirty or so other guests
clustered around the pan leaving their mussels shells in a bowl to the
side. These shells would be cleaned and
later reappear as “spoons” for scooping paella and stew.
We finally went in for a solid first course when the lady
working with a large pot of oil placed a tray of two types of fried fish next
to the mussels. The texture was a dense
on one and the taste a bit metallic and rich on the other- we loved both. Later the owner would tell us those were the
roe sack and liver of snoek, an abundant local fish. We filed that under “Things We Are Glad We
Didn’t Know Before” and went back for a second helping.
As the evening progressed over a bottle of wine, we saw two types of smoked fish and four kinds of whole, grilled fish including
Angelfish, Kabeljou, and the body of the Snoek.
The paella came off the fire bursting with crawfish, mussels, and
squid. A few more fried pieces appeared,
this time of the actual meat of the fish.
There were salads (a bit beside the point), fried potatoes, and bread
still steaming from the oven (very much on point).
For an extra 40 rand per person (about $4) we each had a
half of a large crawfish, grilled and painted with butter. It was sweeter and more tender than most lobster
I have had. This was our kind of dessert. Though a couple of stews appeared and coffee served,
we could not fathom another bite.
On the surface, it is hard to believe that people would
travel so far for a restaurant with no roof, where plates are made of
Styrofoam, paper towels work as napkins, and the only utensil available is a
mussel shell. As we warmed our hands by
the fire, listening to the crashing of the waves and staring up at the Southern
constellations I could not think of another restaurant with this unique
combination of atmosphere and wonderful, abundant, local food. For a
restaurant unlike any other, the journey is always worth it.
DETAILS
Muisbosskerm
http://www.muisbosskerm.co.za/
Lambert’s Bay, Western Cape, South Africa
Make reservations far in advance. The restaurant only opens when they have at
least 15 people on the books. Check in
two weeks before your visit to confirm they will be open. Dinner only except on Sundays when they do
lunch.
Note: Dress warm in winter
and it doesn’t hurt to bring a blanket.
Where to stay:
The owner’s brother has a campsite across the street from
the restaurant (about 200 rand for the night with showers). There are several guesthouses in Lambert’s
Bay. For those looking for more luxury, the
Clanwilliam Hotel in the charming village of Clanwilliam is a 40 minute
drive.
Cost:
About US$20 per person, $4 extra for the crawfish when in
season. Drinks are paid for
separately. Beer and wine available but
BYO is also okay. CASH ONLY (South
African rand)
