Grand Café and Beach

We discovered this hidden treasure while on a pleasure cruise on the jolly roger 'pirate ship'. We were warmly welcomed by one of the waiters and without a reservation. The food was delicious, the service was great on our first visit and no so great on the second visit, in one week! Love the fact that it is literally on the beach, my little 4yr old son loved the sand, he was totally occupied while my husband and I enjoyed our meal! Food is pricey so definitely not your everyday venue. Sure to visit it again on our next trip to Cape Town!

Spent a lovely afternoon with 18 friends there on Saturday 27 NOv. Our Waiter was phenominal and he received a R500 tip! The food was good, not great and a bit overpriced. There were a little mishap when our waiter accidently blended chardonnay with sauvignon blanc, but hey with such a great venue, and in awesome fabulous Cape Town, who can complain? And to the incessant moaners, if you cannot afford it, don't go....it's that simple.

i am from german, in my holiday in cape town with my wife, my dauther, the grand beach cafe, the food is very good, the ambunce, but is waiter name's JOHN who make us very happy, we did have a the problem with my wife but he make us forgin each other. thank the grand, thank john, my english is not good, sory

you must get more waiters, you do short staff, but everthing is ok

the service was a little slow when we visited the grand cafe and beach last, but apart from that, the food was superb, there's a good, solid winelist, the cocktails were nice, and the setting is surreal. when you consider all the factors, and that it's not an everyday restaurant but an extravagent and occasional treat, a visit to the grand is definitely recommended from me.

It seems like it might be a hit or miss experience, but ours was definitely a hit! Superb food in surely one of the most spectacular Cape Town locations. It's on the pricey side, but you know that before you go. With the right waiter and weather, you'll have a very memorable experience, just be prepared to deal with Cape Town's larniest!

Att: Theo at the Grand Cafe & Beach, Just a thank you for making my daugher Regan Difford's 25th birtday party on sat 15 may so perfect. Your menu, seating and other suggestions were invaluable, and Anthony our waiter was attentive the entire evening. All Regans guests were impressed and enjoyed the delicious food and wines. Congratulations on an evening seamlessly planned and executed. Regards, Claire

I was driving fro Sea Point into the V&A and made a quick stop at the Grand. My first impressions: Wow, an old warehouse transformed into an amazing trendy fusional eclectic setting. I was dissapointed when I entered. I had a look at the menu, only decided on a normal wine. The prices is really ridiculous, in comparison to any other. Thank you, but I can spend my hard earned cash somewhere else.

I am not sure what all the fuss is about. I absolutely love eating at the Grand and have returned numerous times. The food is magnificent - and the staff are always friendly. I do think that some items are really good value for money. There are very few places that one can have a crayfish sandwhich for lunch. I expect to enjoy the experience each time - and I am very satisfied. A huge thumbs up.

What was supposed to be a 50th Birthday celebration for my wife turned out to be an absolute mistake ! Firstly, we had a booking arrangement that was confirmed right up to the day of the dinner - if warm we would like to be seated outside, cold inside. Simple request and confirmed by the restaurant even on the afternoon of the booking date. It was an absolutely stunning day in Cape Town and upon arrival we were seated inside! When I queried this the excuse was that there had been a misunderstanding and they could do nothing! We were seated adjacent to the indoor "bar" counter and proceeded to wait for a waitress. After some time I enquired whether anyone was going to serve us? Within 5 minutes a young waitress arrived and presented the menu and wine list. I ordered some white wine that we all enjoy and started to settle into the evening. The waitress returned with our drinks order and immedaitely opened and poured the wine! No invitation to taste and filled the wine glasses to the brim. I asked her whether she had been trained to pour wine to which she said no! She then dissapeared and returned 20 minutes later to take our order. I enquired about some of the dishes on the limited menu and it was obvious she had no idea about the menu items or what they were served with. I again asked her whether she had been trained and instructed on the menu and she nervously giggled. We ordered our food and waited. When it arrived the entire order for all of us (four persons) was completely wrong and the food ice cold. At this point I called for the manager. In fairness he tried to help but things only worstened and the evening became a complete dissaster. The food that was eventually served was poor, the service even poorer and what should have been a 50th birthday celebration turned out to be the biggest restaurant dissapointment of my life and I went home and had a sandwich. I will never return to this establishment as it is, in my opinion a fashionable place to be seen but with very little subtance. The food is poor and over priced, the service shocking and if you want to be seen as one of the trendy people of Cape Town then I would go to the Grand but don't go there for any other reason! Spend you money more wisely in an establishment that knows about food, service and value for money!

I have to admit I was keen to see what all the hype was about about this place, however, after tracking from the car park in heels through what felt like a building site I was so impressed with the venue, beautiful, however, having not booked we did not get a table. I was still adamant to try this place but having read these reviews I am embarrassed, to say the least, at the prices of the food. I will definitely not go again, I want to know how they can justify those prices. I have traveled extensively, internationally, to many different places and have never been charged those prices for food. I hope that such an amazing venue can readjust their prices to accommodate more customers.

We were there over the weekend for the first time. It's a great venue and setting. But the food is very average and the service poor. Our first problem was the parking and reception. The parking area looks like a 4x4 track, and women in heals have to negotiate over building rubble and through dust to get to the place. We stood around at the entrance for some 5 minutes before somebody was able to help us to a table. Although we booked we were placed in a corner, where everybody bumped into our table until we asked to be moved. The service is poor and we only managed to order 1 drink in all the time we were there. That might have been a good thing because a bottle of Graham Beck sparkling wine costs R380. We did manage to order food but after that we only saw the waiter again after we had to ask 3 times for our bill. We?ll leave this one for tourists can get ripped off.

Trendy and chic yes, but I'd give this one a miss. At R350 for my pizza (it was announced as a 'special' and was not on the menu hence no price given I felt ripped off.) (The seafood pizza costs R500!) Admittedly it was large but still left a bad taste in our mouths. The rude security staff made one feel as if you were entering Alcatraz and were not the ambient personal one would expect. At our table we discovered later that three main courses were charged for that had not been ordered and two of our group had their starters brought to the table, only to have them grabbed by another waiter and delivered to another table, never to be replaced. Nice setting but I'd give this one a miss.

We made our reservation via e-mail, which was convenient & efficient!! We had great company, the most breath-taking view, angelic food, champagne and our feet snugg in the soft white sand. I love the fact that it is uber exclusive and that you need to make a booking in advance. -That way it wasn't overcrowded, and patrons have their own privacy instead of having a crowd of frustrated guests stuck at a bar, staring at you whilst you are trying to enjoy your meal.

I tried making a reservation and it was like pulling teeth. The website is still not up and running either. The sms line method is so impersonal. Please try to ammend this and make your reservations method more user friendly.

I found that booking too impersonal i.e. need to SMS a booking and response also via SMS. Even went to the venue as I work in the V&A and was met by a security guard who would not let me in at all. The SMS response said that they are fully booked for Friday 29th Jan 2010 but I was not encouraged to make a booking for another day. My review is purely based on the quality of the reservation and not the actual restuarant because I am not sure when I will have an opportunity to actually visit the restuarant.

What a shame that these other folks had such a bad time, I realy cant believe that, and as a restaurant owner in Cape Town myself, I am horrified at the misrepresentation of what happened. I happened to be there for this whole affair. If anyone ever treated my staff the way this customer did, I would have booted them out the door! She arrived 2 hours late for her booking, which I distinctly heard the hostess telling her, and then screamed obscenities and filthy language at not only the hostess (who amazingly stayed calm) but also all the rest of the staff. Despite this behaviour, the staff still made an arrangement for a VIP room at another establishment, gave them a couple of bottles of bubbly to appease them, and offered to personally escort them there, taxi fare on the house. Despite all this and the effort made by the incredibly accommodating hostess (donâ??t know her nameâ?¦ blond bob), to see this woman and her friends then slander the restaurant in all media forums is, frankly, unacceptable behaviour, and downright disgraceful. My friends and I thoroughly enjoy the Grand Café and we will continue to enjoy great food, service and venue at the best hotspot in Cape Town.

This is the perfect place to relax, enjoy the beach sun in an environment where everything is provided. It's a hide-out but you will have a panoramic view of the Atlantic Waters from beach. Its real good!!!