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Experience

Sunset and Dinner out of Town

Sparkling wine on a beach outside Cape Town as the sun goes down over the sea, the Southern Cross found in the dark, then a long dinner of seafood and Cape cooking.

At a glanceOn land
How longOne eveningOne evening, out before sunset and back after dinner
How hardNoneA drive, a short walk onto the sand, and a long table
SeasonSpring to autumnThe warmer half of the year; not in the Cape winter

Cape Town’s evenings in the warm months are long and gold, and the city looks its best from a little way outside it. This one leaves in the late afternoon and heads out of town to the coast, timed so you arrive while the sun is still up and a cold glass of sparkling wine is waiting.

Then very little happens, which is the idea. The light goes long across the sand, the water turns from blue to pewter, and the sun sinks into the sea without any fuss at all. Take your shoes off. Nobody is going to rush you back to the vehicle.

Once it is dark enough, the guide finds the Southern Cross for you. There is a false cross nearby that catches everybody out, and the trick is the two bright pointer stars that lead to the real one. Once you have seen them you will look for them every clear night of the trip, and probably point them out to somebody else.

Dinner is at a restaurant out of town that cooks seafood and South African food. In the Cape that tends to mean line fish and mussels next to bobotie or a slow bredie, with malva pudding if you have left room. Order the line fish and ask what came in that day. It is a table for talking at rather than a performance, and the evening is paced so nobody watches the clock.

The drive back comes in past the lights of the city, with the mountain a dark shape above them. You are home late, full and quiet.

It works best as an evening for two, though friends travelling together enjoy it just as much. If there is a reason for it, a table apart can be arranged, and the rest of a special occasion can be planned around it. Put it after Cape Point or a Winelands day, when an easy evening is exactly right.

Good to know

  • It runs on set evenings, in the warmer months only. We match it to your dates.
  • The beach cools fast once the sun has gone. Bring a layer, even in summer.
  • Dietary needs go to the kitchen ahead of time. Tell us when you book.
  • A table apart for an occasion is arranged on request. Ask early.
  • Cloud can hide the stars on the night. The sunset and the dinner go ahead.

Runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays from September to May only, with pick-ups between 17:30 and 18:00; the beach, the restaurant and what the dinner includes are the operator's choice. A separate table for an occasion is arranged on request. We confirm what applies to your dates in writing before you pay anything.

The sand is still warm, the glass is cold, and the sun takes its time going.

Where to do it

Where we arrange sunset and dinner out of town

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Questions we are actually asked

Can we have a table to ourselves?
Yes. If the evening is for something, an anniversary, a birthday, a question you are planning to ask, a table apart from the others can be arranged. Tell us when you book, not on the night, and tell us what the occasion is so it is handled quietly.
Why not in winter?
Because a Cape winter evening is early, cold and often wet, and nobody wants a glass of anything on a beach in it. The evening runs from spring to the end of autumn, when the light lasts and the sand is still warm at sunset.
Will we see the Southern Cross?
On a clear night, yes: it is in the southern sky all year from the Cape, lower in some months than others. Cloud can hide it, and nobody controls that. The sunset and the dinner go ahead regardless.
What if we have dietary needs?
Tell us when you book and we pass it to the kitchen ahead of the night. Seafood leads the menu, but the Cape's cooking has plenty that is not from the sea, and vegetarians eat well.

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