For a brief moment in time I felt like I was holidaying somewhere on the Mediterranean coast. Basking in the sun and surrounded by whitewashed walls with shimmering blue water in front of me, amid the soft sounds of groovy electronic music almost putting me in a very peaceful slumber, I realised that my crispy-fried calamari was getting cold and I was roughly 13 000 km away from Greece at Shimmy Beach Club, which is still about as Mediterranean as one can get in Cape Town.
We visited Shimmy Beach Club on a Saturday afternoon not only for their now-famous weekly pool party, but also to try out their menu. All the senses are positively stimulated at Shimmy – from the sound of the beats, to the sight of the clear-blue waters, to feeling the sand between your toes and the delicious smell of fresh seafood. I am glad Shimmy is becoming as renowned for its excellent food offering as it is for its glamorous beach bar experience. The menu can best be described as share-friendly Mediterranean style (read our Q&A with Executive Chef Adrian here).
We started lunch off with a portion of marinated harissa tiger prawn and lime skewers and crispy fried calamari with green chilli and lime. Both were absolutely divine! Although I haven’t yet explored the other share options on the menu I would totally recommend these two when visiting.
We had been hearing really good things about the pizza at Shimmy, so naturally for mains we went with the goat’s cheese and caramelised onion pizza – hearty amount of toppings on a crispy-thin base. It was a pizza you would expect to find at a restaurant solely focusing on Italian cuisine and not a Mediterranean-themed beach bar. But that’s what we have come to learn about Shimmy’s menu: there is a little something for everybody and the dishes they do are prepared damn well. We also went with the 250g rib-eye steak served with truffle mushroom sauce – a steak really done to perfection and once again, not out of place at an establishment specialising in steak alone. Fantastic cut of meat of the highest quality!
Our thoughts upon leaving is that Shimmy Beach Club pretty much has it all. They have successfully recreated a piece of paradise right here in the city. We look forward to visiting again!
OF NOTE
Where South Arm Road, V&A Waterfront
Contact +27 21 200 7778, shimmybeachclub.com
