“La Mouette means seagull in French,” says Henry Vigar, chef patron of the new Sea Point restaurant of the same name. “I was inspired by the baby seagulls that were hatching in the rafters while we were renovating. Then, when one of the investors came round, a seagull left a ‘donation’ on his head – it’s good luck, you know.”

La Mouette is housed in an old building in Regent Road. The house apparently once belonged to the mayor of Cape Town and was most recently a buffet-style restaurant called The Carvery. The décor is refreshingly simple and classic, its design hinging on dark panelling and antique windows. Outside there’s a contemporary splash in the design ethos in the form of a koi fountain.

La Mouette is not the only new kid on Sea Point’s block – La Boheme and The Duchess of Wisbeach are two other new restaurants that are upping the dining stakes in Cape Town’s largest suburb.

This is nothing new. Long before the glistening and gilded V&A Waterfront perched itself grandly by the harbour, Sea Point was the place restaurant revellers headed to.

In days gone by, hungry folk in Cape Town would have to hop on an electric tram to get to Sea Point. The trams looked like double-decker busses, ran on wheels (not tracks), and were powered by overhead cables. These trams ran from St Georges Street to the terminus at the circle at the end of Sea Point.

African travel writer Mike Copeland remembers his summer holidays in Sea Point – all sandy beaches and sticky ice creams.

“There used to be a restaurant called Venezia, which was famous for its Italian dishes and ice creams,” he says. There is still an ice cream shop with the same name where it used to be on Main Road.

“The Doll’s House was also hugely popular,” says Mike. “It was opposite the lighthouse. You parked your car, flashed the lights for service, and ordered your burger and milkshake. Then you got to the real reason you were there – to make out with your girlfriend in the car!”

“Sea Point was always very cosmopolitan,” muses Mike. “It was filled with lots of small restaurants serving foreign, mainly Mediterranean, food.”

Mike also remembers spending many nights at old, established hotels drinking sundowners on the verandahs accompanied by live bands and dancing.

“The first grilled chicken take-away joints I can remember were in Sea Point,” he says. “It was impossible to resist the aroma coming from the rotisseries strategically placed in the windows.”

The likes of La Boheme, The Duchess of Wisbeach and La Mouette are once again enticing restaurant-goers back into Sea Point’s salty fold.

At La Boheme, and at neighbouring La Bruixa, expect to find a changing blackboard menu offering Spanish- and French-inspired dishes, from crispy pork to sardine tapas. The wine list here impresses too, with 60 wines on offer by the glass at prices that are fair. Try their blackboard special and pay R90 for two courses or R110 for three.

At La Mouette, try French favourites with a contemporary twist, such as chicken liver parfait served with pear chutney. Make sure you leave room for Chef Henry’s deconstructed gin and tonic dessert though, which consists of tonic jelly, gin syrup and lime ice cream.

The Duchess of Wisbeach has put the quirky into fine dining – be served by satin bustier-wearing waiters at tables decorated with ceramic dogs.

Authentic Asian restaurants are also prolific along the Sea Point strip. You’ll find cabbage and pork dumplings, viscous hot-and-sour soups, crispy duck and every noodle dish ever invented – not to mention sushi at bargain prices.

There’s life in the old girl yet – Sea Point is once again a gourmet destination. The only problem now is choosing where to eat first.

By Malu Lambert

Sea Point institutions

Kabab Mahal
La Perla
Dynasty 
Buzbey Grill
The Wooden Shoe
Ari’s Souvlaki