The Outspan restaurant in Kalk Bay is a polarizing place. Some things about it are great, and others are terrible, so it’s not surprising that opinions are mixed on this one. Outspan is a relaxed and unpretentious restaurant at the end of Main Road in Kalk Bay where there are many options of “touristy” type restaurants. At Outspan, they definitely don’t believe in the old adage “the customer is always right”, so you’ll have to take what you get without questioning! The service could really use some work. One of the strangest things about the place is that the only alcohol they serve is wine by the glass. However, if you want anything else, you can just bring it with you and they don’t mind. Luckily, there’s a bottle store right across the street, so you can bring your own beers if you want. It seems dodgy, but it works.
Outspan specializes in seafood and has some great specials on locally caught fish, grilled over a fire in front of the restaurant. They also offer good prices on huge prawn platters. There’s even an all you can eat option, if you feel like going crazy. To start with, I sampled the calamari starter. It was a little bit weird for a starter—a small portion of pan-fried calamari strips served with chips. But the calamari was nice and tender and served in a unique garlic sauce. For the main, I had a prawn platter with peri peri sauce. It was a lot of prawns, and of a good size, for a good value. The sauce was a little strange, as it was more of a paste that didn’t really stick to the prawns themselves, but it was tasty if you used it as a condiment after you de-shelled the prawns. Make sure to ask for extra peri peri sauce, which goes amazingly well with the prawns.
So, while I really didn’t like, the whole attitude of the place, I did really enjoy my meal. The need to bring your own drinks is annoying at first, but actually kind of nice once you learn the system.
Expert Review
The Outspan restaurant in Kalk Bay is a polarizing place. Some things about it are great, and others are terrible,...
The Outspan restaurant in Kalk Bay is a polarizing place. Some things about it are great, and others are terrible, so it’s not surprising that opinions are mixed on this one. Outspan is a relaxed and unpretentious restaurant at the end of Main Road in Kalk Bay where there are many options of “touristy” type restaurants. At Outspan, they definitely don’t believe in the old adage “the customer is always right”, so you’ll have to take what you get without questioning! The service could really use some work. One of the strangest things about the place is that the only alcohol they serve is wine by the glass. However, if you want anything else, you can just bring it with you and they don’t mind. Luckily, there’s a bottle store right across the street, so you can bring your own beers if you want. It seems dodgy, but it works.
Outspan specializes in seafood and has some great specials on locally caught fish, grilled over a fire in front of the restaurant. They also offer good prices on huge prawn platters. There’s even an all you can eat option, if you feel like going crazy. To start with, I sampled the calamari starter. It was a little bit weird for a starter—a small portion of pan-fried calamari strips served with chips. But the calamari was nice and tender and served in a unique garlic sauce. For the main, I had a prawn platter with peri peri sauce. It was a lot of prawns, and of a good size, for a good value. The sauce was a little strange, as it was more of a paste that didn’t really stick to the prawns themselves, but it was tasty if you used it as a condiment after you de-shelled the prawns. Make sure to ask for extra peri peri sauce, which goes amazingly well with the prawns.
So, while I really didn’t like, the whole attitude of the place, I did really enjoy my meal. The need to bring your own drinks is annoying at first, but actually kind of nice once you learn the system.