If you stroll past Boulders Beach, where actual penguins lounge without ice or snow, there’s an inviting waterfront restaurant that seems perfectly positioned to capture passing tourists. There’s a panoramic window view of the ocean, surrounding beach and gorgeous seaside houses lining the nearby hills. If you get the right seat, you can sometimes see penguins or even a seal hanging out.

Once you go inside, you’ll find a classically decorated seafood place, complete with life preservers on the walls, old fishing nets, and an assortment of ocean-themed paintings. It’s also quite spacious, features plenty of natural light, and happened to be pretty packed with people when we went. If you go on the weekend, you can probably expect that to be the case, as the area is crawling with tourists coming to see the penguins at Boulders Beach.

After getting seated and perusing the large menu for awhile, we decided to try the deep fried calamari as an appetizer and was surprised that the portion was actually quite large. I’ve ordered calamari around Cape Town on numerous occasions and never quite know what to expect, but Seaforth cooked it up perfectly and didn’t leave you wanting. For entrees we got the summer prawn and noodle salad, along with the Cape Malay chicken curry (yes I know, ordering a non-seafood item at a seafood item can be risky). However, the curry turned out to be quite a bit better than the prawn and noodle salad, which was served cold and wasn’t that special. Another person at our table got the seafood platter, which looked to be the star of the show and came with plenty of crab legs, prawns and other assorted marine life from the deep. Desserts were quite good as well, and we all shared a giant slice of decadent chocolate cake. All and all, the food hit the spot after several hours of hiking and a small breakfast, but it likely won’t be winning any awards anytime soon.

Throughout the meal, service was quite slow, and some other tables came and went during the course of our meal. We needed to get back on a tour bus and told our waiter that we needed our checks soon, then he proceeded to go MIA for awhile. After about ten minutes, we flagged down another waiter and told them we never got our checks and were in a hurry. Another five minutes came around and we got our check, which turned into another five minutes of waiting for them to bring out the card reader. It could have been just our luck, but you probably shouldn’t plan on being in a hurry when dining here.