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A shift in Kloof Street sees an old favourite return

A shift in Kloof Street sees an old favourite return
Beau Constantia chef Ivor Jones, left. Centre: Northcote Hotel and, right, Chef Lisa Goodwin Allen. (Photos: Supplied)
Tony Jackman
By Tony Jackman
24 Jan 2025
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While a British pop star has been making a BBC Lifestyle series in the Cape winelands, a top city chef is heading for a gourmet festival in Lancashire, and your food editor’s favourite seafood chain has some good news.

One day in 1997, I arrived home with news: a seafood restaurant had opened in Kloof Street, within walking distance of our house in Burnside Road, Tamboerskloof. “It’s interesting, though,” I said. “It seems to be more like a pizza joint, but with fish instead of pizza.”

And that is exactly what Ocean Basket turned out to be.

We got ourselves together and took a stroll down the road. I’ve been a fan of “OB” ever since. Why? Because they made fish affordable in an environment in which the prices of seafood in restaurants, especially crustaceans, had gone insane.

Ironically, perhaps, we had to walk past our other regular seafood place, Miller’s Thumb, to get to it. And we kept going back to them too, as long as we lived in the neighbourhood. We’re nothing if not loyal.

The Kloof Street OB was the first in the Mother City, and boasted a strange sort of L-shaped interior with some street tables and a large garden at the back for al fresco summer dining. Only recently did I hear that this original had closed its doors.

This morning I received a communication to the effect that this has now changed. Kloof Street once again has a branch of Ocean Basket, though a bit smaller, and a few metres further up the road.

Pedro de Sambento, co-founder of the Ocean Basket restaurant group, had first opened the Kloof Street location in 1997 and it had done well for years. But the Kloof Street scene shifted in time, and ultimately that original branch was shut down and replaced with a new Sea Point venture.

“We wanted a place where families and friends could feel at home, and Kloof Street has always felt like the heart of that mission,” De Sambento says now of the old Kloof Street incarnation.

It was Ocean Basket’s first standalone store in Cape Town. De Sambento discovered the site by chance while driving around the city in the late 1990s: “It was serendipity. We stumbled upon this heritage building with an inviting courtyard and knew it was the perfect place for our flagship Cape Town restaurant.”

Pedro de Sambento at the new Kloof Street iteration of Ocean Basket in Cape Town’s City Bowl. (Photo: Supplied)



Guests queued for a taste of the seafood menu, which included dishes that would later become mainstays. De Sambento would pour wine for guests waiting outside for a table. I remember being in those queues, something I dislike, yet there I somehow didn’t mind. It never took long for a table to become available, and almost invariably it was a summer’s evening. And a glass of wine in hand is hardly worth complaining about.

In those early years, the Kloof Street location became a testing ground for Ocean Basket’s evolving menu, OB tells me now. The restaurant was known for its “catch of the day” specials, chosen by De Sambento and his team: “Our menu was simple back then — just the basics, but they were perfected. We’d introduce new items on a blackboard, and depending on how popular they were, we’d roll them out as regular menu items. It’s how we came up with our combos and platters that are so popular today.”

The original Kloof Street restaurant also housed Ocean Basket’s national marketing office on the second floor. This humble office space was a launchpad for the brand’s national expansion, sparking growth that would take Ocean Basket into malls and high streets across South Africa — and ultimately across the globe.

Kloof Street saw its fair share of VIPs and loyal patrons. The restaurant’s close-knit community extended to its staff. Many of the employees who started out on Kloof Street went on to hold prominent roles within the Ocean Basket family and remain with the group today. De Sambento’s own mother, affectionately known as “Mrs Sam”, was a staple at the restaurant, making her famous tiramisu that has become an Ocean Basket signature dessert.

“It was a family affair. The Kloof Street restaurant was a place where memories were made, both for our customers and for us. It’s where we learned what our customers loved, and we used those insights to shape the brand,” De Sambento said.

In time, however, Kloof Street’s vibrant scene evolved, shifting from a dining hub to more of a nightlife and drinking destination. This change in demographic and neighbourhood vibe eventually led to the restaurant’s relocation to Sea Point, before it closed entirely: “The area had changed; it was no longer the family friendly dining spot it once was.”

But in recent years, Kloof Street has experienced a resurgence. OB perceives, now, that it has become “a bustling mix of new families, young professionals and a dining-focused crowd, much like it was in the ’90s.

For De Sambento, it felt like the right time to bring Ocean Basket back to its roots: “There’s a new energy here, with families and people looking for good food, not just a place to drink. The area feels like it did when we first opened, and we’re excited to be a part of that again.”

We no longer live nearby, so it cannot become one of our locals, but that’s life. Time moves on, we move on.

The new Ocean Basket on Kloof Street is 30 metres from its original site. A little smaller, but there is a courtyard, also smaller. It has views of Table Mountain. Welcome home, OB. Such good news.

British singer Gary Barlow tours Cape winelands for BBC Lifestyle

Gary Barlow roars through the Cape winelands. (Photo: Supplied)



Gary Barlow, the perennially cheerful and polite British singer and creator of extraordinary sound and light shows for Royal jubilees, has made a series about the South African wine region for BBC Lifestyle.

Once upon a time Barlow was one of the lead singers in British boy band Take That! Like his colleague Robbie Williams, he has since had a notable solo career and now, at the age of 54, he has taken a new turn with a travel and wine series, to be aired by DStv channel 174 from 29 January to 26 February at 8pm.

Gary Barlow’s Wine Tour: South Africa is a five-episode series in which he visits Stellenbosch, Franschhoek, and the emerging estates of the Swartland. 

Each episode “combines stunning visuals with engaging storytelling as Gary samples exceptional wines such as a bold Shiraz, crisp Sauvignon Blanc, and the ever-elegant Pinotage, delving into the unique terroirs and winemaking traditions that define South Africa’s viticultural legacy”, according to the press material.

Gary, a chart-topping musician who swapped sold-out stadiums for vineyards, combined his love for travel, culture, and good company to create this unique exploration of South Africa’s finest vineyards. Speaking about the inspiration for the show, he said, “I suggested South Africa because I had recently been there and thought, ‘If there’s a place to start that has the ‘wow’ factor, South Africa is it.’ It just looks incredible and is such an interesting place.”

Throughout the series, Gary embarks on adventures alongside a host of friends, including Ben Shephard, Mica Paris, Jane McDonald, and Michaela Strachan, discovering South Africa’s wine country’s vibrant diversity and rich heritage. From engaging with local communities to exploring lush estates packed with greenery and grapes, the show offers a fresh and inviting perspective on winemaking.

Beau Constantia’s Ivor Jones to cook at gourmet festival

Beau Constantia chef Ivor Jones, left. Centre: Northcote Hotel and, right, Chef Lisa Goodwin Allen. (Photos: Supplied)



In Constantia, Ivor Jones, the chef-patron of Chefs Warehouse Beau Constantia, is one of 27 chefs invited to cook at the Northcote Obsession 25 gourmet festival in Lancashire’s Ribble Valley, northern England.

The festival takes place over 17 nights in January and February, with Jones taking over the kitchen at Northcote, the luxury Lancashire hotel and Michelin star restaurant, on Friday 7 February.

Obsession launched in 2001 at Northcote as a celebration of great food, wine and a meeting of friends, old and new. Its offering and legacy have evolved over the years, and since 2022 has been under the leadership of Northcote executive chef Lisa Goodwin-Allen.

Chefs taking part come from countries as diverse as the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, France and Singapore. The festival hosts some of the biggest culinary names, which this year includes Alain Roux of The Waterside Inn in Bray (3 Michelin stars), Hélène Darroze and Marco Zampese of Hélène Darroze at The Connaught in London (3 stars), Ed Wilson of Brawn in London, Yannick Alléno of Pavyllon in London (1 star) and Alléno Paris (3 stars).

“When Lisa asked me to be a part of this event, I fell off my chair,” said Jones. “I’ve watched many of these incredible chefs from afar my whole life and never thought I’d ever cook at an event that includes them. I am so grateful for this opportunity as well as really excited to get tucked into some of the incredible UK produce. I’m also really looking forward to the camaraderie: it’s an exciting social gathering for the industry.”

Jones will be cooking a menu with many of his favourite dishes from Chefs Warehouse Beau Constantia. DM

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