Its promenade has always been smashing, but nowadays there’s a lot more to Sea Point than this…
SEA POINT: THE LOW DOWN
SO YOU THOUGHT Cape Town’s Sea Point was past its prime, an uninspiring mélange of flats, clubs and ageing restaurants? Think again, people. Since the World Cup stadium was unleashed on a dubious Cape Town, Sea Point and its neighbouring burbs have been revamped to a vibey alternative to the beach and mountain…
Here’s our selection of Sea Point highlights
TO MARKET…
A food and shopping smorgasbord awaits at Sea Point’s new Mojo Market
WELCOME TO Mojo Market, a glassy, natural light affair with floor to ceiling views of the sea covering an entire city block of prime Sea Point real estate. Open seven days a week, this indoor ‘food and lifestyle market’ offers 45 retail stalls, a fresh goods section and food from 20 vendors including purveyors of a Swiss raclette and an Argentinian BBQ. There are also a couple of bars, a live music and entertainment stage and a ‘wellness zone’. Mojo also offers kiddy activities that could keep many parents sane. Worth a try, surely?
CYCLE…
Cycling in Sea Point: one of life’s great carbon-free pleasures | Photo: Tonya Hester
ANYONE FOR EXERCISE that’s actually fun? Generate some endorphins without jarring a joint on a comfy upright bike imported from Holland. Grab one from Up Cycles at the Sea Point Pavilion and bowl along the promenade with the wind in your hair. Not keen on the windswept look? Ride along the coast instead and enjoy a day on the beach, or make your way via Green Point Park’s cycling paths to the Waterfront or the CBD (where Sundays work best).
Up Cycles, Cape Town’s first drop-and-go bike rental company, has bikes for the whole family and the added bonus that you can pick them up or drop them at the Waterfront (Silo 5), or central Cape Town (Breakaway Café on the Waterkant Street Fan Walk) or Camps Bay (the Bay Hotel on Victoria Road). Locks provided (we all gotta be realistic).
EAT…
Happening food at Nü Café | Photo: Russell Smith
NÜ HEALTH FOOD CAFÉ jetted in from Jozi to Sea Point not that long ago with the somewhat daring claim of showcasing ‘the freshest global trends using the finest local produce’. What does this actually mean? The same fresh salads/wraps/juice high in raw ingredients that you can get elsewhere, but its offerings somehow feel healthier and taste better than those of many of its competitors. Maybe it’s because the chicken is free range from Elgin, the bread baked in Woodstock hearth ovens and the coffee (good) ‘handroasted by people committed to fair trade’.
Décor is clean and funky Scandinavian-ish so it all makes you feel rather happening, darling. The free wifi goes down well, too. After all that healthiness, how about a little shot as a digestif? Well yes, as long as you can stomach one made from wheatgrass.
SHOP…
Lose yourself for a few minutes (or 30) contemplating the rather lovely offerings at 925 The Showroom, Sea Point
BANG NEXT DOOR to the above-mentioned Café Nü is 925 The Showroom, sporting a genuinely alluring array of gifts (or self-gifts for those times when only retail therapy will do).
Local pottery, arty thingies and perennial favourites (the good old photo frame et al) all await your consideration and the range of pretty cool jewellery includes bits and bobs to which even the humblest of wallets can aspire.
SWIM/GYM…
Sea Point’s fresh air gym: free, social and absolutely exhausting | Photo: Tonya Hester
Sea Point’s iconic fresh air pools come with grass on which to picnic
Still craving endorphins? Take the plunge into Sea Point’s iconic Olympic-sized pool perched on the edge of the ocean, or flex those muscles on the free outside mini-gym. Instructions on every frame at the latter will enable you to look as if you’ve been training there for years…
SEA POINT: THE DETAILS!
UP CYCLES: www.upcycles.co.za, 076 135 2223, or just turn up at their stand at the Sea Point Pavilion, next to the Sea Point Pool.
Nü HEALTH FOOD CAFÉ: St John’s Piazza, 395 Main Road, Sea Point, 021 439 7269. Open every day. Mondays to Thursdays, 6am – 9:30pm; Fridays 6am – 8:30pm; Saturdays and Sundays 6am – 7:30pm, www.nufood.co.za
MOJO MARKET: 34 Regent Road, Sea Point. Early Bird vendors open Monday to Sunday, 7am – 9pm (these include The Mojo Coffee Collective, IYO Burgers and Beetbox Organic Fruit and Vegetables. Food stalls open Mondays to Sundays, 10am – 9pm, Retail Vendors open Mondays to Sundays, 9am – 9pm, www.mojomarket.co.za
925 THE SHOWROOM: 399 Main Road, Sea Point, 021 434 8773. Open Mondays to Fridays, 9am – 6pm; Saturdays 9am – 2pm. Closed on Sundays. To see their jewellery range, click on www.925.co.za
OUTDOOR GYM: find it on the grass near the Shell garage at the end of Beach Road, Sea Point. Open 24 hours a day!
SEA POINT OPEN AIR POOL: 1 Beach Road, Sea Point, 021 434 3341. Open Monday – Sunday, hours vary according to season so could be worth a call before you head off