Contrast amazing pizza in Vietnam, superb Chinese food in Cyprus and champagne-style Corpinnat in Spain, the final Thacks Awards Top 5 awarded for 2021 was awarded in December to a Sushi Restaurant in South Africa.
Think, thickly cut salmon; freshest yellowfin tuna and other line-fish, recently fished from Africa’s southern-most bay (False Bay). Combine these generous cuts and freshness with sushi mastery preparation skills, and you have Oceans 8, an understated seafood restaurant on the cusp of the winelands town of Somerset West, easily accessed along the N2 highway near Cape Town. Oceans 8 offers traditional sushi dishes and unique sushi innovations not seen elsewhere (hint: try their “sushi shooters”).
An unassuming location next to the N2 national highway which stretches from Cape Town past the Garden Route along the Indian Ocean towards the KwaZulu Natal Province (but just 55km west of Cape Town), they offer an extensive variety of tasty sushi – but also a varied selection of fresh seafood including line-fish, calamari and prawns. The 7-seater round table is perfect for great interaction for larger groups, so this is the perfect location for you and six guests for the ultimate sushi feast which won’t break the budget. Looks can be deceiving in that the humble and down-played exterior hides a brilliant and clean quality offering within.
To top it off, Oceans 8 offers exceptional value for money, not overcharging and under-offering with more-rice-less-fish, as sometimes happens with other sushi establishments.
Four of the international panelists frequented this establishment on two exploratory trips to South Africa in 2020 and 2021, and were introduced by a panelist who has known about this place for years… A quality often overlooked in especially sushi restaurants is the protein portion ratio consistency, so the panelist who first discovered them a few years ago vouches that the quality often lacking in restaurants is not at all missing here on each subsequent visit – with no decrease in the excellent freshness and ratio to value… which has always been superb.
2021 concluded on a high note for many South African offerings which confirms that a true foodie and wine-y needs to plan a trip to this top culinary destination including the nearby Top International Eatery for 2021, which is more upmarket but also still great value – all on the perfect itinerary of visiting some of the opulent wine farms in the Western Cape Province. -bm
Thacks Awards 