by Lisa Wallace

 

Cape Town is a city that hosts an array of unique markets; a trend that began small but quickly caught on. Their intention is largely to create a unique community environment where people can come together, eat together, and share in an age-old marketplace pastime. Living in Cape Town, I have become a regular market-attendee and frequent them often. One that still needed to be ticked off my list was the Bay Harbour Market in Hout Bay. Going with a degree of skepticism (it has tough competition), I left highly impressed. The market was founded by two cheerful and welcoming men, Anthony Stroebel and Paul Rutzen, who sought to create an authentically South African festivity. The market is housed in an old fish factory 

 

on Hout Bay’s harbour edge and is abuzz with energy. The market does not subscribe to one ‘type’ but is rather a melting pot of goodies in unique varieties – from delicious food, distinctive crafts to African curios. More than 100 stalls come together, celebrating South African creativity and culture. The environment is warm and inviting and the stall owners, all carefully selected, are friendly and attentive. Their stalls are a permanent feature so effort is taken in adorning them with interesting décor and funky signage – sometimes garish but never overwhelming.

 

 The market is a weekend-affair, open on Friday nights from 5pm until 9pm, as well as Saturday and Sunday from 9.30am to 

 

4pm. I went on Friday night and it was a perfect end to the week – for myself and everyone there. People could eat, drink and socialise, seated around large wooden tables and listen to live local music. Families and young children sit next to doting couples (who sit next to scribbling writers) and looking around it is exciting to see how much pleasure people derive from good food. You’d think that a food market, consisting of the finest fresh ingredients and organic produce, would be intimidating but it is far from it, proving that artisan and gourmet is for everyone. Their motto is “A real place for real people” and it is perfectly fitting for an environment that is proudly South African and attracts a variety of different people – tourists and locals alike. 

 

 

Bay Harbour Market

 082 570 5997

 31 Harbour Road,

 Hout Bay, 

Cape Town

 info@bayharbour.co.za

 www.bayharbour.co.za