The Cape rock lobster, kreef on a Cape Town menu, split and braaied with garlic butter or boiled and eaten cold. A short legal season is what makes it a seasonal treat rather than a staple.

Jasus lalandii, the West Coast rock lobster, lives in shallow water from Cape Cross in Namibia round the Cape of Good Hope to Algoa Bay, and Cape Town has eaten it for as long as there have been boats in Table Bay. It is called crayfish locally and kreef in Afrikaans, and the coastal habit is to braai it rather than boil it. Overfishing changed the terms: the commercial fishery is capped by quota and the recreational season is short, with days gazetted each summer and a limit of four per person per day. Scarcity is why a kilogram now costs what it does.

1 editor pick for West Coast crayfish in Cape Town, ranked by editorial score. All Cape Town signature dishes · West Coast crayfish across every city.

Kalky's ★ 4.3

$SeafoodKalk Bay

Kalky's has served battered hake and snoek with chips from a cabin on the Kalk Bay harbour wall since 1996, with calamari, kingklip and crayfish too.

OrderThe fried snoek and chips, cut fresh from the day's catch at the harbour.

TipIt is cash only and self-service; carry notes and expect to queue at the counter before finding a bench.

DirectionsView

Learn to cook it, or eat it with a guide

West Coast crayfish makes more sense with someone from Cape Town explaining it. These are the classes and tours we have checked, with booking links.

Taste West Coast crayfish with a local in Cape Town

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