Joe's Beerhouse - Windhoek, Namibia

Tanja

Joe’s beerhouse, a legendary & unique slice of Namibian hospitality & cuisine, offers a wide range of local yet exotic flair & sumptuous meals to satisfy even the most conservative to experimental palates.

Originally founded in 1986 by Joe & his partner, upon arrival from Germany to Namibia, they started the Kaiserkrone restaurant, which after a few years was later to become Joes Beerhouse, the legend still surviving to this day.

Situated on the iconic 160 Nelson Mandela avenue in the capital Windhoek, Joes bursts onto the scene with African relics old & new, each with its own unique story, inscribed in detail on every facet of the building’s interior. It sports three thatched bars, strewn with toilet seat bar stools, a lapa, and beer garden an outside boma with fireplace, & a quality stocked wine cellar. Riddled with prize heads of game & filled to the brim with Namibian earthy tones & natural wonder, Joes offers this unique experience in quite a neat package.

Joe’s menu is littered with scrumptious exotic but local dishes offered with flair of excellence & generous memorable experiences to excite even the most critical of food connoisseurs. Their menu covers it all from a wide variety of game, chicken & beef. Joes also offers a sizable choice of vegetarian & salad dishes. The locally brewed draught is a beer best enjoyed before, during or after your meal; take into account that they are also the highest consumer of Jagermeister in all of Namibia.

The list of specialty dishes goes on with classics such as Pork schnitzel & the traditional German “Eisbein” or also known as pork knuckle served with sauerkraut & mustard, are a must. More to the travelers delight dishes such as the Zebra steak & Devils Ribs are not to be missed. All this & more can be enjoyed with a finale of exquisite deserts such as the aptly named Parfait of Namibian Prickly Pears or a modest Amarula (African cream liqueur) Dom Pedro.

So there you have it a unique, exciting & memorable dining & drinking experience that can only be better described by the owners themselves, “ it’s good food, superb company, unique experience & is locally & internationally known as a must see Namibian attraction.”

Le Quartier Francais No 36 in Top 50 Restaurants 2011

Royal highlands trout ballotine, squid ink, avocado.

Pickled aubergine and buffalo labne roulade.

Le Quartier Français has been included, for the 7th consecutive year (and 8th year overall), in the S.Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants.

This year saw the Tasting Room, the only South African restaurant included in the 2011 Top 50 Restaurants, placed no 36 overall and best restaurant in Africa & The Middle East.

Two other South African restaurants -Rust-en-Vrede and La Colombe – were recognized and included in the S.Pellegrino World's Top 51-100 Best Restaurants rankings; reaffirming our belief that South Africa, as a food destination, continues to impress on a global scale.

The Tasting Room, situated in the French Huguenot valley of Franschhoek, in the Cape Winelands, serves course after course of exquisitely presented culinary delights showcase chef Margot Janse and her team's award-winning talent. You can indulge in a surprise 9 course menu - African inspired - or a five course choice menu. Both options can be enjoyed with a wine pairing. Bookings essential. Dinners Only - Mon - Sun.

5 Course Menu
Almond, cucumber & green grape consommé, dill granita, fennel pollen

Beetroot and liquorice terrine, apple puree, pickled walnut

Lesotho royale highlands salmon trout, squid ink, avocado, wasabi

Crisp skinned cape salmon, pearl barley ragout, miso, soya, celery

Joostenberg vlakte pekin duck breast, confit leg tortellini, pea parfait,butternut, juniper and pomegranate

Coffee roasted warthog loin, potato fondant, garlic puree,bone marrow and currant vinaigrette

Eastern cape blue wildebeest, leek and buchu ash, lentils, celeriac

Swissland chevre ash mousse, plum, pickled turnip, cocoa pepper

Whipped kimilili tulbagh blue, mustard pear, pistachio sable

Mulberries, bitter chocolate ganache, lemon thyme and buffalo yoghurt sherbet

Cashew nut savarin, coconut sorbet, passion fruit, banana, curry

Cape Town in for a Beautiful Weekend

Photo of Table Mountain taken this morning from the V&A Waterfront.

Go on, Buy a Penguin a Home.

The African Penguin was moved to the Endangered list in May 2010 because of a decline of almost 100 birds a week over the last 30 years.

Dyer Island is a critically important breeding colony – one of the largest remaining in South Africa – but African penguin numbers are rapidly declining. In 1979 Dyer Island had a penguin population of about 23,000 breeding pairs. This dropped to 1,200 pairs in 2010 – a more than 90% drop in numbers in 30 years.

During the 19th and 20th centuries the island was stripped of guano for use as an agricultural fertilizer. This has had devastating effects on the penguins. The safest place for penguins to breed is in burrows, which they used to dig into the soft guano enabling the birds to make their nests and sheltering them from the heat of the sun.

During the 19th and 20th centuries the island was stripped of guano for use as an agricultural fertilizer. This has had devastating effects on the penguins. The safest place for penguins to breed is in burrows, which they used to dig into the soft guano enabling the birds to make their nests and sheltering them from the heat of the sun.

When guano was removed, penguins were forced to nest in the open on the rocky island surface. Here they are at the mercy of the elements and of predators. On hot days adults incubating in the open overheat and often leave their nests to go down to the sea. As soon as eggs and small chicks are left unattended on the surface,they too can overheat and die, or more likely fall prey to the ever watchful Kelp Gulls.

The Dyer Island Conservation Trust, in partnership with CapeNature, has embarked on a programme to introduce artificial nests providing vitally important shelter for breeding penguins. Fibre glass nests were specially designed to mimic natural guano burrows.

Download the brochure and help us conserve the remaining breeding colonies by purchasing a nest - only ZAR 400 (USD55 EUR45 GBP35) each or by making a donation to our world class research.