South Africa, Restaurants   Mariners Wharf, Hout Bay      Papino's, Hout Bay        Cobbs, Scarborough    MARINERS WHARF Mariners Wharf opened in Hout Bay in 1984 and will provide you with superb fresh fish (this was my first taste of ‘Mussel Cracker’ fish) and a wine list, which includes a range from the Nederbug Auctions. I chose a 1994 Pinotage from Jacobsdal. So, excellent service, I thought the laminated menus and surroundings tended to lend the place a bit of ‘theme park’ atmosphere but don’t let that put you off the excellent seafood. 1994 Jacobsdal, Pinotage Nice deep colour, initially a hint of rubber on both the nose and palate, but this was gone in around 20 minutes. Good concentration of ‘stewing’ red fruit together with medium tannins and good acidity. Very good.       MARINERS WHARF       Hout Bay Harbour       Hout Bay       tel. +27 21 790 1100       email Mariners PAPINO'S Heading down the main shopping street in Hout Bay there's a Spar supermarket on the left just before a small roundabout, if you turn left at the roundabout 50 metres on the left is Papino's. If you pop in during the day with the aim of booking a table the place doesn't look all that inspiring - sort of café style - but at night with table-cloths etc. it looks just right. It's not worth popping in to book anyway, as you can't. Best to get here before 7:00pm, otherwise you might be disappointed. The menu is bistro style with an interesting meu selection - I loved my roast head of garlic starter! The winelist is okay too. A nice ambience, so my favourite restaurant in Hout Bay.       PAPINO'S       14, Earl Street       Hout Bay       tel. +27 21 790 4077       email Papino's COBBS AT THE CAPE If you travel around the Cape coast travelling further south from Kommetjie, you might just come across a small town called Scarborough. On the left hand side, entering the town we found a restaurant called ‘Cobbs’. Despite the fact that it was almost empty and 3:00pm, we had friendly service and again, some superb fresh fish. I had ‘Butter Fish’ and my wife had the biggest ‘King’ prawns ever seen ! This was washed down with the local Scarborough Sauvignon Blanc – and very nice too.       COBBS AT THE CAPE       tel. +27 21 780 1480       site Cobbs       email Cobbs © nanson.ch 2000-2002