Modo Mio Restaurant, Paternoster

We have just found a "new" restaurant in Paternoster, ok new for us because it has apparently been on the go for about six months. Western Cape residents, and South Africans who holiday in this area will know the still fairly unspoiled seaside village called Paternoster which is roughly 30kms from us. I say "fairly unspoiled" because over the past decade or more there has been a huge amount of developement which has definitely changed the character of the village, there are now many B&B's and guest houses among the holiday homes which are only used once or twice a year.

We go down there every now and then for a beer on the hotel veranda and when I can talk Janet into it we have a meal at the "Voorstrand Restaurant" (Beachfront) which caters mainly for seafood eaters, so she has to be in a particularly charitable mood because she's not that keen on fish, particularly fish of a "fishy" flavour!

Janet went for her bi-weekly finger nail session, and remember we had just returned from three weeks overseas, so she had missed at least two of the sessions, and while they were sitting doing what they do at these places the "technician" - what do you call these ladies? - mentioned a nice little restaurant down in Paternoster. That was enough for us, the next day we were there!

Outside the unpretentious but delightfully quaint frontage of the restaurant; "Modo Mio", Janet leans on our Avis rent-a-piece-of-crap before going in for lunch. We were still on holiday at this stage so we kept the rental for convenience, believe me it beats owning a car!

This handwritten blackboard, in spite of it's gramatical errors, is a wonderful indication of the owners attitude and it attracted a lot of attention.

The Du Toitskloof Sauvignon Blanc at R69 was a little expensive but it was nicely presented by the smiling, attentive waitress and it was cold. One thing I hate at any restaurant is waiting for something to drink, I don't mind waiting for my food as long as they bring the wine almost immediately after I sit down. Our wine arrived straight away and we happily studied the menu.

 For starters Janet ordered the Cream cheese Jalapenos (left) which unfortunately were pretty bland, saved only by a very tasty cream cheese sauce. My bacon and mussel bites on the other hand were absolutely divine, the bacon was cooked properly, (I'm sure they thinned the bacon before wrapping it around the mussel) the crumb batter was not too thick and the taste of the mussels was definitely there. Both of these starters were priced at R35.

My main course was "Platter for one" which at R99 I thought was an absolute bargain; four mussels in a creamy garlic sauce, several battered calamari strips, three good sized prawns on a bed of rice and a lovely fillet of linefish, accompanied by a small bucket of lovely thin chips (french fries) - I really enjoyed this meal.

 Janet opted for the "Cheese plate" at R79 and there was a hell of a lot on there, I know because after I had finished my food I helped her! Next to the biscuits there is a bowl of thinly sliced biltong, some fig preserve, olives, cheddar, blue cheese, goat's cheese, smoked mussels and salami.

It was a very enjoyable and fairly drawn-out meal, during which I ordered a glass of wine because mine got finished and Janet was still busy!

The bill came to R329 to which we added a tip of R31 making it R360 in total which I consider great value for the quality of food that we had. We will be back, that's for sure and I have no hesitation in recommending this restaurant to anyone in the Western Cape who happens to be in the area.

Give it a try and tell them where you read about it.