All Roads Lead To … Ritzi’s Restaurant

Ritzi’s Restaurant is set in the heart of the waterfront harbour at Lüderitz. I choose the table that overlooks the harbour so I can get a view of the boats.

After a dusty start in the nearby ‘ghost town’ Kolmanskop, I am famished and ready to replace the dust and sand imbedded in my eyes and nose with a view of a hot plate of food making its way to my table.

Naturally being at the coast, seafood is a must, and although Lüderitz is known for its mouth-watering crayfish, having eaten some the night before at another restaurant, I hold my horses and order something within my budget.

Yes, getting away from Windhoek and smelling the fresh ocean breeze feels like a nice mini-vacation, but realistically, I’m not made of money and splurging on fine wine and dining every day would hit me later in the middle of the month when my bank account would start to run dry.

So I went for a ‘modest’ plate of prawns that comes with a side of rice and Greek salad which is priced at N$150, as opposed to the N$350 crayfish platter.

All the seafood is delivered fresh from the PescaNova factory, which boasts having some of the freshest and best fish in town.

If you have had your fill of seafood at the coastal town, I would recommend a pizza, with prices ranging from N$75 for the smallest one to N$130 for a large, which is perfect for takeaway if you can’t manage it all in one sitting and are prone to rummaging through your fridge in the dead of night for a midnight snack.

While I wait for my food, a group of Indonesian sailors walk in with their shopping bags, baggy track shorts and order a round of beers.

Earlier that day, a woman who runs a tour company told me how a few weeks ago they were expecting a large cruise ship to dock at Lüderitz. Local businesses prepared themselves and bought extra stock to feed the masses, only for the ship to sail right past the harbour.

With a small town population of 12 000, you can see why the idea of a 2 000-person ship could bring some excitement to the otherwise quiet town.

In the distance I can see Shark Island, an island where Nama and Herero people were kept prisoners during the 1904 to 1908 Herero and Namaqua War against the Germans.

Though to be fair, it wasn’t really a war, rather a massacre and holocaust of thousands of men, women and children who worked under brutal conditions and lived on the island which was exposed to the elements.

While I mulled over the tourism trade of Lüderitz and its history, my waitress returned with what I ordered.

Lüderitz is an interesting town with a rich, diverse and at times chilling history, but while you take it all in, every now and then you need to find a good place to get a nice meal, and Ritzi’s is definitely one of those places.

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