OCEAN BASKET

The first Ocean Basket seafood restaurant opened its doors in 1995 in Menlyn Park, Pretoria. Fats Lazarides had seen the opportunity to create a restaurant that served delicious seafood at affordable prices. In those days, seafood restaurants were reserved for the upper crust, and a portion of prawns was a real extravagance. Fortunately, Fats had always been one to swim against the current.

His first Ocean Basket was a measly 60 square meters, with just 6 tables. The menu offered only a handful of dishes, including fish and chips, prawns, hake, calamari and Kingklip. The seafood restaurant included a fresh fish deli. The landlord imposed restrictions on what could be sold; only one wine and a limited choice of soft drinks was served. In true Ocean Basket spirit, Fats invited customers to bring their own drinks and even their own salads.

Fats was born to serve. He knew every customer by name and would regularly test meals to ensure that they were up to Ocean Basket standards. Soon, Pretoria had fallen in love with this loud, crazy, Mediterranean deli and seafood restaurant.

Ocean Basket has always had a family inspiration behind it. Fats’ mom, Liza Lazarides, added a touch of her own special magic to the seafood restaurant. Her ethos of serving every single customer with love and passion is still reiterated in all the crew training. Today, Mama Liza continues to bake Baklava and Kataifi desserts and whips up our delicious dips too.

Today, there are over 200 of our seafood restaurants in 19 countries around the globe. From Dubai to Durban, Nelspruit to Nigeria, you’ll find people who share a love for our delicious seafood, our famous fish and chips, our irresistible creamy lemon sauce, our generosity, our commitment to everyday value for money and our love of sharing.