Restaurant La Mer Rouge — Seafood / International, Djibouti City
La Mer Rouge, The Red Sea, takes its name from the body of water visible from its terrace, a strip of extraordinary deep blue that narrows toward the Bab-el-Mandeb strait through which the world's tanker traffic passes in a continuous procession.
The menu centres entirely on the remarkable marine harvest of these waters. Red Sea snapper, grouper, and barracuda are prepared simply, grilled, baked in salt, or cooked in the light, herb-forward sauces of the French colonial tradition. The lobster from the Gulf of Aden is the prestige order.
The sunset here arrives over Yemen, visible on clear evenings as a dark line on the western horizon. The sky turns through the full tropical palette over about forty minutes, accompanied by the silhouettes of tankers and container ships making the Bab-el-Mandeb passage.
La Mer Rouge requires advance booking for terrace tables, which are limited and in permanent demand from Djibouti's resident international community. The interior is acceptable; the terrace is the reason to come.
Best Occasion: Perfect for Proposals
A Red Sea terrace at sunset, Gulf of Aden lobster, and the tanker traffic through the Bab-el-Mandeb as the backdrop. One of the world's most genuinely dramatic proposal settings.
Best Occasion: Great for First Dates
The view is so extraordinary that conversation is effortlessly sustained. The setting creates shared wonder that no amount of planning could otherwise produce.