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.