Anthea Bissolati
Winter in the Mother City means it’s been a while since I have been out of the house, so what better way to cure the cabin fever than to attend a Shack Sundays Party.
What’s even better is having the opportunity to tell you more about the notable brown person who runs this show.
Three Reasons You Should Go Too
First I want to list the reasons you should definitely not miss the next one.
Reason number 3 is the vibe. The vibe was warm and welcoming and inclusive. Everyone was friendly and keen to just relax and enjoy the music on offer.
Reason number 2 is the music. We got to see and hear some awesome talent. Top notch performances by singers Damian Roos, the legendary Leslie Kleinsmith along with The Legend Band ensured that diners were treated to exquisite entertaiment.
That brings us to reason number 1. You guessed it! The amazing food! If you only attend for one reason, let it be the food. The menu was unbelievable. Let me emphasize that in this economy, you would never get this much food for the ticket price. Keep in mind that you are getting entertainment, a free drink and a lovely venue with dancing, in addition to your meal. I will tell you more about the food after I tell you about the culinary genius behind it.
Where It All Started
Let’s start at the beginning. Junior Fritz grew up in the restaurant business. His grandmother and uncle run a very successful restaurant which I won’t mention here because they deserve their own article. I will say that they have been around a long time as I remember it being one of my mom’s favourite places when I was still a teenager.
Moving on, Junior tried his hand at a few things dabbling in this and that, including construction which he managed to do for a while. In 2012 though, construction wasn’t going so well for him and he decided to try his hand in the restaurant business. Operating from his home, he started making select items like burgers and pizzas. He garnered massive support from the locals like Stephanian’s Soccer Club who frequented his home based restaurant.
Some years later he moved his setup to a premises in Enslin Road, Ottery. This is where we all came to know and love the Pizza Shack. With regular entertainment on offer and excellent food, it became a popular spot for those of us who loved to chill with music, drinks and good food. Things were going well until that infamous lockdown started. Covid-19 did a number on all of us and it was no different for Junior. A less than understanding landlord brought him to the decision that it was time to move the business back home and he has been there ever since.
Moving Back to The Original Shack
Fast forward to 2025 and we regularly find ourselves back at 11 Columbine Road, Ferness Estate, Ottery. This is where the magic happens my friends. The Shack Grilled 2 Go has a delicious menu but that isn’t the best part. Junior wakes up every day with new ways to make us happy and we thank him for that. He has his daily huiskos meals and they are never the same. Every day is a beautiful surprise with deliciousness like Cabbage Bredie to Homemade Vegetable Soup. Then he also has his regular menu which is available from Thursdays to Saturdays with select menu items available on occasion during the rest of the week.
I can absolutely guarantee you that everything he makes is delicious! It is a gift. You may have seen people doing videos about his amazing food and maybe you didn’t believe them. I am here to tell you that his food is superb. When it comes to cooking, he has a gift for hitting the nail on the head every single time.
We have not had one bad food day thanks to Junior and his team. He has made good food so affordable and accessible that I’m certain he has many working moms and dads smiling daily just knowing they can feed their family a solid and delicious home cooked meal for as little as R340 for an average family of four. Imagine coming home to Tomato Bredie on a cold winter’s night and you didn’t have to lift a finger except when you lift your fork to eat, wink, wink.
Taking The Shack Vibe to The City Centre
Now that you have the back story you will understand that naturally, when Junior announced The Shack Rooftop Party, I was very keen to go. As a lucky regular customer, I was gifted tickets to the event. Let me tell you, it was the best gift ever.
The Setting for Shack Sundays Rooftop Edition with its amazing view of Table Mountain was Rooftop on Bree at 170 Bree Street, Cape Town City Centre.
Accompanied by my daughter, we were joined by my good friends Jason & Mary-Anne ‘Lallie’ Williams.
The menu had a wonderful variety of treats on offer and we were amazed at how generous the portions were. The food was nothing short of spectacular.
Junior took us on a culinary journey that was authentically Cape Town.
Authentic Cape Town Culinary Journey
He started us off withHomemade Pies, Samoosas and Sausage Rolls. Everyone got a samoosa and the choice of either a pie or a sausage roll. All three of these treats were melt in your mouth delicious. Next up you had the option of beef and chicken tacos or fish and chips.
My daughter and I opted to share so we could try each menu item and I’m so glad we did that. Generous tacos filled with chicken and beef was mouth-watering. The fish and chips were delicious and fresh as though we had bought it at the harbour on a Sunday drive excursion.
By the time we finished this second round of tapas, it is safe to say that we were adequately satisfied and we could have called it a day. However, who can say no to biryani? Certainly not I. So we went for round three and we were so glad we did.
The biryani was tasty and the portion was generous. My daughter chose the butter chicken with paratha, and she was not disappointed. It was more chicken than she could manage but it was absolutely delicious.
Amazing Musical Experience
Meanwhile we were also thoroughly entertained by the amazing talent on stage.
Damian Roos wowed us with his smooth vocals performing some beautiful classics like a Dionne Warwick Song I haven’t heard in so long. He absolutely nailed it. Can someone say Leslie Kleinsmith? Always a treat to see this legend live. Without a doubt, he owned the stage with some popular classics, including the 1976 Lou Rawls classic “You’ll Never Find”.
The Take-Away, Literally & Figuratively
By the end of round three of tapas, we were positively stuffed but happily so. Thankfully the main meal of burgers came with an eat-there or take home option. We opted to take home and enjoyed it the next day. Even after standing overnight, the burgers and fries were amazing. We simply reheated them in a pan without oil. It is my belief that when food can be reheated and still taste great, it means the chef made it with love and used high quality ingredients. I think that is the key to Junior’s success in the kitchen.
Junior Fritz simply loves what he does and it shows. You will often find him mixing his own pizza dough and baking his own pastry or rolls. If you are not sure what I am talking about then do get in touch and try some of the meals at Shack Grilled 2 Go. Definitely say yes to the next Shack Sunday party as well.
Thank you to Photographer, Jason Williams, Petrolhead, Filmmaker, Photographer and Podcaster and Mary-Anne Williams aka Lallie of Lallies F1 and Motorsport for the awesome time together and their for their contribution to this article.
Check out The Shack Grilled 2 Go on socials and see all the deliciousness on offer. He added a new gift for us. It’s called Sunday evening snacks. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
