Rhodes Memorial Restaurant

Rhodes Memorial Restaurant
021 687 0000
9am – 5pm everyday
Groote Schuur Estate, Cape Town 7925,
Map

• Service 4/5 (friendly and fast)
• Atmosphere 3/5 (beautiful)
• Taste 3/5
• Menu choices 2/5
• Wheat free – No
• Vegetarian – Yes
• Coffee – 3/5
• Dog friendly – Yes
• Kid friendly – Yes
• Price $$$$

Hidden amongst the trees is the panoramic viewed Rhodes Memorial Restaurant.

Rhodes Mem (as it is locally known) is a popular spot for walkers, runners and dog lovers. The mountain is covered with beautiful trees with ample paths and views from Blouberg to Muizenberg and beyond. I had a visitor from Australia here and text-book weather and breath-taking surroundings, Cape Town put on a show!

But we were there for breakfast and my focus was the food.

The menu isn’t extensive but pretty sure there is something for everyone. Not being able to order my old faithful (poached eggs on rye) I opted for smoked salmon on a toasted bagel (why not, it’s the weekend). My companion vouched for the eggs Benedict.

The service is friendly, we were greeted at the door and seated with no problem. I would suggest booking because by the time we left, seating was precious and a queue was starting to form at the entrance.

The latte was an adventure. They bring you a tall glass of steaming milk and you add the coffee yourself, were it forms a layer and looks professional and impressive… but can get a bit messy.

The food can quickly, but maybe a little too quickly.

It is completely different from the Cape Town eateries in town. It’s quite old-school and very kid friendly with a playground hidden at the back and a fish pond that will have the kids crying out “Nemo”! The atmosphere is unmatched, natural, relaxed and gorgeous. If you want to impress anyone, Rhodes Memorial Restaurant is a must.

Dear Me

165 LONG MARKET
CAPE TOWN

021 422 4920

Breakfast 7am – 11am | Lunch 12pm – 3pm | Mondays to Fridays | Dinner Thursday Only

• Service 3.5/5
• Atmosphere 3.5/5
• Taste 3.5/5
• Menu choices 4/5
• Wheat free – Yes
• Vegetarian – Yes
• Coffee – 3.5/5
• Price $$$

I have waited ages to dine at Dear Me and on Friday, I got the chance!

As they so proudly state “Our name “Dear Me” is inspired by our understanding that different people have different needs when it comes to what they eat so our menu is designed to be flexible enough to always provide options for individual dietary requirements. You should be able to eat with us every day and never feel guilty about compromising your personal food values and beliefs. Be good and kind to yourself and your environment.”

Why has it taken me so long to eat here? It was a visual and culinary treat. In the height of the Cape Town crazy season we were able to get a seat and the calmness and tranquility of the venue and waiters instantly put you at ease.

Choosing something on their beautifully crafted menu was a challenge. Deciding to sway away from my regular poached eggs on toast, I was not disappointed.

My dining companion chose the eggs Benedict. Having tested the dish from as far-flung as Vietnam, I took it on good authority when she said that the dish was “one of the best Cape Town has to offer”.

Simplistic without being clinical the venue and the dishes burst with intrigue and the attention to detail is immaculate. Upside-down pot plants hanging from the ceiling, home-made biscotti and well though out dishes to keep you coming back again and again.

I have my sister-in-law visit next year, who is coeliac (wheat and gluten intolerant), and Dear Me is definitely on the list of places to dine.

This may be my last entry for 2013 but cant wait to continue to seek Cape Town’s Best Breakfast in 2014.

Happy Holidays!

Truth Coffee (and they do breakfast)

36 Buitenkant Street, Cape Town
021 2000 440

• Service 3/5
• General atmosphere 4/5
• Taste 3/5
• Menu choices 3/5
• Wheat free – Yes  (Rye)
• Vegetarian – Yes
• Coffee – 5/5 (as if we needed to mention)
• Price $$$

Not your regular venue for breakfast, and to be honest, I didn’t even know they did breakfast.

Truth Coffee is synonymous around Cape Town as good, quality coffee. Situated between the Book Lounge and Mavericks, Truth has developed an imaged all on its own. Reminiscent of the Steampunk era, with its industrialised decor, waitrons that don leather aprons, a bar made of brass and even the coffee bean dispensing machine is a contraption to behold.  The venue is themed to keep the patron in wonder and surprise.

Under a recommendation from a friend, Truth was a welcome investigation and may quite possibly become a regular haunt for great coffee and delicious breakfast.

The menu isn’t extensive but is creative. If you desire a small amendment they are all too happy to accommodate. We were welcomed immediately and offered comfy seats near the bar. Coffee orders were made and food orders were taken shortly.

The wait wasn’t too long, I wouldn’t call it speedy but the attentive waiter kept us informed of timings and checked in on us to make sure all was ok and when the food arrived (mushrooms on toast topped with a poached egg and croque monsieur), we were not disappointed.

I will gladly recommend Truth for breakfast. Parking can be a nightmare, especially on weekdays, as The City wants you to pay for the pleasure.

Lazari’s

021 461 9865
Cnr Upper Maynard & Vredehoek Ave.,
Cape Town, 8001 (map)

• Service 3/5
• Atmosphere 3/5
• Taste 3/5
• Menu choices 3/5
• Wheat free – Yes
• Vegetarian – Yes
• Coffee – 3/5
• Toilet condition 3/5
• Price $$$

Lazari used to be my local and old faithful and still a firm favourite

Although my eye’s have been opened to the many offerings in our city, I love Lazari! The food is always good, the staff remember you and are friendly and attentive. It is not a vacuous space and the comfort for their venue shines through in your food.

It has an open kitchen, which I love, and a cashier full of home-baked treats that are very difficult to refuse.

I always order the same thing, 2 medium poached eggs on rye and if I am feeling particularly hungry, a side of avocado or bacon. I am never disappointed. The eggs are always done perfectly, the toast doesn’t need a steak knife to cut through and the avocado is ripe and the bacon crispy.

A few things stand out for me at Lazari:

1. Their attention to detail – Presentation is accurate but never pretentious.
2. They know the difference between a cappuccino and a flat white  – So often other venues serve these to be exactly the same.
3. Like Cheers – A welcoming local and they are always glad to see you.

As one friend put it, you are bound to see people you know. So if you have something to hide from the night before, best give it a couple of weeks before visiting for a relaxing, not awkward at all breakfast.

I have come to the conclusion that the standard of food in Cape Town is very high. We have investigated a few well known places but it is the independent venue that keep producing the best breakfast so far.

There are still so many places to try and each week I get suggestions on places were people are convinced the breakfast is the best.

I am still on the look out so the search continues…

Jason Bakery

021 424 5644
185 Bree St, Cape Town 8001 (map)

• Service 3/5
• Atmosphere 3/5
• Taste 3/5
• Menu choices 3/5
• Wheat free – No
• Vegetarian – Yes
• Coffee – 3/5 maybe 4/5 as the take-away queue would suggest
• Parking: Street (council controlled)
• Price $$

On the bustling Bree street in the centre of the City Bowl, Jason Bakery is a popular little eatery frequented by gym goers and local independent business employees. It is a busy venue with a constant queue for take-away coffee but the queue’s are fast-moving and the atmosphere busy without being chaotic.

People wait patently for their turn, each looking cooler that the next, and their patience is rewarded with friendly service and well made coffee.

But we are here to eat breakfast. Seating is precious so grab it when it is available. The menu choices are creative and they excel at sandwich making, catering for the near by lunchtime business trade.

I wasn’t blown away by the standard of food, needless to say I could have produced the dish easily at home but the eggs were done very well and the service was fast.

Jason’s is a nice break from the madness of the centre of town and a great place from a quick morning meeting over a coffee, but don’t expect a laid back Cape Town vibe. Jason’s is a dizzy mix of people coming and going, with a more mature, down to earth customer who are creating and socialising with the best of them.

Oh, they do the best Portuguese custard tarts in Cape Town – dainty and perfect for one to be enjoyed with your choice of great coffee 🙂

 

 

Koi (formerly Salt)

• Service 3/5
• General atmosphere/ambiance 2/5
• Taste 2/5
• Menu choices 1/5
• Wheat free – No
• Vegetarian – Yes
• Coffee – 3/5
• Toilet condition 3/5
• Price $$$$

Mention the Salt restaurant to most people and they will wow you with the depiction of superb sea views through glass walls high up on the Bantry Bay shore. Yes, the view is breath taking… but we were there for breakfast and one word can be used to describe the experience – underwhelming.

Situated in the prime site of the Ambassador Hotel, the restaurant very much has a hotel feel about it. Impersonal, lacking in atmosphere and full of wordless, tired travelers.  Your menu options are limited as breakfast is a set price and includes continental and hot breakfast with no price alteration offered if you just want one or the other.

The buffet is simple but the items are of good quality. I even cheated on my wheat-free diet as I couldn’t resist the delicious cinnamon wheel pastry. Your choices aren’t as extensive and lavish compared to other posh hotels in Cape Town but considering you must have a hot dish so this is just as well.

Opting for old faithful, poached eggs on rye (not 100% rye) I found the servings large and the eggs a little too vinegary for my taste.

The seating was comfortable and the view amazing but I feel this is another Cape Town eatery that weights its prices with its name/position at the “expense” of the quality of food served. There are much better breakfast to be had in our fair city. As previously mentioned, a rather underwhelming experience.

The search continues…

When Breakfast Became the Most Important Meal of the Day

This weekend I was unable to indulge in finding the best breakfast in Cape Town. But fear not, I found a great article explaining the origins of our beloved breakfast.

Article from History Magazine. Vol 4, April 2013.

There is not a vast record of breakfast in the earlier centuries and little attention is given to the first meal of the day. There are accounts of lavish 2 day banquets and feasts where tens of thousands of beasts are killed and prepared for Kings and Queens. As it would happen, most of the population existed on 2 meals a day. Breakfast was a privilege for royalty and their invited guests.  In the 2 meal-a-day routine, the first was generally had at around 10:30am and the second about 5 hours later.

But why did things change?

From as early as 1573, documentation exists that show household servants were usually denied breakfast but schoolboys were given a morning meal. Then in literature dated 1542 state “a labourer may eat three meals a day (ie including breakfast) but two meals is adequate for the rest of man”.

What emerges from various studies is that breakfast was often provided for labourers and gentry in the late 13 and early 14^th century generally out of necessity rather than a demonstration of status. Breakfast was also seen as a medicine; prescribed to sustain the sick and old.

Practical breakfasts (rather than ceremonial ones) were fairly basic. There are few references to anything being cooked and none to the provision of sauces. During harvest time, breakfast usually consisted of bread, cheese and ale. Interestingly, the travellers breakfast usually on consisted of nothing but ale or wine (liquid breakfast).

The noblemen’s breakfasts in the 16^th century were more elaborate. On fish days (Wednesday, Friday and Saturday) the breakfast consisted of pike, plaice, roach, butter and eggs – not forgetting the house baked bread, beer and wine.

For the love of dairy

More dairy appeared in the 16^th century. Bread and butter became exceedingly popular. Sometimes herbs were added to the butter to impart their properties. From this, the idea that breakfast could do you good was no longer only applied to the sick and old.

When is the first meal of the day?

The regular hour of breakfast can be attributed to the change in the patterns of employment. It was such a long time to 11am since dinner so people needed sustenance to keep them going.

By the late 16^th century, more people worked of others with prescribed working hours. From this dinner was delayed to 7pm or 8pm resulting in a knock on effect. Lunch was moved to 12pm – 1pm because it was popularly believed that there be no longer than 6 hours between these meals and because of this shift it was recognised that a substantial in the start of the day to keep them going.

So breakfast is an urban phenomenon that has grown into an essential health benefit and a favourite pastime.

 

Cafe Paradiso

 

 

• Service 3/5
• Atmosphere 4/5
• Taste 3/5
• Menu choices 3/5
• Wheat free – Yes
• Vegetarian – Yes
• Coffee – 3/5
• Toilet condition 3/5
• Price $$$

FACT: Café Paradiso is one of my favourite restaurants in Cape Town.

We often frequent Café Paradiso for dinner or lunch and never hesitate in recommending this rustic, authentic treasure to visitors local and foreign.

Located on trendy Kloof street, Café Paradiso has had a wobbly history but since being taken over by the Madam Zingara group, this quirky eatery has the perfect balance of fun and finesse.

Although being a firm favourite it never occurred to me to have breakfast here.

I must first add that food service only starts at 10am on weekends so it is more of a brunch venue with food to match. It offers the classics such as homemade wheat free muesli with fruit and yoghurt, but their options have a breakfast flare with more an early meal variety.

But as suspected, the preparation, presentation and palatability was not to disappoint.

I opted for scrambled eggs on a spinach and potato rosti.

Well done eggs that weren’t too rich or stodgy together with a crispy rosti was a delicious marriage.

My partner, and fellow BBCT seeker, ordered the anchovy toast. Forget a humble anchovy spread on two pieces of triangle toast, this option was a meal to the eyes and a credit to the imaginative and creative chef. Layers of toast with whole anchovies, fresh tomatoes, pesto and rocket.

The meal was ample without being indulgent and the fresh ingredients lend to the fresh start to the day.

The position of Café Paradiso, with their Italian inspired architecture and sunny garden with plenty of seating and shade, this eatery continue to be a firm favourite.

A wonderful brunch option. Don’t go expecting eggs and soldiers or a greasy fry up to cure the festivities of the night before, but if you are looking for a reminder of why Cape Town is the best place to live, I would recommend Café Paradiso for any meal.

110 Kloof Street, Cape Town (map)

(021) 423 8653

Starlings

Starlings: The legs are pink and the bill is black in winter and yellow in summer; young birds have browner plumage than the adults. It is a noisy bird, especially in communal roosts and other gregarious situations, with an unmusical but varied song. Its gift for mimicry has been noted in literature including the works of William Shakespeare.

94 Belvedere Road, 7700 Claremont, Western Cape, South Africa

(021) 671 6875

• Service 4/5
• General atmosphere 3/5
• Taste 3/5
• Menu choices 3/5
• Wheat free – No (They do offer rye bread but only 70%)
• Vegetarian – Yes
• Toilet condition 4/5
• Price $$$

This place does not need any more promotion or publicity as it is buzzing with popularity.

Bookings cannot be made so it’s a case of arriving and hoping for the best. There is lots of space inside and outside but there is a reason Starlings is a top choice for people from all over Cape Town, and we were about to find out.

Despite being busy, we were welcomed at the door and seated immediately. We were brought glasses of water without asking and our coffee and breakfast orders were taken in good time. Despite being busy, it never felt chaotic and you were never neglected.

We didn’t wait longs for our food and we weren’t disappointed.

I going for old faithful of 2 soft poached egged on rye and my companion opted for their take on eggs Benedict.

The food was delicious. Perfectly done eggs and they weren’t shy with the servings. I savored every bite and took my time absorbing the warm atmosphere.

Inside can get a bit noisy with the coffee machine grinding away and the constant stream of hopefully customers but the outside area and garden are relaxing and a cosy seating area. You are seated quite close together so this is not a place to  spread yourself out and read the Sunday papers but I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending Starlings as a great place to grab and scrumptious breakfast.