I was invited by Kirsten Reynecke to try Yiayia’s Table in Mowbray, and did so in late December with my friend Gary Peterson, visiting the sit-down and delivery Café and Bakery on a Saturday morning.

Yiayia is the Greek word for grandmother, and is a dedication to granny Elli Parolis of the brother and sister owners of Yiayia’s Table, in the same shop in which their grandfather Jimmy ran a butchery and granny Elli had a tea room, both grandparents immigrating to Cape Town from the island of Lesbos. Granny Elli was a passionate cook, and spoilt her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren with her traditional Greek cooking and bakery.

Yiayia’s Table opened last year, to continue the legacy of granny Elli, building on the Greek traditions, her recipes, her secrets, and her love and passion.

We were warmly welcomed by Dimitri and Lexi Parolis, and shown the Greek baked delicacies, displayed in glass cases, each marked with the Greek name. These included a typical Greek bread ring Koulouri, which is Vegan, olive oil being used instead of farm butter. It comes in various options: original with sesame seeds, whole-wheat, olive, apple and raisin, stuffed chocolate, stuffed olive, feta and cream cheese, stuffed chive, feta and cream cheese, and stuffed sun-dried tomato, feta and cream cheese.

Gluten-free pretzels are Vegan-friendly too, baked with almond flour, and available plain, with cheese and paprika, and with cinnamon and sugar. Delicious Greek Shortbread Kourabiedes, a Vegetarian and Vegan-friendly Greek honey biscuit Melomakarona, dairy-free cinnamon and orange biscuits, Kaitafi, Bougatsa Spiral with a custard filling, and Baklava are a few of the many sweet baked treats.  No preservatives are used in the baking, and what they bake they must sell by the end of the day.

Yiayia’s Table makes meal preparation easy, selling frozen Take-Away Heat and Eat at Home Spanakopita, Tiropita, Kotopita, and Bougatsa meals.

We were shown a special Lunch Combo Deal offer at R99 for a spiral phyllo pastry pie and a choice of Rocket and Goats Cheese Salad, and Greek Salad. Generously we were served the three phyllo pastry pies and the two salads, to share. The phyllo pastry pies are generous in size, and it was a very filling lunch treat, being offered the following:

#   Spanakopita, with spinach and feta

#   Tiropita, with feta, gruyere, and ricotta

#    Kotopita, with chicken and mushroom

As if we had not been spoilt enough, a selection of sweet treats were brought to the table, paired with a strong YiaYia’s Greek coffee blend, I making an exception to no longer drinking coffee, loving the aroma and taste of my Dry Cappuccino.

One can Breakfast at Yiayia’s Table all day, with three choices:

#   Greek yoghurt, baklava nut mix, and drizzled with a sour cherry sauce or organic raw honey, at R59 each

#   Koulouri and two eggs fried or scrambled, with fried tomato, on a bed of rocket and feta, at R75.

There is a small selection of imported items for sale from Greece, as well as the special Yiayia coffee blend. One can also buy packets of origanum from Lesbos, Gary gifting me one of these.

Having been a frequent holiday maker in Greece for ten years, I loved the Greek interior of white walls and tables, Greek religious icons, a memory board dedicated to Granny Elli, and the Greek music from Lesbos, feeling transported back to a Greek taverna.

What we could not finish, we were given as treats to take home with us. #Efaristo

 

YiaYia’s Table, 41 Durban Road, Mowbray, Cape Town. Tel (021) 689-8837. www.yiayiastable.co.za Facebook: Yiayia’s Table. Instagram: @yiayiastable. Monday – Friday 7h30 – 16h30, Saturday 8h30 – 14h00. Free delivery within 5 km radius.

Chris von Ulmenstein, WhaleTales Blog: www.whaletalesblog.com www.chrisvonulmenstein.com/blog Tel +27 082 55 11 323 Twitter:@Ulmenstein Facebook: Chris von Ulmenstein, My Cape Town Guide/Mein Kapstadt Guide Instagram: @Chrissy_Ulmenstein @MyCapeTownGuide