Tag Archives: Old Biscuit Mill market

Corona Virus: Lockdown Journey Journal, Day 74 of Level 1, 3 December 2020.

 

Thursday 3 December 2020, Day 74 of Level 1, Day 253 of Lockdown 😷

Corona Gratitude 🙏

#Grateful for a special day of being cared for and spoilt by two lovely ladies, Jenny Stephens and Chef Judi Fourie, taking my KitKat heartache away a little 💙💙; for a busy short morning, preparing for my weekly client status meeting; for a clean-up walk with my team in Bakoven this morning; for a good Earl Grey tea and croissant at Origin Coffee Roasters in De Waterkant, Jenny entertaining me with her stories since we last saw each other; for my client status meeting going well, so happy to hear that they have been fully booked last night and tonight, and the weekend looks busy too; for popping in at the first Thursday Night Market at the Old Biscuit Mill; for a spontaneous treat dinner at Pilcrow & Cleaver, Chef Judi giving me the whole bottle of The Valley Pinot Noir to take home when I was happy to just have a glassful, and for comping the meal too, such amazing kindness 🙏; for meeting artist Benjamin Salvatore at his exhibition at Speakers’ Corner, across the road from Pilcrow & Cleaver, having been invited by Katie Friedman, and being offered a Cointreau & Tonic, very tasty and refreshing; for the good news that the Western Cape is not affected by the tighter Lockdown regulations announced by our President this evening; and for being healthy. 🙏💙 Continue reading →

Cape Town & Winelands Restaurant closures bad sign for winter to come!

Capetonians are still reeling from the news that the country’s and our city’s largest restaurant, Paulaner Bräuhaus, closed down on Sunday evening, after ten years of operating in the V & A Waterfront.  Our blogpost about this closure has received more than 1000 unique views in the past 48 hours, an unheard of high readership demonstrating the interest in this story.  Kloof Street appears to be experiencing a particularly bad series of restaurant closures, the street having the most restaurants in Cape Town.  Our list of latest restaurant openings and closures will be updated continuously, as we receive information.

Cape Town

*   Clarke’s Bar and Dining Room has opened on Bree Street, as an American-style diner, owned by Lyndall Maunder, ex-Superette

*   Chez Chez Espresso and Cheesecake Bar has closed down off Kloof Street, Tamboerskloof.

*   The Black Pearl (ex-Seven Sins) on Kloof Street has closed down

*   Andy Fenner (JamieWho?) and friends have opened Frankie Fenner Meat Merchants in Metal Lane, 8 Kloof Street, opposite McDonald’s.  They are stocking Farmer Angus McIntosh’s beef, Richard Bosman’s pork, and eggs and chicken from Simply Wholesome.  A barista will make coffee, and Jason will bake special chorizo muffins and bacon brioche for them.

*   Neil Grant, ex-sommelier of Rust en Vrede, has opened Burrata, a new restaurant in the Old Biscuit Mill

*   Societi Brasserie has opened in Constantia

*   Luke Dale-Roberts, Eat Out Top Chef, has opened the Pot Luck Club, a Tapas Bar next to The Test Kitchen (photograph above). He will also open a real Test Kitchen, a private experimental place to develop new recipes

*   The Bungalow has opened as a 400-seater restaurant where La Med used to be, part of the Kovensky Group, also owning Pepenero, Paranga, The Kove and Zenzero.

*   La Belle Café & Bakery has opened in the Alphen Boutique Hotel.

*   5 Rooms Restaurant has opened at the Alphen Boutique Hotel

*   Gypsy Café has opened in Observatory

*   Kuzina in the Cape Quarter has been sold, and is now called Rocca.

*   Sabrina’s, which opened about two months ago where Depasco was, at the corner of Kloof and Long Street, has closed down

*   Arts Café has opened at Artscape.

*   Chef Craig Paterson has started as Executive Chef at Dash (Queen Victoria Hotel), the V&A Hotel, and Dock House

*   Caveau at the Josephine Mill has closed down

*   Café Sofia in Green Point has become Slainte

*   Knead has opened a large outlet in Lifestyle on Kloof, Gardens

*   Mitico has opened a pizzeria and ’spaghetteria’ on Kloof Street, where St Elmo’s used to be

*   Mamma Mia in Steenberg has closed down

*   Don Pedro’s in Woodstock has re-opened, under Madame Zingara management

*   Madame Zingara is said to be re-opening in its original building on Loop Street

*   Tong Lok on Kloof Street has closed down.

*   Mason on Kloof Street has closed down (to become a Slug & Lettuce)

*   Buzz on Kloof Street has closed down

*   Myög has opened as a frozen yoghurt outlet, at 103 Kloof Street

*   Thai Café has opened in the old Cape Quarter

*   Paulaner Bräuhaus in the V&A Waterfront has closed down!

*   The Fez is closing down.

*   Giorgio Nava’s Down South Food Bar has closed down

*   Fat Back Soul has been renamed South China Dim Sum Bar

*   On a Roll has opened in Mowbray as a gourmet hot dog restaurant

*   The Dog’s Bollocks has opened as a burger pop-up restaurant

*   Saints Burger Joint has opened on Kloof Street

*   Cape Bubble Tea, which recently opened in Camps Bay, has closed down

*   Dear Me has opened its Pantry

*   Chef Jannie Melis has left French Toast

*   Jackal & Hide has opened on Kloof Street

*   Eat on Breda Street has closed down

*   Graham Beck’s Gorgeous bubbly bar has opened at Catharina’s at Steenberg, with Jenna Adams as the Manager.

*   Operator Pamela Trevelyan and Chef Lana Doyle have left Sunbird Bistro in Camps Bay.

*   Col’Cacchio is opening new outlets in Claremont and Westlake

*   Chef Daniel Botha, who started at Salt restaurant at the Ambassador Hotel in November, has left. Dale Thebus is the new head chef.

*   Vaudeville has closed down

*   Shin Tai Asian Kitchen is opening on Regent Road in Sea Point

*   Bistro 1682 Manager Juergen Welp has left, and has been replaced by Marc Cowen.  Assistant Manager Jenna Adams has moved over to Catharina’s to run Gorgeous by Graham Beck.  New assistant managers are Cable Ermstrom and Hilton Klassen.

*   A new Vida é Caffe is opening on Prestwich Street in April, and a cupcake shop is said to be opening around the corner, on Ebenezer Street, next to T & Co/Table 13, in Green Point

*   GM Nigel Pace has left the Cape Grace Hotel

*   Il Cappero will moving from Barrack Street to Fairway Street in Camps Bay, opening in May.

*   Saints on 84 Kloof has opened on Kloof Street

*   Sushibox has opened at Newlands Village

*   Richard’s Supper Stage & Bistro has opened on Main/Glengariff Roads in Sea Point, as a dinner theatre (from May), and restaurant, owned by Richard Loring and Roland Seidel

*   ‘I ♥ my Laundry‘ laundry restaurant has opened on Buitengracht Street

*   West Street Café has opened in the new Woodstock Foundry, owned by Chef Alan West

*   Orphanage has opened as a cocktail and tapas emporium on Bree Street

*   Valora on Loop Street has closed down

*   ACT Restaurant and Play Bar at the Baxter Theatre closed down overnight on the last March weekend, without paying its rent for the past three months.

*   Philip Arno Botes is the new Chef at Pure Restaurant at Hout Bay Manor.

*  Take & Bake German Bakery has closed down on Main Road Sea Point

*  Maz Sushi has closed down on Main Road Sea Point

*   Planet Green Salad Bar has opened on Kloof Street

*  Burrata will introduce a new 3-course food and wine pairing menu before the end of April.

*  Vanilla in the Cape Quarter has closed down.

*   Chef Bruce Robertson has opened Bruce’s Beach House for lunches, in Scarborough

*   Cake designer Martin Senekal has closed Cafeteria in De Waterkant, now only selling on order and at the Old Biscuit Mill market

*   Madame’s on Napier has opened in De Waterkant

*   Moyo is to open where the Paulaner Braühaus was in the V & A Waterfront.

*   Sinn has closed down its Deli at Wembley Square

*   Table Thirteen is closing down in Green Point and moving to Paarden Eiland at the end of May

Franschhoek

* Leopard’s Leap has opened its Tasting room and Liam Tomlin Food Studio and Store outside Franschhoek

*    Reuben’s is opening a Franschhoek branch in his self-owned building off the main road, when his Huguenot Road branch lease expires this year

*   Dieu Donné in Franschhoek has leased its restaurant to Martin and Marco from Durban, and they have renamed it Roca.

*   The sushi restaurant has closed down

*   MCC Franschhoek has opened in the Village Square, opposite the church, stocking 34 MCC’s from Franschhoek and serving food as well

*  Babel Tea House has opened at Babylonstoren, serving sandwiches, cake and teas.

*  Donovan Dreyer from Grande Provence has resigned, and started as Restaurant Manager of Indochine at Delaire Graff.  Aldo du Plessis has taken over as Restaurant Manager at Grande Provence.

*  The Franschhoek Food Emporium has closed down.

*   Bijoux Chocolates has closed down its chocolate manufacture, will continue selling chocolates.

*   Chef Bjorn Dingemans has left The Franschhoek Kitchen at Holden Manz, to open up a new restaurant on Lourensford wine estate in spring. Cheyne Morrisby is the new chef at the Franschhoek Kitchen.

*   Chef Vanie Padayachee has joined Le Quartier Français

*   Chef Darren Roberts is leaving Grande Provence for a new appointment in the Seychelles at the end of April.

*   Alton van Biljon has been appointed as Restaurant Manager at Haute Cabriere.

Stellenbosch

*    Cavallo restaurant is said to open on the stud farm on R44, between Stellenbosch and Somerset West, this year or next

*   Cupcake on Dorp Street has closed down, and Dorpstraat Deli will open

*   De Oude Bank Bakkerij has opened a bar, serving Bartinney wines, and craft beers.

*   Bruce von Pressentin has been appointed as Executive Chef at The Restaurant @ Longridge

*   David Higgs has resigned as Executive Chef from Radisson Blu Gautrain in Johannesburg (previously with Rust en Vrede), and was said to be headed for his home country Namibia.  He starts at The Saxon in Johannesburg in May.

*   Slug & Lettuce will open where Beads is on Church Street

*   De Huguenot, with its Harry Q Bar and wedding reception facilities, will be auctioned on 14 March.

*   Stables at Vergelegen Bistro has opened as a lunch restaurant in Somerset West.  Its Lady Phillips Restaurant is being given a make-over by Christo Barnard, and will open in June, with a new name called The Vergelegen Restaurant.

*   Warwick wine estate’s new chef is Dane Newton (ex-Chamonix, Cascade Manor).

* Tokara closes for a winter break from 22 April, re-opens on 4 May

Paarl

* Chef Matthew Gordon has opened Harvest, a new restaurant at Laborie

*  The Spice Route Restaurant has opened on the ex-Seidelberg, now belonging to Fairview.

Hermanus/Overberg

*    Simone’s Restaurant has opened in Napier

*   Tipples Bar and Grill has opened in Hermanus

*   Rivendell Estate and Bistro has opened as a restaurant and winetasting venue on the road between Hermanus and the N2, near the Kleinmond turn-off.

*  Grilleri has closed down

Garden Route

*   Katarina’s has opened at the Kurland Hotel.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.comTwitter:@WhaleCottage

Restaurant Review: Superette is …almost super!

I had read about Superette on Twitter, and having braved the Old Biscuit Mill market close by last week, I decided to stop there for a cappuccino and a late breakfast.   It doesn’t look anything like its name implies, although one can buy a few items to take home.   Bar the very laid-back man taking the orders from behind the counter, Superette is really super.

Superette was started a year ago by Justin Rhodes and Cameron Munro, the operators of the Old Biscuit Mill market, and they must have seen how their market has revitalised the Woodstock area.  The one weakness the market has is that there is no adequate place to sit and have a proper meal, and certainly no coffee (other than at its only restaurant there).  Superette caters perfectly for people like me that get claustrophobic in crowds, and that hate doing the look-and-see shuffle through what feels like a massive country bazaar at the Old Biscuit Mill. 

I loved the casualness of Superette, in that the menu is written onto the white tiles behind the counter.  What is sold out is crossed out.  When I spoke to Mr Laid Back he immediately told me that there were no tomatoes, before I even had a chance to read the menu.  It is not very neatly written, so I had to ask his help.  When I asked about the bread that the All-Day breakfast is served with, he lay on the counter and pointed behind him at two different breads on the counter, which did not give me the exact answer I was looking for.  He was facetious in his replies, and clearly seemed irritated to be dealing with anyone who asked too many questions!  Luckily the food is brought to the table by pleasant waitresses, and they bring the bill to the table too.  The interior is very casual, with wobbly tables and little triangle-shaped stools.  There are fresh flowers on each table.

I chose the All-Day Breakfast (R40) and it was served on lightly toasted milk bread, topped with scrambled egg, roasted rose tomatoes and bacon, with rocket as garnish on the plate, an attractive-looking breakfast treat.  The cappuccino was the new-style flat which I do not like at all, but it was strong and made from good coffee.   The waitress tried her best to answer all my questions, and sent the chef Lyndall Maunder to my table to answer more.   Lyndall was super friendly, and told me that she had trained with David Higgs when he was still at Meerendal, and had worked at Jardine, and as a private chef. 

There is a weekday and a Saturday menu.  On Saturdays it is the busiest day, and the menu focuses on breakfast only, served until closing time at about 3 pm.   In addition to the scrambled egg sandwich, one can order cheese on toast (R25), anchovy toast (R30), almond and cranberry granola (R34), boiled eggs and soldiers (R30), and croque monsieur (R45).  On weekdays one can have breakfast all day.  From 12h00 Superette serves salads made from vegetables which are close to raw, with added nuts and seeds, a selection of three costing R55; pastas; sandwiches with porkbelly or steak at R45; and a Plat du Jour at R65, which could be a lasagne, a sweetbread terrine or whatever Lyndall feels like preparing on that day.

One is able to buy the bread as well, milk bread and pain de campagne being on offer, which comes from a tiny Muizenberg bakery called Le Petite Boulangerie.  A table with fresh vegetables is displayed near the counter, and it looked like a display to me.  There is no indication that one can buy the farm-fresh organic vegetables, which are delivered every Saturday morning from the Appelsdrift Farm in Napier. Oddly, there was a bowl full of tomatoes on the table!   What is novel is a self-help “Mini-Bar”, which is stocked with waters, &Union beer brands and Frankie’s Ginger Beer, drinks taken being added to one’s bill. 

Superette, 218 Albert Road, Woodstock, Cape Town.  tel (021) 802 5525. www.superette.co.za. The website has a blog, which is written by Lyndall.  Open Monday – Friday from 9h00 – 17h00, and on Saturday from 9h00 – 15h00.  The business card looks like a price tag, a cute touch.

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com