Restaurant Review: Lunch spots in Cape Town centre II

Good morning, dears!

Well, the soon-to-be-in-laws are in town again, and since I blasted you with two posts earlier in the week, I haven't cooked since then. So while I could do many other things, I thought I'd expand on my lunch spots post of a few weeks ago. You delightful souls gave me a few more ideas of places (you know when you're thinking of something, suddenly your mind goes blank? Yeah, it happens to me a lot.) So I've got some great new places that are actually old favourites.

So, in the comments from my last post, I was reminded about Marcelino's, the Jardine Bakery, and my old favourite, the Eastern Food Bazaar, which I reviewed many moons ago. And so, in order to appease the lunch gods, here we go!

Marcelino's

Marcelino's bakery opened up on Loop Street, not so long ago, and they soon joined twitter, sharing the soups on offer and the daily specials, which is what brought them onto my radar.

{Image source: Marcelino's website}

Marcelino's is a large bakery with a small shop and seating area. I imagine that kitchen must churn out breads for many of the nearby restaurants, but I don't know that for certain. They sell divine soups at between R10 and R20 (small and large, respectively), which come with a buttered roll. The filled rolls and salads look amazing, but it's winter, so thus far I've only had the soup. Oh. And the Brownie! Good grief! The Brownie (yes, it needs capitalisation!!) was a huge brick of cakey, not overly rich but rich enough delicousness, and was only R10!! I don't think I should tell you this, but I love you, so there you are.

If you're in the area (think, the top end of Loop Street, just next door to where Madame Zingara's was, when she was housed in a building, not a tent), pop into Marcelino's for some soup and a brownie. Ok, you can thank me later!

Phone: 021 422 1809/0168
Address: 210 Loop Street, Cape Town

{Image source: Jardine's website}

Jardine Bakery

Now, this is going to make me unpopular with the local foodies, but I've never understood what all the hype is about Jardine. I guess I just prefer other places for fine dining - the food here has always underwhelmed me. But nevermind, they've thoroughly appeased me by opening a divine bakery out of the side of the building that the restaurant is housed in. As far as I'm concerned, they should stick to baking. Of the restaurant food, I most enjoyed the desserts, and the breads that come out of the Jardine Bakery are just incredible. Also, in the winter they serve soups - I had a delicious carrot and ginger soup there a few weeks ago, which helped me towards the recipe for my own carrot soup that I made a week or so ago. This soup was gingery and carroty without being obnoxiously either one of those things, and was, above all else, divine.

So take a walk out to the corner of Bree and Bloem Streets, and enjoy a delicious sandwich on homemade fresh bread, or have a tasty, well wrought soup. Sure, its on the expensive side for a sandwich, but for the size and the quality, the price is well worth it.

{Image source: 17 on Loader Guesthouse}

The Eastern Food Bazaar

Now The Eastern Food Bazaar is a whole other kettle of fish. Steamy and warm with the aromas of countless curries cooking, this gem in the slightly dodgy end of Cape Town is not to be missed.

You know how it is, Indian and other exotic food restaurants are expensive, often running to over R100 for a curry! Well, here's the antidote, my lovelies! I'm talking delicious, freshly cooked and skillfully made curries and asian delights for roughly R25-R45 a plate! Fresh, hot naan's were R6 the last time I was there, and frankly, most other Indian places charge three times that. You have to visit to understand this place. At lunch time in the winter it's virtually impossible to get in, and it buzzes just as vibrantly in the evening. It's popular with authentic Indian families, office jockeys, tourists and locals, who flood there for a tasty home-cooked style meal.

For the uninitiated, you order in the middle by the tills, and then, armed with your slips, you disperse to the various counters depending on what you ordered. Each counter serves a different type of food, from Chinese to dosa. You can have bunny chow, masala dosa and sweet and sour chicken all in the same place, and in that way, it's really a crowd pleaser! My favourite is the lamb rogan josh (R35 I think), which is served with rice (huge portions, by the way!) and a fresh, hot naan (R6). That's a fresh, hot, delicious meal for R41, you got that? Do your self a favour, and go there. Not for the service, or the fine dining, but for good, tasty food, served fast and deliciously!

Address: 96 Longmarket (it runs in the old Wellington Fruit Growers building, between Darling and Longmarket Streets.

Phone: Don't bother, they don't take reservations.

And that, my sweets, is that for this week. I've got a few more gems up my sleeve yet, but please let me know if you've seen something wonderful, I'm always on the lookout for new places!