Last month we were...Eating out

- Kloof Street and Long Street

by Alison Westwood, 1 July 2006

The Go2Africa web team is not big on cooking. Ask one of us when we last cooked a meal and chances are we'll laugh or look around in confusion. Why should we cook? We've got more great places to eat within walking distance of our desks than there are dollops of olive oil in a Jamie Oliver recipe...

Vida e Caffe

Corner of Kloof Street and Darters Road

Tel 021 426-0627

Vida e Caffe means "Life and Coffee" in Portuguese, and most days Vida saves my life. No coffee on earth can surpass a Vida latte, no muffin yet made is more satisfying than Vida's sweet pepper and feta muffin, and no wait in a long queue will ever be more absorbing.

There's a vibe at Vida. Loud and lively music plays, the kind that makes you dance unconsciously. The guys behind the counter wear berets and bustle about in a space the size of a beach towel, baking muffins, squeezing sumo (orange juice) and shouting orders to the one working the gleaming coffee machine.

Then, of course, there are the customers. Vida e Caffe on Kloof Street is probably the best place to people watch in Cape Town. You'll see a smattering of models, harassed film industry types, photographers, artists, minor celebrities, and plenty of people who are just plain strange or beautiful - or both. It's even possible you'll see someone you know. Even if you come from Colorado.

There are several Vidas in Cape Town. All of them serve great coffee. Only one of them serves a sure cure for the Monday blues.

Nando's

Corner of Kloof Street and Park Road Tel 021 426-0240

"Chicken time" is the cry that announces lunch hour for the Go2Africa web team. Ravenous developers and designers descend on Nando's in Kloof Street to devour tender chickens marinated in varying degrees of nuclear-strength hot sauce. Nando's is not a place for vegetarians or people who can't handle their peri peri.

When ordering your chicken, you have 4 options. Lemon and herb (boring), Mild (super hot), Hot (where did my lips go?) and Extra Hot (get your friends to take photos). Only chickens (and I) choose the lemon and herb. Anthea gets around the problem by ordering the wrap, which Luke always has to finish for her.

Londoners are lucky enough to have Nando's at home. But if you've been living a Nandoless life, don't miss the chance to put a few feathers on your chest in Cape Town. You can also buy a bottle of the Extra Hot sauce, then cook some chicken back home and take photos of your friends eating it.

Royale

273 Long Street Tel 021 422-4536

Royale takes the humble hamburger to heights it probably never dreamed of reaching. Anyone who's watched Pulp Fiction will work out how this restaurant got its name, but there's no further connection between Royale and Mickey D's. For one thing, there's only one Royale in the world, and it's in Long Street.

Royale's burgers range from the plain old Royale (with any kind of cheese you can think of) to the Big Bird (ostrich), Baa Baa (lamb patty with mint) and the Fat Bastard (double everything).

Erick always orders the Uncle Morris (a New York style burger), and Patrick gets to choose from one of 9 different vegetarian burgers. Fries come in wedges, traditional, or sweet potato, with sour cream, peri peri and tomato sauce. If all that doesn't appeal, you can always order a pizza or pasta.

Royale has also just opened a bar upstairs where you can watch football on a big screen with your mates and get your burger brought to you in front of the telly. Just like home...

Lola's

228 Long Street Tel 021 423-0885

The people sitting outside Lola's on Long Street look as though they have all the time in the world. And to tell the truth, they need to. In an age where snappy service is demanded by snapping customers, the waiters at Lola's are quietly proud of their ability to take an hour to locate the menu.

If you're in a hurry, don't go to Lola's. You'll get no joy and you definitely won't get any lunch. But if you have a few hours to kill and you want to watch the buzz of downtown Cape Town while working up an appetite for some mindblowing vegetarian food, there's nowhere better than Lola's.

The curries (when they eventually arrive) are fantastic, and even if you are starving by then, you'll have a tough time finishing your food. They also serve milkshakes that are so good you'll want another before it gets dark. The answer to that, of course, is to order two milkshakes to start with.

The Pasta Factory

Park Road Tel 021 423-3003

Unlike Royale, which gives hamburgerphobes several other options, the Pasta Factory is dedicated almost entirely to one of the masterpieces of Italian sculpture: pasta. Who else would have figured out that just by changing the shape of food, you could change the way it tastes?

There's a kind of cafeteria thing going at the Pasta Factory. When you walk through the turnstiles, you'll be given a magnetic swipe card and told to fetch your food yourself. Since the food is fairly easy to find, this isn't quite as heartless as it sounds.

There's a small salad and ante pasta bar to the left, an industrial kitchen where they prepare your own portion of fresh pasta in front of you on the right, and a bar at the entrance.

Once you've collected your salad, pasta and drinks, and then gone back again to get your knife, fork and napkin, you can take a seat on a gym ball at a low table, on a stool at a high (and oddly shaped) table or at a normal table on a normal chair in the little courtyard.

The best part, for impatient people like me, is that if there's anything else you want - another drink, another plate of crostini - you can jump up and get it yourself. And, by the way, the pasta is excellent.

Greens on Park

5 Park Road, Gardens Tel 021 422-4415

I should probably admit that we don't eat at Greens as much as we drink. After a hard day pounding the keyboard, the bar at Greens is a sanctuary of muted colours, comfy couches, attentive barmen and frosted glasses for your beer.

There is, however, a really decent restaurant attached to this bar. It serves crunchy salads, inventive sandwiches, and gourmet pizzas with just the right combination of crisp base and gooey cheese. Jonathan likes to make us all jealous by ordering the avo, feta and rocket pizza. The fresh ingredients and clean presentation at Greens make even the most calorie-loaded meals feel healthy.

Essentially an urban sidewalk cafe, Greens is the right sort of place to be seen sipping chilled white wine under an umbrella on a sunny day. It's smart, stylish and super sexy. Not sure why they let us in, really.

Article © Copyright 2006 Go2Africa.

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