Deer Park Café and the hot choc experience
The first Nutella hot chocolate ever to melt my heart was sipped in a wonderful airport restaurant (!!) in Berlin. Every airport should have an “organic”-style welcoming. * See our “Business ideas to bring you home”. Marché Zigolini bakery in Schoenefeld airport had vegetable and fruit baskets, fresh bread and an array of delicious looking German sandwich toppings and…. la pièce de résistance … hot chocolate!
This was no ordinary hot chocolate. It arrived in a tall glass, a generous helping of nutty chocolate lacing the sides, accompanied by a jug of hot milk to pour. The resultant delight is a bit like the feeling that comes with the ceremony of caffè latte pouring. It somehow adds to the elasticity of that indulgent moment.
You can imagine my joy when I discovered that Deer Park Café offers the same delectable treat! It must be said that it also offers great quality things in the way of coffees and cakes. This is definitely an Ultimate Caffeine Kick location. The café overlooks a superb children’s playground and is a favourite amongst the local community. On the downside, the restaurant can become a little rowdy when it’s hosting a children’s birthday party and it’s raining outside!
Location: Address 2 Deer Park Drive West, Vredehoek, Cape Town. Cape Town Map.
Ambience: Casual setting. Great for family get-togethers. Outside seating overlooking the park.
Seating: Choose inside seating for a quiet meeting or outside for the kids.
Menu: Varied and healthy, however main courses a little short of culinary excellence.
Wine list: Wide selection. Corkage R20.
Coffee: Coffee (and hot chocolate) excellent. Fig and honey smoothie alternative!
Screen Sports: N/A
Bookings: Not usually necessary, unless for group bookings
Yum – the homecomer’s “local”
Having been there more than thrice, I now like to think of Yum as “my local”. For those returning from London, “Local” perhaps conjures up images of beer-soaked pubs, smoky nights (in the days that this was still possible) and a good draught beer or ale for the more seasoned beer lover. There is some evidence of UK in the manager’s accent, with a generous South African hospitality (I feel very much the prodigal daughter – or sister – whenever I return).
Location: Yum Website. Address: 2 Deerpark Drive, Vredehoek: Cape Town Map
Ambience: Great for fireside cosiness. Separate restaurant for peace from the hub-bub on busy nights.
Seating: ”Romantic” table seating near the windows and walls. Outside seating popular on sunny days.
Menu: The meal portions (including starter) were hearty and tasty. Good Vegetarian options.
Wine list: There is a small selection of wines, albeit very drinkable choices.
Coffee: My table agreed that the coffees (I had a decaf) didn’t taste great. Not the Ultimate Caffeine Kick.
Screen Sports: Major sports events (including football) shown for big matches – visible from the lounge.
Bookings: Our confirmed email booking didn’t filter down to the waitress on the night.
The Ultimate Caffeine Kick
We know how it is to love coffee. Each London morning is seemingly hollow without the opportunity to queue for the barrista’s attention. To be handed a heat-resistant take-away coffee holder (a whole tray, if you’re doing the morning coffee run for your colleauges) brings mountains of joy and happiness.
It’s mandatory to talk about the coffee if it’s good and equally (worse!) if it’s bad. There is the Cafe Nero-lover (strong and rich), the Pret lover (must have Organic and Fair Trade), Starbucks (if you don’t mind being out-of-pocket) and Coffee Republic (you can’t be doing with a franchise on every corner!) to name a few.
The same tireless search for the greatest coffee experience exists in the heart of the South African, as it does in your average London pavement-treader. The joy is, you have to be a bit more adventurous here. No preset recipe. No guarantee of the same drink after your next meeting. The coffee Franchise doesn’t exist, or if there is one, it’s a bit more subtle about brand-dishing so you don’t know about it.
You’ll like this change, I promise. Each coffee brings with it a new experience. We do know that drinking an unpalatable coffee can really put a damper on your dining, so we’re hoping to save you that unbearable pain. When we find a good coffee spot, we’ll review it here on our Siteta Blog under “The Ultimate Caffeine Kick” and then post its location under the same heading on the 2010 Cape Town Map, where we’ve listed CBD hotels and restaurants.
If you’re feeling a bit mal-adjusted to your new environment, you know that coffee will perk you up, so after you’ve sent out those job applications (or even better, whilst sending them) go out and find your favourite. Spend a few pounds (pence!) on a daily coffee somewhere new. Eavesdrop on the “local vibe”…
We’d love to hear your own coffee views. Let us know if you’ve found somewhere that you think deserves to be on The Ultimate Caffeine Kick.
Delicious restaurant browsing
Meeting up with friends or potential business partners brings about the mandatory task of having to find the restaurant. It’s a tough task when your reputation is at stake! Cape Town has a number of websites covering these topics, however it took me some time to find a restaurant in a particular location with the right menu, good wines and ambience I was looking for.
The Tall Norwegian and I have decided to take the pain out of restaurant-searching and have posted on our 2010 Cape Town site, a list of restaurants in the CBD under the Cape Town Interactive Map section (we’re working at further afield!). This is very much a work in progress. We wanted a page to go to that would let you search by location first (we generally agree to “where” first, unless someone has heard of a good place to go).
We’ve added the restaurant details to each placename on the map, so that you can find out more if the location is right. We’re adding more capability to the filter section, because we’re wanting to let you search by other important faculties like parking (I’m still getting used to the Long Street walk at night), nearest petrol station and ATM (for those who leave these things to before, during or after the meal).
You’ll be able to find our own reviews on the Siteta blog in the Meals Out section. We have a lot of restaurants to cover and we’re meant to be exercising off the London pounds, so be patient!
If you’ve heard of a good restaurant worth visiting, or you’d like to comment on one the restaurants we’ve reveiwed, please do let us know.
