Critic's review

Kholeka Kumalo

Food
Café Hemingways serves up a wide range of meals for breakfast, lunch and supper. Inspired by the restaurant’s name and for an extra dose of bistro charm, each dish is named after a popular literary character. Food is made fresh and because of this, the menu gives customers a heads up that dishes may take up to 30 minutes to serve. Expect easy café fare with a bit of flare.

For breakfast, the goldilocks oats with banana, goji berries, fresh berries and cinnamon sugar is a comforting bowl of homey goodness. If breakfast isn’t breakfast without eggs, you can build your own three-egg omelette (with the option of egg-white only) and choose from traditional fillings. Regular favourites such as eggs Benedict and a full English breakfast also features.

Lunch is served from 12pm and options include leafy vegetarian salads, gourmet sandwiches and burgers, unfussy pastas and meaty options from the grill. If you’re in the mood for something fresh, light and from the ocean, you’d do very well with the Ophelia, a large bowl of steamed mussels in a creamy white wine sauce served with plenty of garlic toasted ciabatta. For something meaty, try the Holmes, tender grilled lamb chops served with truffle fries or salad.

There’s an on-site bakery so dessert here can’t be missed. Anne of Green Gables is a delicious deconstructed lemon meringue pie served with shortbread ice cream, and Miss Havisham is a chocolate fondant with salted caramel and chocolate ganache. Dreamy.

Drinks
Tea-lovers, take note. There are luxury loose-leaf blends, such as masala chai and strawberry lemonade, as well as artisanal flower teas that will make it hard to leave Café Hemingways. It’s also a welcome surprise that the fresh juice options are available by the glass and by the jug. Adjacent to the restaurant is the Bar Hemingways, from which you can order almost anything you can imagine. There are over 130 whiskies, for example, and plenty of classic alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails.

Service
Fast, efficient and full of recommendations.

Ambience
Cosy and quaint, as can be expected from a café. You arrive into the bright, airy main restaurant area and off the side is a fully decked and sufficiently moody bar. Beside it is a smaller, more intimate café section.

And…
For a slightly fancier affair, book a themed high tea and chat to the chef beforehand about a personalised menu. Prices range between R275 and R600 for a mix of sweet and savoury treats, along with a variation of black, fruit or floral teas.

Eat Out critics dine unannounced and pay for their meals in full. Read our full editorial policy here. 

(August 2018)

• Ambience

  ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

• Service

  ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

• Food

  ★ ★ ★ ★ ★