Sea Point’s artisan coffee house, Bootlegger Coffee Company, is so popular that local property developers have been known to use its proximity as a lure for buyers. In the USA, real estate researchers have noticed a trend they call the Starbucks Effect: the value of homes within a quarter mile of Starbucks have risen by 30% more than those further away – so perhaps the developers are on to something!

Bootlegger Coffee Company. Photo courtesy of the restaurant.

There’s a second branch further down the road in Bantry Bay, a mini Bootlegger Kiosk upstairs in the Point centre, and a third, full-size branch is slated to open in Kenilworth later in June (on the corner of Main and Summerly, near Borruso’s and Jakes).

We investigate what makes up Bootlegger Coffee Company’s winning formula.

Food

Bootlegger is certainly serious about coffee, but the food offering holds its own, too. Breakfasts are made with free-range eggs and artisan bread from Ou Meul. A spinach, mushroom and roasted rosa tomato omelette is given a lift with sweet, tangy chevin goat’s cheese, and the eggs Benedict with Franschhoek salmon trout is a great example of the genre. There’s also a no-toast breakfast for banting folk, with black mushroom, roasted tomatoes, poached eggs and hollandaise. You can also tackle the DIY menu, from which I can recommend the beef mince, which will make you nostalgic for childhood mince-on-toast.

Bootlegger Coffee Company. Photo courtesy of the restaurant.

The lunch and dinner menu offers some hearty, well-executed burgers, open and hot-pressed sandwiches, and inventive salads, along with beef fillet, pork ribs and chicken schnitzel.

Bootlegger Coffee Company. Photo courtesy of the restaurant.

A selection of tempting cakes and gloriously gooey brownies rests beneath glass cloches, and there are even wheat-free crunchies with a cinnamon kick for the gluten-challenged.

Drinks

Made from Guatemalan and Costa Rican beans roasted on the premises in a Giesen roaster, Bootlegger are serious about their coffee. It makes a superlative coffee milkshake and freezerchino, and the simpler iced coffee with clinking ice blocks is very refreshing in summer. There are also smoothies and fresh juices for outsiders to the caffeine cult. In the evenings, beer and cocktail specials help to transform the coffee shop into a bar and low-key dinner venue.

Bootlegger Coffee Company. Photo courtesy of the restaurant.

Ambience

Bootlegger Coffee Company. Photo courtesy of the restaurant.

Featuring dark grey walls, golden light fittings and vintage type, the design is hip, but still welcoming. The place buzzes first thing in the morning – coffees are just R14 before 8.30am. Pull up a seat at one of the tables or perch at the windows with your laptop and enjoy the view of Sea Point’s uniquely entertaining Regent Road.

Service

Friendly and fairly snappy.

And…

There’s a generator, so they’re loadshedding proof. Most sports matches are screened on fairly unobtrusive screens. In short, it’s got everything you need from a local.
Eat Out reviewers dine anonymously and pay for their meals. Read our editorial policy here.

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