More hidden gems

PART TWO

It has been a wonderful few months of discovering interesting, less expensive, less pretentious places that are making the food industry proud. There was too much to write about in one mail, so here is the promised ‘Part two’…

Sopra

We stumbled upon this Italian restaurant on one of our outings about a year ago. We returned recently just to make sure, and yes, it is very much worth a visit!

It is situated in Scarborough, just under 50 kilometres from the Cape Town city centre, and there are three routes to your destination, all of them beautiful. Italian owned, the restaurant serves honest and authentic fare. The wine list is excellent (says my wine guru), and you can have wine by the glass in each of the cultivar categories represented on the list. Also, the mark-up on the wines is not crazy.

All pasta is made on site, and pizza bases are Neapolitan in style. Ambience is great and one can dine outdoors and undercover in summer. There is so much else that we would like to try on the menu, so we’ll be back soon.

Cnr. Watsonia and Main Road, Scarborough Tel: 021 780 1047

Kalmoesfontein

In December last year I was gifted an evening out at Kalmoesfontein. My brother-in-law was at school and very friendly with the patriarch of the Badenhorst clan, so he booked this experience for us. Here’s the story of how a wine estate came to be famous for their pizzas…

During Covid, when we were all cooped up alone and people were starving for human contact, the family decided to put their big pizza oven to good use and apply it in a much broader sense. They began by inviting friends and neighbours for a drive-through pizza. What started as a way of connecting has now blossomed, and we were privileged to be a part of it recently.

A range of pizzas are on the menu, along with wines (the wines by the glass are priced a mere R30 per glass!) and a few desserts (the tiramisu was the bomb!) Neapolitan, fermented pizza bases were served with beautiful toppings. I did a quick headcount and there must’ve been more than 100 people there that Thursday evening, all in good cheer, laughing, visiting from table to table, enjoying dinner by candlelight.

Open in summer only, Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. Booking is essential.

Paardeberg, Malmesbury Book on Dineplan

Again, to all the visionaries who keep our taste buds entertained and satisfied in this beautiful part of the planet, and around the world, a big thank you! We salute you.