MRKT

11 January 2019

MRKT

The Onyx, 57 Heerengracht Street

A new year, a new breakfast, in die barren wastelands of lower Heerengracht in what no more than the breakfast room of an upmarket hotel is.  Huge windows, with a view of the parking area, give plenty good, natural light to brighten up a large, simply decorated space with light wood tables and chairs. There is banquette seating against the walls and counter seating at the windows of the larger of the two spaces, which are separated by the barista station, with the second space being a panhandle through which one has access to the reception area of the main building. On that side there are ceiling high shelves against the street wall with deli products and high-end kitchen accessories.

The kitchen is a throwback to the almost forgotten days when chefs were highly anonymous, a massive, gleaming, stainless steel empowered workplace, behind double swing doors with porthole-like windows. I was under the impression this kind of set up had been outlawed by the Open Kitchen Act of 2002.

MRKT is very nice and all, modern, elegant and obviously way upmarket but not your cosy coffee shop.  It’s far too big and much too obviously set up for hotel guests, of which there were plenty this morning. I might have been the only customer off the street. 

There was an extensive breakfast buffet in the corner behind the barista counter but when I entered, I was handed the a la carte menu, with a good selection of cold and warm breakfasts, from the standard health options to a range of warm, savoury breakfasts and French toast. No eggs Benedict and only one dish, the “farmer’s breakfast,” that includes bacon, or, if you insist, “turkey bacon.”   Can chicken bacon, mutton bacon, spinach bacon and cashew nut bacon be far behind?

Refreshingly, there are no build your breakfast type add-ons.

My choice was smashed eggs (R82), with two fried eggs on toast, topped with smoked salmon and pickled onion and apparently roasted garlic, thought the latter was very subtle, if present at all.

The portion seemed small at first glance but, on reflection, it’s about what one gets when you order eggs Benedict, and the quantity of good quality salmon was generous, the eggs were cooked well, and the toast was crisp. It was a filling dish, after all. I suppose the pickled onion is intended to mitigate the richness of the salmon but it’s not a taste I’m partial to. Thankfully, the acidity of the pickle was not overpowering.

There is a sizable staff component and the service is excellent. The coffee is good and well-priced at R18 or a single shot espresso and R24 for a latté.

This part of the CBD is way outside my usual roaming paths, and this will be the last time I’m here unless I have business down this way; it’s not a place I’d make an effort to get to for the food, coffee or ambience but for worker bees in the vicinity it must be a welcome addition to the neighbourhood.