syrup.

13 July 2019

SYRUP.

231 Bree Street, Cape Town

This morning the wife and I took her out of town brother, wife and kids to breakfast at “syrup.” (that’s how it seems to be spelt) at the unaccustomed early hour (for us) of 10h00 because the others were heading off to Disney on Ice at Grand West later. We’d been wanting to go there for a while now and I’d deliberately refrained from going there on my own on a Friday morning. 

syrup. is close to Orphanage and a block away from the stretch where once Culture Club Cheese and Bacon Bree (both defunct) held sway in the glory days of the newly hip Bree Street strip. Tempus fugit … transit gloria mundi, eh?

At 10h00 syrup. was busy. The interior space is limited (because the kitchen takes up half), with three tables at the banquette against the one side wall, and maybe three more small tables. There are also three small square tables on the pavement  and a narrow, high table just outside the front door.

There was no table inside for the six of us and we hung around outside for a few minutes, waiting for a promised space to clear, until we decided to sit outside after all, and a kind patron gave up her table and moved to another one, so that we could combine two tables. It was a mild, wind free day and not unpleasant to be outside, despite the traffic on Bree Street. The literal downside is that the tables are set against a slight incline, to leave the flat part of the  pavement open for pedestrians. Sitting at even a slight angle is precarious.

The menu offers a good variety of breakfast options and covers your basic wants.

The  one kid had a waffle, the other one chose the cinnamon swirl flapjack stack, and their parents both ate the egg Benedict on sourdough (the alternative is an English muffin) with salmon (alternatively, bacon.) The wife and I selected the two most expensive breakfast dishes, at R115 each; the “American brekkie” for her and the “skillet scramble” for me.

Everything was excellent. The waffles and flapjacks were proper and had plenty of syrup. The attractively stacked eggs Benedict were a treat. The two larger breakfasts, both served on sautéed potato, were yummy and generous. Mine had slightly melted, grated cheese on top and a side of home-made, mildly spicy tomato sauce and I have a criticism here, it’s that the chorizo in the dish lacked the characteristic bite. The breakfast was not served in a skillet, though but in a shallow, two handled, stainless serving dish of a type I associate with Indian or Oriental restaurants.

The wife and I were not impressed with our flat whites (cappuccino) which she thought of as acidic and was just too strong for me to be enjoyable without plenty more milk or, last resort, sugar.

We agreed, comparing syrup. with our other recent brunch experience in the ‘hood’, at Mulberry & Prince, that syrup. represents far better value for money. The food was served considerably quicker and was materially cheaper, and yet there was no compromise on taste.

A well-known Instagram influencer and her significant other came for brunch too; this must be the stamp of hip approval! 

syrup. is highly recommended but you’d better be early, if you want an inside table, or perhaps come much later after the brunch crowd has thinned out.