The Korner

15 November 2019

THE KORNER

Corner of St George’s Mall and Church Street, Cape Town

This space was previously a Doppio Zero, once a chain with aspirations and now, as far as I know, completely defunct. The Doppio and Motherland Coffee, a couple of shops away, were my favourite destinations on St George’s Mall, one for meals and the other for hanging out with a coffee.  Well, Motherland is still present and correct.

The look of  The Korner is quite plain, with bare wooden tables, mostly four seaters it seems, and a mix of upholstered and wooden chairs. It might be just the psychology of change, but The Korner isn’t as welcoming when one walks in, as Doppio Zero was.  It just seems empty of warmth.

There are still plenty tables outside for warm, wind free Cape Town mornings and now that the trees in the Mall are all dressed up in their green finery, this part of the street is rather lovely.

The breakfast menu is basic: two health options, breakfast wrap, avo on toast, eggs Benedict, blueberry and chocolate waffles, croissants, and the opportunity to build your own breaky(sic). 

The Korner Benedict with eggs on a scone, gypsy ham and smoked paprika Hollandaise (R85) seemed most promising but was a tad disappointing.

The positives are that the eggs were poached to order and that the ham was good. On the downside, I couldn’t tell whether there was any paprika in the quite bland Hollandaise sauce, and using a scone is unfortunate, if the scone is as big and dry as this one was. Also, the dish was already cooling down rapidly by the time it reached me.

Won’t make my list of best Benedicts in town, then.

Service was good. Coffee is by Truth, which like Deluxe, is not a  USP for me. I drank two (generous) espressos (R40 for both) and decided to go elsewhere for a more substantial amount of coffee and contemplation.

The Korner is well placed and has an okay-ish feel about it without any wow.  Breakfast menus don’t have to be extensive or offer exotic dishes but if your best option is an underperforming Benedict, one doesn’t have much confidence that anything else on offer will be any better.

I can’t see myself returning or recommending The Korner.

PS

From here I walked up to newly opened The Shift, on the corner of Roeland and Buitenkant Streets, for coffee, because the younger goddaughter recommended the brand to me, and found that they serve meals too. I'll return for breakfast and for a proper review.

As it was, I had a slice of the excellent Bar-One cheesecake (R49) and a satisfactory latté (R32.). 

The joint was jumping with tourists and those who work from coffee shops, and the vibe was lively.  On the surface, it seems to be a splendid addition to this fast-evolving section of the CBD.