Jarryds, Sea Point

5 December 2019

JARRYDS

90 Regent Road, Sea Point

The wife and I’ve been going to Jarryds for a couple of years now, mostly on Saturday mornings after we drop the dogs off at a local dog salon for a wash and cut, and it’s always been good though  we decided that we didn’t much like the acidic coffee.

Around brunch time on a Saturday, Jarryds is always super busy and sometimes one must queue. It’s also a challenge finding parking nearby. A Thursday morning seems ideal.  There was parking nearby and the place wasn’t busy at all which meat we quickly get a good table at the banquette seating at the back of the room.

As soon as we walked in, the place seemed different. I couldn’t quite place my finger on it; the room just seemed lighter and brighter than I recall from our previous visit. The wife pointed out that the booths in the alcove at the front, opposite the barista counter,  have been removed and replaced with  standard, small, square tables and banquette seating against the three walls.

It also seemed to me that there have been changes to the menu, though the old favourites are still there. The main reason for my  belief was that I saw a Moroccan breakfast bowl I don’t recall as well as a breakfast rice dish.

 The wife’s choice was the generously portioned breakfast bruschetta (R130.) Her only criticism of it was that the toasted bread, actually rye, was a tad difficult to cut. Other than that, the egg was poached to order and the other elements were delicious.  

I’m always keen on eating something out of the ordinary but I’ve done huevos rancheros and Turkish eggs and wasn’t sure whether I really  wanted ride for breakfast, so I went for the Moroccan breakfast bowl (R120) with poached egg, quinoa, carrots, kale, dukkah, labneh and the most delightful hint of chilli.

I’m no expert on North African breakfast nosh and don’t care how “authentic” (or not) this dish is. All I cared about is that I enjoyed its varied flavours and textures and that my belly was well chuffed afterwards.

This breakfast bowl is a good alternative to the usual suspects, and I suppose one could ask that it be served sans egg.

I started with an espresso and the wife and I each had a very excellent flat white. The latter were a revelation, as we’d always thought of the coffee at Jarryds as the weakest link. Previously, it was too acidic for our taste. Today it was full bodied and deeply satisfying. Yay!

Jarryds seems still to be an old faithful, yet willing to innovate.

The bill came to R334 before tip