Pilcrow & Cleaver

17 January 2020

PILCROW &  CLEAVER

3.2 Piazza,  Parliament Street, Cape Town

This quite small but lovely eatery has rather a grand sounding name  but is not, Mugg & Bean-like, named for fictitious people.  I had to google what “pilcrow” means and found that it’s a typesetting term for the marking of a new paragraph or section of text. On the other, less esoteric, hand, “cleaver” is probably just a regular, rectangular bladed knife.

I’m not going to bust my brain worrying about the symbolism.

The bistro / café is across the street from Church Square, at the back of what used to be the Groote Kerk Building, and opposite Kleinsky’s, at the beginning of a section of Parliament Street that was optimistically upgraded a few years ago to be a new hip hub just off Adderley Street. Apart from P & C, and Kleinsky’s,  only a Seattle Coffee Co outlet remains, after the early demise of the sizable Parisian style bakery café on the street opposite  corner. Tucked into the corner of the square, there is the Labotessa Hotel and Starlings restaurant

Most of the interior space of P & C is taken up by the open central kitchen and service counters. There are two four-seater tables along the one side wall, bar stools along the service counter, more counter seating at the large (open) window to the street and a couple of tables on the pavement.  A  lovely decorative touch in the interior is hanging greenery covering part of the wall above the tables.

P & C has a well-lit,  modern,  feelgood, informal elegance; stylish simplicity at its best.

The breakfast menu is simple and has only one classic, the eggs Benedict. Okay, two, if you count anchovy toast as a classic. It’s not a vegetarian or vegan menu either, though some of the dishes, such as the health option, could count towards that.

There is an explicit notice at the top of the menu that it lasts only for a week, so it would be pointless to go on about the current, allegedly fleeting, offerings. The dishes are intriguing and, if more permanent, would encourage one to return a few times to munch through the menu but, I supposes, it’s as much of an enticement to return, if there’s a promise of more, once-off, innovative delights each week

My first choice this morning was the smashed avo on potato and bacon cake (R85) and it was a good choice for flavour and texture, if a smidgen insubstantial. The avocado was plentiful and the outside of the potato cake was lightly crisp, the inside was creamy, smooth and flavourful but with only a few bacon bits. A  lovely morsel yet far from filling.

My second course was the carrot cake waffle (R65), with Greek yoghurt, cinnamon, nuts and honey. This was the real deal: a thick, crisp and soft waffle in what I think of as the Belgian style, with the merest hint of carrot, not overly sweet at all and with plenty of slightly sour yoghurt to lubricate the dish and to provide the balance to the honey and waffle cake. Very scrumptilicious. It’d be worthwhile coming in just for the waffle and coffee, or perhaps eating it as dessert.

My espresso (R22) was served in a small glass and I guess the latté would have been served in a larger glass if I didn’t ask for the takeaway container I prefer. As I’ve mentioned before, some restaurants pour a generous quantity of espresso and others give you a thimbleful. P & C falls among the latter and the latté, too, was skimpy. The coffee was excellent, and at R22 for the latté as well, one can’t be too sniffy about the amount of coffee.

The bill came to R194,00 before tip.

If you’re looking for breakfast in the CBD that’s not just your standard fry up, and are a bit adventurous, and want a lovely, relaxed, uncrowded setting that’s not a large chain coffee house, P & C would be eminently suitable.