The Conscious Kitchen (again)

20 March 2020

THE CONSCIOUS KITCHEN

34 Kloof Street, Cape Town

Pro tip: if you want to go out for breakfast in Cape Town and still apply  social distancing, it’d be best to avoid the chain restaurants and head to independent coffee shops and restaurants who are often empty, even in those pre-pandemic times, early in the morning. I can’t count how many times I’ve been the only customer in a place. If you avoid touching too many surfaces or your face and use plenty pocket hand sanitiser, you should be okay.

Anyhoo, I’ve written about The Conscious Kitchen before, when I had a waffle there last month, and earlier this week I returned for a delish banana and beetroot pancake stack. Today I took the younger goddaughter, on holiday from her studies, for breakfast there. She was impressed.  “Instagram worthy” is  high praise indeed.

It’s not a purist vegan joint. You can have your eggs and your milk.

The breakfast options are various smoothie bowls at R95 each, or things on rye or sourdough toast (gluten free bread is available) at R68 base price, and you can add other elements, or a seasonal fruit platter or oats at R79 each.

My choice was the spicy scrambled tofu with asparagus and mushrooms, with a slice of sourdough bread (R68) to which I added creamy mushrooms (R20) because my first choice of Beyond Meat sausage was unavailable. I have yet to eat a Beyond Meat product but perhaps this was a blessing, as the sausage would have ballooned the bill by R65.

The goddaughter ordered the pulled oyster mushrooms in a creamy garlic and thyme sauce, with homemade pesto on sourdough bread. (r68), with additional poached egg (R15.)

She drank a purple sweet potato latté (a pre-mix that she found quite bitter and, obvs, contained no coffee at all) and I had an espresso (generous quantity) and a latté. The coffee is good.

These were two excellent, relatively light and healthy dishes proving that one doesn’t have to choose either a fry up or eggs Benedict to break the fast with tasty nosh. The only criticism I have of my meal is that some of the asparagus was a tad fibrous and stringy.

The banana and beetroot pancake stack with vegan ice cream and fresh fruit that I ate last Tuesday was a delicious thing of living joy. The flourless waffle and pancakes at The Conscious Kitchen have my vote as some of the best of their respective types in Cape Town. If you want non-organic, lots of gluten and sugary ice cream or syrup, the Wimpy waffle is your best choice.

I don’t know whether it’s glitch, or refusal to handle cash (banking cash is costly, I suppose) but when I offered to pay my bill in hard currency the other day, I was told it’s card or Snapscan only.

We don’t know yet how long this COVID-19 period will last or how bad it will be, and this might be my last review for a while unless, inspired by someone’s joke, I write some rave reviews of my cooking and the cosy yet elegant ambience of my dining room.

Adieu, then, until we meet again.