Fifty Five Croissants at Wellington

 27 November 2021

 

FIFTY FIVE CROISSANTS

36 Bain Street, Wellingtons

 

It is said one should never revisit the past but every now and then a nostalgic journey can be life affirming. Today was not that day but it was a minor thrill to return to a property in Wellington I knew well when it was in a different guise.

 

The wife attended a baby shower at Imbuko wine farm just outside Wellington and dropped me off at Fifty Five Croissants for my breakfast. I found mention of it in a Google search and it caught my eye because the exterior looked so damn familiar. 

 

The goddaughters once lived here and I’d been there before in different circumstance and when the building had a different get up.

 

Fifty Five Croissants is housed in a small cottage on one of the leafiest, quaintest streets in central Wellington, and it’s remarkable how the building has been transformed, with prim white exterior, repainted and reconfigured interior and a general feeling of cultured well-being. 

 

The main seating area is the broad front stoep, with two small tables and counter seating, as well as an eclectic mixture of old fashioned lounge furniture, for those who simply want coffee and a chat, that could well have been in the house before it became a coffee shop and deli. 

 

Today there was one small table on the  pavement in front of the building and the numerous umbrellas there suggest that on warmer days (today was unseasonably windy and cold) more tables would be out there. The only other table today was in the front room deli area but this was in an awkward position below the stairs leading to the upstairs office and next to the door leading to the interior where the kitchen and bathrooms are.

 

The room immediately on the right, as one enters the front room, was once the eldest goddaughter’s bedroom and is now home to the barista counter where one orders one’s victuals from a menu on a board.

 

It’s slightly irritating for a person who sees as badly as I do, that the menu is printed with light coloured ink on a white background. I never enjoy squinting at menus and this was more challenging than most. 

 

I couldn’t quite find fifty five variations on croissant dishes and saw only the butter and jam croissant and the caprese salad croissant before my eyes started tearing up. So, for all I know, there are many more options.

 

My breakfast consisted of the caprese salad croissant and a chocolate croissant (having overheard another customer ordering it), with three cappuccinos over the course of two hours.

 

The croissants were crisp and proper flaky, light and lovely, though the top crust of both looked to be burnt or maybe it was just aggressive caramelisation, but didn’t taste burnt. The caprese salad was fresh and lovely. The chocolate croissant wasn’t overburdened with chocolate.

 

The coffee was good and the service excellent.

 

The bill came to R181,00 before tip.

 

There was considerable foot traffic for take aways and a steady stream of people who sat down for coffee, with or without croissants, and a natter.  I don’t know whether it’s an accurate reflection of the Wellington demographic, but I found it intriguing that the language split was about 50/50 between Afrikaans and English, and also between the young and hip and the older generation.

 

Apparently, Fifty Five Croissants has been trading for about 5 months and seems to have made a mark in Wellington. It’s not a full-service restaurant but what it offers is good, Bain Street is a delightful part of the town and you’re sure to see fascinating people and overhear enthralling conversations if you hang out at Fifty Five Croissants for a bit.