Postcard Café, Stellenbosch
5 January 2022
POSTCARD CAFÉ
Stark-Condé Wine Estate, Jonkershoek Valley, Stellenbosch
If location, location, location is a USP for homes, so it must be for restaurants and you can’t do much better than the stunningly picturesque surroundings of Postcard Café, which must rate as possibly the loveliest setting of any restaurant I’ve ever visited. The bonus is that the nosh is pretty decent too.
It was a kind of happy accident to have brunch here with the fam. The original date was to meet at Pyjamas and Jam in Strand but when the wife, the elder goddaughter and I were already barrelling down the N2, the younger goddaughter, travelling separately with her boo, informed us that she’d just found out that Pyjamas and Jam was closed for the holidays. Imagine the panic-stricken visages in our car. The elder goddaughter suggested Postcard Café. The wife and I’d always wanted to go there, having heard only good things about it, but it seems to be uber busy on weekends.
I phoned and made a reservation. We were 30 minutes out.
The winding, tree lined, vineyard bordered Jonkershoek Valley road amidst mountain splendour is already a lovely drive and sets the mood wonderfully but the setting of Postcard Café is awesomely picturesque. The restaurant overlooks a lush lawn, a large dam and towering, verdant mountain slopes topped by granite grandeur. I guess it IS a postcard view.
Our table was technically inside the room but on the edge, at the open stack doors, which offered us an unlimited view of that spectacular scenery.
The main dining room is a long space with those stack doors all along it, to maximise the view for all diners, with terra cotta floor tiles and an open, modern feel. There are tables further to the rear, more suited to colder days or for curmudgeons who prefer watching walls, and there is a separate seated area under trees on the side of the dam. The dam itself has a small island, reached by a wooden causeway, housing the shaded wine tasting facility.
The breakfast menu is innocuous for the most part, with a sensible selection of standard breakfast fare but things get a bit weird with the vegan option, which is grilled pumpkin and coconut milk soup, as well as an antipasti plate and a cheese plate, none of which come to mind is ideal for breaking the fast.
Two people ordered the fry up, aka the Valley breakfast, consisting of 2 fried Usana eggs, Salsicia sausage, smoked belly rasher, tomato concassé and pan fried mushrooms (R115). 
The wife’s option was the Franschhoek smoked trout, Usana scrambled eggs and lemon and dill crème fraiche (R135).
We were given two baskets of thick cut, crusty sourdough toast for the table.
My choice was the Turkish eggs, with two poached eggs, garlic and cumin yoghurt, paprika brown butter and dill, and odd tiny cubes of cucumber (R75).
This dish, known as çilbir, is one I make often at home, and the Postcard Café’s version ain’t too shabby though I prefer it with a chilli butter sauce to give it some kick, and without the garlic. The crusty toasted sourdough bread was the perfect accompaniment.
The portions were generous and the elements were delicious. Everybody felt well fed.
Everyone had coveted the sweet treats set out at the back of the breakfast menu and, even if we should’ve perhaps have been more restrained, the occasion and the awesome surrounds inspired us to stay longer and eat more. Our haul was two portions of cheesecake
, two portions of red velvet cake
(R60 a slice), and the elder goddaughter’s rogue choice of carrot cake cupcake (R45).
The baked cheesecake, with whipped cream, was cloudlike in its fluffiness, like a mousse cake, and glorious. The imposing slice of red velvet cake, with berry compote, according to the wife, must have been a quart of the cake, and the crumb was moist and delicious though, to my taste, the icing was a tad over ambitious. I think the tart berry compote would work better with the cheesecake, though.
The carrot cake cupcake was equally generous and lovely.
The bill, including hot and cold drinks, came to R1100 for five people. (The elder goddaughter’s significant other, who, ironically, works in the hospitality industry, couldn’t make it because he was on duty today).
Stellenbosch is lovely as it is; the Jonkershoek Valley road is a splendid drive and Postcard Café is the sparkling jewel in this crown. And it’s no hidden gem either. The food’s good, you can’t beat the view and the prices are reasonable. What’s not to like?
Caveat: if you want to visit Postcard Café on a weekend, book or go early. It’s rather popular.
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