Don't trust the Freddie Freeloader website

 19 May 2022

 

Freddie Freeloader

72 Salt River Road, Salt River, Cape Town

 

Caveat: this is not a review of food, but a rant about a place where I didn’t eat.

 

Restaurateurs should really make a point of updating their websites.  Freddie Freeloader has been on the short list for a while now because I was intrigued by the presence of what seemed to be, going by the photographs on the website, a lovely, upmarket eatery in what, to me, is a dubious area of the city. 

 

The fact on the ground is distressingly different to the enticing pictorial.

 

The entire joint fits into what is the compact entrance lobby of a building housing some design school, I think. There’s a service counter on the right and four small tables with banquette seating,  and chairs, against the wall on the left That’s it.  It’s simple and has a certain stylishness but it’s no more than the back-to-basics in-house café for whatever business is in its building, and perhaps the immediate surrounds.

 

We only stayed long enough to have a coffee and to study the menu in depth before heading to Observatory in search of redemption. Perhaps we should’ve stayed to sample the food but the grave disappointment and extreme bitterness were too much and I needed to flee to regroup and revive.

 

The breakfast options comprise fried or scrambled eggs, a mini fry up, a breakfast wrap, filled croissants, filed bagels or toasted sandwiches.  These might be the best versions of the respective dishes that you’ll find in this city and perhaps my kneejerk reaction was unjustified, but, damn, if I brave the arduous journey to Salt River, I want a slightly more inspired menu.

 

The generous serving of espresso is cheap at R18 a shot and is good. The barista was friendly and efficient, and understood why we left

 

Apparently, the restaurant moved from their original site in August 2021. It’s high time to update the website, then.  Don’t mislead the unwary potential patron by suggesting that the restaurant is spring lamb when it’s mutton.