Zanne's Fare

 24 June 2022

 

Zanné’s Fare

70 Bree Street, Cape Town

 

It’s always prudent to have a Plan B. 

 

My first destination this morning was The Ladder, also in Bree Street, but when I disembarked from the Uber, there was a group of cheerful, chicly dressed young women on the pavement and when I stepped inside, there were more of them clustered around the tables. This might sound like Nirvana for some, but it’s not the optimal  scenario for the solitarybreakfaster, so I turned around and strolled further down Bree Street towards Zanné’s Fare,  which had been on the shortlist for this morning’s excursion and a venture I’d been wanting to check out, ever since I heard she’d moved.

 

I was the only patron at Zanné’s Fare for the first hour of my time there  before people began trickling in.

 

Zanné had previously set up shop in the premises of the  Aroma Café, once a landmark on Loop Street, (and still empty) before relocating to the current premises, once occupied by The Hot Skillet, in the Youngblood Gallery. I suppose there’s an ironic short story in there somewhere.

 

The art gallery setting makes it perhaps the most visually entertaining venue in the city; if you’re bored of the conversation around the table, you can feast your eyes on the very colourful paintings on the walls around you.

 

The furnishings and style are what I’d call retro chic, harking back to the times when the building was constructed, with luxurious couches at the front and elegant, dark wood tables and equally elegant chairs in the main dining area. The open kitchen and service counter is still at the back of the space.  It’s a very large, well-lit  space and therefore not cosy but still welcoming. 

 

The all-day breakfast menu is intriguing yet bereft of  faddish dishes like huevos rancheros or Turkish eggs, and also, glaringly, standards like eggs Benedict. What you do get are: three health options, rusks, mosbolletjies with butter and preserves, a fry up,  savoury mince and eggs in a vetkoek, “worsbredie” and eggs with vetkoek, smashed avo and omelettes. As is nowadays pretty much SOP in many restaurants, you can  add various elements to “build your own.”

 

My choice was Zanné’s three-egg omelette (R120) with sliced biltong, spring onion and cream cheese, topped with grated Cheddar cheese, accompanied by three roasted  tomatoes and served with a slice of toast.  The exterior of the omelette  was wonderfully caramelised and it was light and fluffy and creamy inside with the delightfully salty biltong taste and texture. Very tasty and filling.

 

I should’ve stopped there but, as is perhaps my ill-considered habit, I ordered a sweet thing with my Americano, which was, allegedly, a blueberry muffin (R45.)

 

You can’t fault the muffin for size. I’ve seen smaller Hallowe’en pumpkins. Unfortunately, once one got over gasping at the size, the texture and the taste were bitterly disappointing. I could taste a subtle hint of blueberry but hardly any berries  had been mixed into the batter (there were two stray berries on the plate)  and it was overbaked and therefore dry. If more berries had been lurking in there, the thing would’ve been, if not exactly moist, at least more palatable. Or, alternatively, the muffin should be served with butter and preserves.

 

The espresso (R24) was okay, and prettily served but the Americano (R24), in a clear Perspex, double walled glass, was good and, given that you pay the same for both, a far better deal than the espresso.

 

The total bill came to R213,00 before tip.

 

Muffins aside, Zanné offers good food, the venue is splendid and the service is excellent.