Breakfast at Bacini's

 22 July 2022

 

Bacini’s

177 Kloof Street, Gardens, Cape Town

 

I was unaware until earlier this week that Bacini’s, a veritable institution of Italian grub at the top end of Kloof Street, offered breakfast but once I knew, I was on it.

 

Not that I’m a regular here.  To the contrary, I haven’t set foot on the premises since the latter half of 2005 and part of the reason was that I didn’t care for its then old-fashioned, slightly faded look and feel.

 

The premises were ravaged by fire since then and have been wonderfully rejuvenated and improved. 

 

I sat on what used to be the rather low budgie stoep, now a lovely indoors space with lots of glass on two sides providing glorious natural light, large grey floor tiles and an array of simple, yet elegant tables and chairs. Even though I was a solitary patron, I felt at home and ease in my corner from which I looked out towards Liquorice & Lime and the Bombay Bicycle Club across the street, and Lion’s Head towering over both.

The breakfast menu is quite simple: eggs Benedict (with bacon or trout), a fry up, a bagel with salmon and cream cheese, ricotta pancakes, bacon potato rösti, mushrooms on toast and an omelette with a choice of fillings. 

 

I pondered the apparent ridiculousness of the “deconstructed granola” because, surely,  granola, by its very nature, is quite deconstructed to start with but perhaps they mean that the granola, fruit, yoghurt  and honey are served in separate bowls, a move I don’t get. I don’t want to build my own granola, fruit and yoghurt bowl.

 

So, there‘s nothing exotic or spectacular for breakfast and, other than the elements one can add to the omelette, no add-ons. I’d  expected a Continental breakfast but perhaps they don’t want to roll as European as that. 

 

In keeping with the Italian heritage, the coffee is by Illy, a trademark of quality for as long as remember, and the quantities of espresso (R25)

and Americano (R30) are generous. 

 

I tried the bacon potato rösti (R72.)  It was very tasty and quite satisfying though the eggs weren’t poached soft enough for my liking and the rösti, otherwise delicious, had no crispness, which meant that the bacon was the only textural variation on the plate.

 

Bacini’s do not offer sweet pastries and I finished with the superb New York baked cheesecake  (R80) (there is also a salted caramel cheesecake), which was marvellous in texture and taste, served with a berry coulis and a superfluous ball of vanilla ice cream.

 

The food was delicious, the coffee excellent and the service friendly and efficient.

 

The bill came to R207,00 before tip.

 

Liquorice & Lime has always been my favourite breakfast spot in the area but Bacini’s is strong competition, though it  opens only at 09h00, and a better option if you prefer a less busy, quieter spot.  I was the only patron between roughly 09h50 to 11h00. I’d guess that finding parking in the area is always a challenge, and Bacini’s has the further advantage of  its own parking area behind the building.

 

Bacini’s gets a bellissima from me.

 

 

CODA

On a Tuesday evening in May 2003 I had a second date at Bacini's with a young woman who was about 18 years younger than me. She brought her mother, the mother’s boyfriend, and her toddler daughter along on the date.  The first, introductory date had been the previous Friday and, from my perspective, I didn’t quite know whether I truly wanted to be involved with such a young woman and to be a stepdaddy too.  To my utter astonishment  and, I must admit, horror, it seemed, in the time between the two dates, or perhaps earlier, that the young woman and her mother had already decided that there would be a romance between us.  They were talking about integrating me into the household, becoming familiar with the toddler and even a honeymoon in the region of  Italy their forebears hailed from and where they still had family. How they went from a low key first date to a long-term future together in the space of a few days, was beyond me. I think the mother’s boyfriend was perhaps as bemused as me but had the sense to say little. Oh, and I must mention that the mother was only 5 years older than me.  As far as  I recall, we ate pizzas that were decent enough and it was a pleasant enough evening, despite the feeling of being press ganged into the household. I smiled and nodded a lot.   The last time I saw any of them was when we said our goodbyes in the parking lot behind the restaurant where their car was. They drove off and I walked home.