The Meeting Place is charmingly rustic

 6 October 2023

 

THE MEETING PLACE

87 Dorp Street, Stellenbosch

 

One more day, one more Stellenbosch eatery.

 

The Meeting Place is a small, charming, rustic bistro in what might once have been a residence, almost hidden from the road by huge trees.

 

The interior is small but on warm days like this, most patrons sit outside at bench tables down the side of the property or at the couple of  tables and counter seating on the Dorp Street frontage.

 

It's great to be out front if you’re a people watcher, despite the hectic, noisy traffic but the tables on the side are the really popular ones. 

 

The joint has free wi-fi with a password of “carrotcake,” that suggested to me they pride themselves on the latter.

 

Surprisingly, I was handed a “winter menu” on a lovely Spring day that motivated me to drink a draft beer, but hey, food is food, despite the season.

 

The options were a cheeseburger, chicken strips, Caesar salad, a sweet potato version of lasagne and gnocchi. There are five small plate options (of which two seem to be sides) and two platter options.

 

My choice was the sweet potato gnocchi in a smooth butternut sauce, with grated cheese and root vegetable crisps (R110.)

 

The crisps were mostly not very crisp and kinda elastic but the gnocchi were really good and the butternut sauce was creamy, slightly sweet and elevated the mouthsful of gnocchi; I could easily have had more of the sauce.  I’m guessing it’s a vegan dish and it proves my point about how good it can be if done right.

 

I did try the triple layer carrot cake (R65), despite my general misgiving and the less than stellar experience at Meraki the other day, and my faith in humanity was almost restored.  It was very good, with a moderately moist crumb,  and restrained icing that wasn’t overly sweet. I was happy.

 

The bill, including the beer and an espresso, came to R242,00.

 

There’s plenty of choice on Dorp Street alone and I’ve barely scratched the surface but I’d say that I liked The Meeting Place enough that I’d happily return. The service was efficient and good-natured, the nosh was excellent, the coffee is good and the verdant ambience is comforting. Next time I’ll bring the MacBook to make the most of the free wi-fi.