Manna Epicure

 10 November 2023

 

MANNA EPICURE

Corner of Kloofnek and Burnside Roads, Tamboerskloof, Cape Town 

 

This was my first visit to Manna at its new location.  I used to be a regular at the Kloof Street site.

 

If memory serves, this current space was previously occupied by Beleza, a Portuguese restaurant.  It's much larger than the previous iteration of Manna and is divided into three distinct areas.

 

There is the deep, upper-level interior, where the tables are set with tablecloths; the covered deck; and two narrower spaces on street level respectively abutting Kloofnek and Burnside Roads.

 

Sitting in the original Manna, was like being in an ice parlour with brilliantly, uniformly white furniture, floorboards, walls and ceiling.  The current look is a mixture of that. For example, the white framework of the deck area has been painted white, but the deck is still wood and so are the tables. The cosiness of the other Manna is also no longer present.

 

I had my breakfast on the deck, because it has an outside feel, though covered, and affords a view, if you can call the combination of semi-charming old-fashioned and unsightly modern buildings across Kloofnek Road a view, but it’s not ideal early in the morning when the sun is still relatively low.  The large windows on all sides allow great natural light but it also means that the sun is in your eyes and there really isn’t any decent shade unless you take a table in a rear corner, which patrons seem to do. If you’re not the first, you don’t have that protection.

 

I’ve no idea why the tables below the deck, on the Kloofnek Road, don’t have umbrellas. There’s some shade on the other side but these are fully exposed to the heat and can’t be pleasant on hot days.

 

It also seems that the breakfast menu is different and somewhat reduced in stature from what I recall but it’s been while and I may be wrong on that.  The variety is good, the classics are there, there are a bunch of gluten free offerings and all of them are enticing.

 

The best on show, for me, was the lamb shakshuka (R135), the standard Mediterranean dish on top of a good quantity of succulent shredded lamb and served with good toast.  Highly enjoyable, with nice depth of flavour and just the right amount of subtle chili heat.

 

The three blueberry pancakes, with strawberry compote and syrup (R85), were scrumptious. They were crisp around the edges, a nice textural innovation to the usually merely soft pancake.  

 

As always, the service was excellent, the coffee was good and I really enjoyed my breakfast.

 

The bill came to R281,00 before tip, including an espresso and a flat white.

 

My impression was that there were fewer customers than the Kloof Street Manna attracted but there was a constant flow and it’s probably become a Tamboerskloof local hangout. I can't say that there’s anything to the setting or ambience that would induce me to return or particularly recommend it to anybody else unless they're a Manna loyalist or live around there.