Origin Coffee Roasting
6 November 2023
ORIGIN COFFEE ROASTING
28 Hudson Street, De Waterkant, Cape Town
This was my first visit in many years. The interior looks pretty much the way it looked at my last call. If changes have been made, they’re not dramatic enough for me to notice.
Fortunately, I arrived right at the gap between the early crowd and the mid-morning crowd and could find a small table at the banquet on the side of the room. Last time around Origin had been so busy I had to settle for a seat at a larger table shared with strangers.
Obviously, I’m fuzzy on details but it seemed to me that the breakfast menu had been revamped; my eye quick fell on the breakfast bánh mì (R90), described as a Vietnamese brunch sandwich with two crisp, fried free range eggs, lightly pickled carrot and daikon radish, fresh coriander and mint and a touch of chili, all of it on a freshly baked, crusty baguette.
This is the most exotic item on the menu. The wife has this semi-humorous complaint about the pervasiveness of faddish Asian influences in Cape Town culinary circles and this sandwich proves her point. Who decided that this type of alleged Vietnamese street food should be included on a menu of otherwise standard options, especially when it’s glorious in its isolation?
The breakfast sandwich was very good, light meal. The baguette had a truly gorgeous crust.
The cortado (R38) was good, as is to be expected.
The bill came to R128,00 before tip.
A fresh wave of customers arrived shortly after I sat down, and these were a mixture of tourists lured by TripAdvisor and funky young locals who either don't work or are part of the “gig” economy. It doesn't really matter, I suppose, as it was highly entertaining studying all of them.
Origin is obviously still going strong; the service is still as efficient and friendly as ever and the coffee and food seems to be on point. It's clearly a tourist attraction but doesn't seem outrageously priced and it's still a cosy spot to hang out in for an hour or two.
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