Breakfast flirtation

 12 April 2024

 

FLIRT

Church Street (between Bree en Buitengracht Streets), Cape Town

 

“It’s so bare!” was the elder goddaughter’s comment when I shared pics of the interior of Flirt with the fam.  She has an eye for the niceties of interior decoration from her past association with the late lamented Home & Garden (Garden & Home? House & Garden?)

 

The bareness was amplified by the absence of any other patrons.  Basic wood and metal tables, low and high, almost randomly arranged in a decidedly wow-factor free space.  The best you can say for it, is that it’s uncluttered.

 

According to the younger goddaughter, who has her finger on the pulse, Flirt is next door to night time club and I suppose that explains the forlorn air of abandonment; it’s a low rent space unhappily exposed in the harsh glare of daylight.

 

The barista is at the street level entrance though the kitchen is upstairs.

 

I must say, I can’t fathom why Flirt would even be open for breakfast if, even on a Friday, nobody comes in early.

 

I sat at the single small table on the covered deck, dwarfed by a couple of massive, ancient trees and grooved on the deep, throbbing bass lines of music coming up through the floor boards for those gentle Café del Mar sunrise sessions  vibes.  

 

The all-day breakfast menu is as simple as the space is bare, avocado toast, muesli crunch, eggs Benedict, English breakfast, breakfast wrap, toasted sandwiches and omelettes. 

 

I didn’t have high expectations for breakfast here and decided to give the kitchen the acid test: eggs Benedict with bacon (R65.) (For R95 you can exercise the “salmon option.”

To be brutally honest, I was very pleasantly surprised.  The small, fresh salad, more than you’re likely to  be served with your eggs Benny at most establishments these days, was toothsome and the eggs were perfectly poached. The Hollandaise was pale and only semi-interesting.  As expected, it lacked any hint of lemon juice, yet had good flavour and enhanced the dish.  I was quite happy with my choice.

 

The bill (including an espresso and a latté) came to R120,00  before tip.

The coffee was good, the service was friendly and efficient (well, I was the only patron), the food was good and if you like breakfasting alone with your thoughts amidst Spartan surroundings, Flirt is a good option in the CBD.