Brunch at Kleinsky's Delicatessen

 18 April 2024

 

KLEINSKY’S DELICATESSEN

92 Regent Road, Sea Point, Cape Town

 

There used to be an advertisement with the tag line of  “But it’s so big!” and that came to mind when the wife and I stepped inside Kleinsky’s. 

 

I’d once had breakfast in the mini Kleinsky’s opposite Church Square in the CBD (this was almost in a different life time and before the “big C” of 2020/2021) and we’d driven past the original, tiny outlet on Regent Road without ever going in and my visualisation of it had always been of a small, cosy, crowded space.

 

Not anymore.

 

We gawped at the huge, modern, bright ballroom that is the current iteration of Kleinsky’s Delicatessen. So, sue us, we’re gauche.

 

There’s a group of tables on the raised section at the entrance and many booths and banquettes, with some free standing tables and a central high table for MacBook users, on the larger, lower level.  In a way, the size and brightness creates a canteen effect, or would’ve but for the comfortable, luxurious booths and banquettes and the plethora of framed art against the walls.

 

The cake and pastries counter is just beyond the large service counter and the well-stocked deli section is at the far end of the space, just before one reaches the restrooms.

 

It was brunch time and I studied only the breakfast and  bagel sections of the menu and though both are quite extensive, it seemed to me that the bagel options are more exciting than the breakfast choices, all of which are based around eggs, proudly free range. Surprisingly, although “lamb bacon” is a thing here, one can also order bacon to enhance some dishes.

The wife ordered the tuna melt bagel (R68), which she has consistently ordered as a take away over the years, and was somewhat disappointed that the tuna and cheese mix was cold, with not properly melted cheese, when it was served. She called the server back to request that they give her a warm dish but when it was returned to the table, there was no discernible improvement .

I urged her to return the offending dish and to demand  the proper version but she declined, saying she was hungry and wanted to eat. Apparently, other than the frosty nature of the main element, the bagel was quite tasty.

 

I asked for the straightforward latke Benedict (R80), choosing not to super-size the dish with any variant of bacon, salmon or mushrooms.

The latke was superbly crisp, light and savoury, the eggs were perfectly cooked to order but though the Hollandaise  was good, it still lacked lemon zing. An excellent light breakfast dish.

 

For afters I  could choose between a New York style cheese cake, a carrot cake and a Russian honey cake. The latter appealed the most.

 

The honey cake consists of layers of what I think of as pancake (though the counter guy referred to biscuit layers), drenched in honey and served with extra honey, just in case and cream in-between the layers.

The slice of cake was sizable and the cumulative effect was of extreme sweetness but before I got there, the soft, delicate sponge layers, with a bit of cream, went down a real treat.

 

The coffee was good, the service was friendly and efficient and the ambience was welcoming.

 

The bill (including two coffees each) came to R342,00.

 

At 11h00 Kleinsky’s was severely underpopulated but by 12h30 it had filled up nicely and there was a real buzz going on.

 

For size and ambience, Kleinsky’s is real competition for Jarryd’s (though the latter’s menu is rather more extensive) and we had a good time there despite the slight disappointment with the bagel.