It’s cold, at times bitterly cold. The sort of weather that calls for soup’s and stews, farm style breads, hot and wholesome meals. But where? And why is one left to ask, Where? Why is the local hospitality industry so slow to take up the challenge? Be that as it may here are a few that I have found and have enjoyed.

The Thai Kitchen is where I started. Joy does an Oxtail soup with an exciting blend of chilli and lime. She also does a chicken and coconut soup Tom Kha Khai and a bland clear soup Tom Jeut. All very different and all delicious.

House of Flavour in George – Their chunky beef and veg soup is one that I will go back for time and again. It is served with lightly toasted ciabata bread and that might be what does the trick. But whatever it is, it is what has kept me going back for more whenever in George; summer or winter.

Cafe de Afrique in the Timberlake Organic Village recently presented me with a bowl of clear bean and vegetable soup which was particularly tasty after topping up with a little more salt and pepper.

I also had a clear, than than thick liquidised, vegetable soup at the Red Barn in Rheenendal which was well worth ordering. I discovered a few Mediterrean type olives lurking at the bottom of the bowl which gave it a bit of extra zip.


Finally I drove out to Storms River last weekend and stopped at the Cheese Shop where I throughly enjoyed their thick vegetable soup with a couple of slices of that farm bread. The sort of stuff I vaguely remember. Times when one had choices to make.

Al fresco country restaurant, nestled in a Macadamia orchard, close to the Knysna Forest. It is child friendly, serving wholesome vegetarian food as well as a variety of meat dishes, pizzas, Mediterranean, Portuguese and South Indian style tapas. Ingredients are locally sourced, organic and free range. There are exciting desserts, sunset cocktails, a full liquor licence and functions are catered for:

Open 9 am to 4 pm
Wednesday to Sunday and Public Holiday
As well as Friday nights till 11pm
Call: 082 739 0962
www.theredbarn.co.za

15min from Knysna along the Rheenendal road and 8km from the N2. Salim, a master chef, will welcome you to a fine dining experience.

Contributed by Ian Armitage. One of a handful of freelance writers in the Garden Route specialising in short artcles and reviews for internet maketing consultants servicing the hospitality and catering service industry. He is a participating member of a Professional Writers workshop.

Avanti coffee is about to make its debut on the Coffee Route and is being promoted and distributed by Caterware. It is produced and blended using high altitude shade grown Arabica beans.

Not what I would have expected to find on offer to the Thesen Island set but once again a nice touch from Ile de pain. These days it is difficult to know what is and what isn’t a good coffee. One runs the gauntlet of knowing looks, nodding heads and rolling eyes and most of the coffee connoisseurs I know haven’t the faintest idea what good coffee should taste like. And now, its coffee and condensed milk. Ca-phe nau nong, an honest brew which is the stock in trade of street vendors across SE Asia and if there is anything that should blow all that intellectual snobbery right out of the window this is it. Or will it? But at least I have found what I really do like, a shot of strong coffee sitting comfortably on a bed of condensed milk.

I stopped at Cafe François at the Scarab Village on my way through to the airport on Sunday. I had the last of the club steaks and whilst it was not melt in the mouth tender it actually tasted real. The way steaks are supposed to taste. A healthy lump of meat, a hint of sinew here and there and juicy fat. One that require a sharp steak knife and a certain amount of dexterity to work it all off the bone. It was tasty and good honest food. Nothing fancy, not politically correct, nothing pretentious about it at all. Just good honest fare which I grudgingly ordered after finding out that there was no Middle Eastern lamb sandwich which I normally do. It also came a poor third to the lamb roast which I favour on Sunday on the odd occasion we get across there on the weekend and which they didn’t have either.

This then got me to thinking about restaurants that are difficult to forget. I was having coffee with Tanya from Workshop Interiors who started up and ran Ouzeri (sp) in Joburg. I must have been one of her very first clients at the time and unfortunately the restaurant became so very successful I soon ran out of tables. However one thing led to another and this started me thinking about the trinchado and calamari stew at a Palahota in what I think was Claim St. Then there was Braai & Bake in Maritzburg the Pie Cart and a little coffee shop in a side road that did mushroom and bacon rolls. Cape Town for me is still wet misty nights at the Harbour Cafe on the docks, the little trattoria that did a bubbling lasagna and the Magic Sandwich in Sea Point which always had a sign outside saying “Gone to the beach” or “Gone fishing” and finally “Gone away”. Not forgetting the Brass Bell and Kalkies in the Kalk Bay harbour. There was the Greek in RockySt, the Mom and Pop Italian in Corlett Dive, the Fishmonger in Grayston, the Tent in Rivonia and Georges Chicken at the cafe at the Bryanston shops. The roast beef rolls on the mezzanine floor at Sandton City, crostinni at the Italian at the top of Rivonia, Tapas on Thesen island and the Unplugged Kitchen in Broederstroom. Finally there was the Hartford Hotel and an informal German country restaurant out at Lanseria where I learnt to enjoy spatzlie.

Does one still find those sort of restaurants today? Where can you get good honest food besides Cafe Francois?

A bell jangles and the double Dekker steel bridge across the canal pivots on one end, coming to attention to allow the tall- masted Catamaran entrance to the Quay side town house complex. Those of us who live in Knysna are not unduly surprised by the opening of the bridge or the majestic entrance of the beautiful yacht, but the visitors, to Knysna and the waterfront, have a field day with their cameras.

The comfortable chairs at Mario’s are close enough to the water to allow the patrons to reach out and all but touch the yacht as it passes, makes a graceful turn, and comes to rest against the adjoining quay.

The Knysna Waterfront Shops, restaurants, and the Knysna Quays residential area, are relatively new additions to the attractions that draw thousands of visitors, from all corners of the globe, to Knysna.

The lazy, relaxed atmosphere is spiked by the aromas of fresh sea food and other culinary delights and there is no better place to find a seat than at Mario’s where you can slowly scrutinise the menu. The anticipation of tasting a delectably chilled, never before tasted white wine, or a red that hints at chocolate and nuts, gets the saliva working. Your nose is engaged in an intricate duet or quartet with the fragrances wafting from the kitchen. Fragrances that then mingle with the crisp sea air and entice other passing tourists.

You some how manage to make a choice, while your memory conjures up the nuances of taste, texture, and pleasure, associated with the descriptions of the dishes that are on offer.

The meal or dish is more than pleasing. All your senses jostle for position while the entire experience is being embedded in your memory, for reference in the conversations you will have once you are back home with friends or family.

You linger, sipping Irish coffee or some other exquisite extension to the pleasures that your palate has already experienced, and it is almost a sadness to rise and reluctantly bid farewell to the smiling owner and his courteous staff.

Like the tide, you will be back, to extend the pleasures experienced at Mario’s. Its more often the not the restaurant of choice for most locals and that in Knysna says a lot.

Our contributing author Peter Dijkstra runs a workshop offering services which include freelance copy writers and journalists as well as……..property for sale in the Garden Route

If you enjoy a new and uber stylish hot spot restaurant to frequent for a business or pleasure breakfast or lunch meal – allow Lunar cafe to catch your attention, you will be drawn to a new favourite getaway from the usual places in and around town, positioned at the end of Thesen Harbour Town, where parking is ample.

Lunar cafe’s menu has been chosen by the owner and the chef. You will find the food is an unusual fusion, with large portions of Fish-cake salad and Lamb-knuckle fettucini pasta being served at lunch, to name only two of my favourites, gourmet burgers also caught my eye. Their poached eggs laid on a bed of spinach topped with smoked salmon would get me up early to start my busy day. Also please try their quality brand coffee as there are no coffee restraints and coffee is something they pride in serving, so pop in for a cafe late if that’s all that tickles your fancy, they serve home-made biscotti on the side too and freshly baked cakes are adorned on the bar area in large glass holders for you to view – for all sweet tooth people : take note.

Lunar is open every week day from 8am til 6pm, the evenings by special request only, but open on a Friday and Saturday for dinner or after-work cocktails and drinks to begin your weekend and what a hip place to be seen on a Friday… See you there!

(*edit*) Kai Coffee is no more. It was supposed to open in Grey St but never did
(*edit*) The owners of what was Kai Coffee are back at “agape”, 4 Grey street. Go check it out.
If you enjoy a freshly made cappacinno or “flat-white” coffee while you shop for your home furniture and decor or tiles, carpets, decking and flooring, one-stop shop style, then you should definitely visit Absolute Home Decor, in the Knysna Industrial area, on the corner of Vigilence & Waenhoud Rd.

Kai coffee shop is run by the owners of Inside Living, who are German-imported kitchen suppliers, found under the same roof as the Absolute Home Decor showroom. Choose their warm leather sofa or outdoor tables and benches by a water feature and large ferns, to sip your ordered chai tea or quality strong coffee and nibble on a freshly baked gourmet muffin or sandwhich and please try their absolutely delicious carrot cake topped with fruit and large seeds. And they are also famous for a so-called chocolate brownie, which in my baking opinion is more like a chocolate meringue brownie, which slowly melts in your mouth… different but gets both thumbs right perking up.

Lately the sun has been inviting for late morning and early afternoon tea & coffee breaks, you can certainly enjoy these & service at Kai and attain your quotes for your home interiors too – perfect combination to make your sometimes agonizing home specification a more laid-back experience, a very good idea and something new to the Knysna retail scene.

Kai Coffee shop has used the retail market to their advantage and once you have tried and tested their way of life you will certainly be back for more.