Cosy Cafe's

Over the past short while I have visited two great cafés – One in the Northern suburbs (TREAT) and one in the Southern suburbs (OBZ CAFÉ). In this review I am going to be highlighting the main attributes of each café – the food they serve, service, atmosphere etc. and hope that I will entice you to visit one or both.

OBZ CAFÉ

For most people who live in the Southern suburbs – particularly students – you will know OBZ well. It’s a chilled out place by day and a party haven by night. Don’t be fooled by this unpretentious little place… It has a lot to offer.

The restaurant was relatively quiet with only a few patrons as it was early lunch time on a Saturday. We were helped immediately and shown to our table. (Please do not be alarmed by the broken wooden floors and metal plates they have used to patch it up, it is all part of the character of the restaurant.) We ordered our drinks and they came relatively quickly. The menu is quite diverse and has something for all tastes. Each dish seems to have a touch of ‘finer’ dining coming through. I eventually settled on the wild mushroom linguine with truffle oil and my hubby (David) had the ‘bomb’ which is a beef burger with blue cheese sauce.

 Both dishes came well-presented and the portion sizes were more than adequate. My linguine was perfectly cooked and the combination of the woody wild mushroom and the smooth truffle oil had me chomping at the bit for more. This dish was quite rich as it had a creamy sauce and I ended up taking some home.

The beef burger too was cooked excellently, a generous beef patty served with a portion of ‘skinny’ fries made this a man’s meal. David enjoyed the burger but said that the blue cheese sauce was slightly over powering.

The service was not fantastic – this could be due to the very relaxed nature of the staff that permeates throughout the restaurant. With the bill coming to just under R200… it was worth the drive.

TREAT PASTIERRE

This has to be of my new favourite places – unfortunately it is one of those places that you need to have controlled visits to because of their delicious ware. I have come here on a few occasions, each time trying something different. Their menu does not have a lot to choose from but it is a satisfactory range for lunch. It is mainly salads, wraps and sandwiches. I have had a sandwich and a wrap – they were both delightfully fresh and I could only manage half. It is worth the R40 – R60 you pay. They too have a way with combining textures and flavours to fully complement each ingredient in the dish.

BUT…. The big draw card at TREAT is not just their food, relaxed atmosphere or incredible service! It is their inconceivable range of cakes. Ok, I know what you’re thinking… another cake shop with the same old stuff… You’re wrong. I have never seen such an amazing/creative range. They have thought outside the box and brought us some fantastic variations. Every slice that I have had had has been great, with the exception of one – Lemon curd chocolate cake.

The Lemon meringue has the softest marshmallow meringue that seems to dissolve as you take your first bite, the Red Velvet cheesecake is a stroke of genius consisting of Red Velvet cake on top of an incomparable cheesecake, my new favourite Pecan maple – jam packed with pecan nuts in a light sponge, flavoured with maple syrup and topped off my incredibly smooth icing. These are to name a few!

At R30 a slice there is no way you can afford to miss out on this heavenly experience. To making choosing a cake easier, they have come up with a tasting plate. The tasting plate is for 2 people and you get to share 4 different half slices of cake.

I strongly urge you to visit TREAT as I can guarantee that you will not be disappointed.

They are only open until 4pm on weekdays, 2pm on weekends and closed on public holidays.

Please feel free to ask any questions or leave comments.

Why blog about food?

People tend to think that I’m joking when they ask me what my hobby is and I reply eating. You see the misconception comes in that any food will do – It simply won’t. I enjoy eating good food – and that doesn’t necessarily mean expensive food.

Going out for dinner is about the entire experience, not just the food. It’s about how satisfied I feel when I leave the restaurant. It is the encompassing factors that all combine (or divide) that makes an evening great, average or dreadful.

I have been to many restaurants – insert shocked smiley face – and through the years I have become more critical. The main reason for this is because of the prices we pay when we dine out. If I order a meal, I expect it to come out as specified.

Then we get to service. There is this misconception that people have to pay a 10% tip regardless of what the service was like. I strongly disagree. Service can make or break your evening – as I have discovered on many occasions. People also think that they only have to pay 10%... If the service is superior surely it makes sense to pay more.

Another contributing factor is the ambience in the restaurant – whether you are at a fine dining restaurant or any other place, the general atmosphere does influence your experience. Things like sound, lighting, temperature all affect how much you enjoy your meal and overall dining experience.

I hope that I will be able to bring you fair unbiased reviews that will help you, not only to determine whether or not your want to go to a place, but also to help you learn how to perceive things in a different way when dining out.

Please feel free to comment/correct or compliment.

I look forward to sharing my next review with you.