A toot for Kalk Bay Books’s latest venture
Those Capetonians who frequent Kalk Bay Books, one of the indie bookstores we love to support, will know that Ann Donald & Co have added a restaurant, The Annex, to the catalogue of delights they offer. Moseying round Kalk Bay this weekend, I took a look, and it was love at first sight.
Past restaurant ventures here haven’t worked — I seem to remember tables in a narrow and windy little alley, but someone has worked wonders with what is quite a challenging space. The courtyard is now a suntrap with fat-cushioned wicker chairs, and the original stone building is a beautifully decorated boho dining-room with a fireplace — and books! and the TLS! all laid out temptingly. The kitchen is on view in its own glass box, always a plus for those who like to see where and how their food is being prepared.
But it was the terrace that did it for me — a raised outdoor area under a venerable stone pine, ringed with a lavender hedge, and a view of the harbour that had me dashing down lines of poetry.
Left: Here’s where you’ll find me this winter:
And below is my new warm-weather spot:
Oh, the food? I don’t know, I didn’t have any. Frankly, with this location they could serve gruel and I wouldn’t care. But the staff are friendly and laid back (with several familiar faces — perhaps they’re sharing personnel with the Olympia Cafe?) and the menu offered imaginative versions of cafe fare: prawn and bacon salad, butternut and feta salad — the only lunch item over R100 was geelbek on crushed potatoes with beurre blanc.
They’re not licensed yet, so for now, BYOB. They’re open for breakfast, lunch and supper, opening at 7am (they told me candidly that they’re “fully operational” by 7.30).
These are some of the lines I jotted down on their terrace — they may find their way into a poem one day:
Seagulls cry in a minor key.
A boy on a red bicycle
Rides along the sea-wall.
Mist nudges round the bay.
In the harbour, water pleats
Cracking up the brash fishing boats.
