I get Friday afternoons off at work, but I spent the majority of last year working through them. I decided to NOT do this this year, and so far, the two Fridays I have worked since the New Year, I have taken off. YAY ME!
I spent this last Friday having a leisurely lunch with a friend at The Wild Fig restaurant, which is situated in the Valkenberg Estate, literally two minutes outside of Observatory, and ten minutes out of the CBD. It's incredibly beautiful, and it felt like we had travelled for an hour to get to such a scenic and calm location.
The restaurant and pub are set in a beautiful old building, at least 200 years old. There is a main dining hall, and seperate old pub and the most lovely garden. I've attended to a wonderful wedding at The Fig previously, and the dinner was sublime. When my friend suggested it, I was keen as a bean.
The Garden
The Garden View
The weather was stunning on Friday, perfect for dining outdoors. I hadn't seen my friend for a while and we had the best time catching up. They have some great lunch time specials, R80 (about $7), and we ordered the Traditional Beer Battered Fish and Chips to share, which was one of the specials. We also ordered a portion of Chili Poppers and Spanakopitas.
The food was literally perfect. I would say 8/10. The only improvement I would suggest would be to change the accompanying sauces - I would have expected homemade rather than the generic Tartare and mayonnaise.
The pub itself is very pubby for lack of a better word. Long wooden bar counters with weird old art, and lots of leather. The drinks (and food) were exceptionally cheap. I think I paid R15 for my cider, $1,25, which is unusually inexpensive, compared to the CBD where I often pay R30 ($2,40). An interesting tidbit of information I found was that the bar was actually an old barn, and is now a National Monument.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time at The Wild Fig and would recommend it any time. There is a lovely old hotel (I think the word inn may be more appropriate) that is part of cluster of buildings on the premises, owned by the Marriot chain. I think I will book and I in there for a night for one of our birthdays this year. I just love the old-timey-ness of it all.
The Hotel, in all of it's Cape Dutch Glory
I hope you've enjoyed my review! If any of my Steempeeps are ever in Cape Town, you've got to let me know :)