Cape Town - The Bromwell, a heritage building dating back to 1927 and painted bright red, is hard to miss and I knew there was a restaurant there called Bread, but the revelation was that upstairs there are several interleading rooms which are home to a boutique “mall”.
That word conjures up ghastly images of one of Dante’s circles of hell, but The Bromwell is nothing like that. It’s classy and elegant, with luxurious dressing rooms and a range of limited edition and one-off pieces of art, sculpture, rare decor, jewellery, and top-end fashion and accessories from here and overseas. That’s so much a part of the beauty of Woodstock, which is filled with contrasts and juxtapositions.
We had lunch at Bread, where the service leaves something to be desired – you have to ask for things many times, none of the wines on the list we wanted were available, and the waiter had no sense of urgency in this matter when confronted with three thirsty women – but the food is fabulous. There are lots of gorgeous salads, sandwiches of course, and I had a fantastic tomato tart.
But do not, under any circumstance, leave without visiting the pastry counter. It’s beautiful to look at, and if you can resist filling a box of goodies to take home you are a stronger person than I am. And that’s nothing to be proud of; the heart wants what the heart wants, so the sophisticated black box with its cellophane window contained some heart-shaped biscuits iced in pink, a little cheese cake topped with shiny glazed fruit, and key lime tarts.
Best of all, the prices are reasonable – my box of sin cost just R60. Yes, of course, you can buy bread too.
Besides the pastries, boutique, and light meals which are served in an outside seating area under umbrellas, there is also an inside restaurant and a deli.
l The Bromwell is at 250 Albert Road, Woodstock. For more information, call 021 447 4730 or go to www.thebromwell.co.za.
Weekend Argus