Mistakes get a bad rap.
“Honey sorry they were out of Volvo station wagons so I got you a Ferrari,” aint half-bad.
Neither is “darling there was no tofu in the supermarket so you’ll have to settle for rump steak”.
These are happy mistakes and at this new French-South African café in Muizenberg I too was lucky enough to be on the receiving end of a little blooper. My pissaladiere (a kinda French pizza) came without the pecorino advertised on the chalkboard menu but with emmental instead.
The creamy Swiss cheese was a perfect match for the wispy base (and infinitesimally better suited than shavings of the sharper Italian one). Coppa ham and black olives added just a little tang while creamy mushrooms made sure the stronger flavours didn’t get out of hand. The lack of tomato paste (as is characteristic of this flat bread) was a pleasant change from a traditional pizza.
This is a way to have your lunch and eat it. A rich but light combo, well suited to avoiding post-prandial narcolepsy when back at your desk. But Café de May offers far more than a weekday convenience meal. The best times will be had on lazy Sunday afternoons in its sunny garden, next to beach towels hanging out to dry and a surfboard.
Inside the boho café I sat next to a bookshelf containing works of Sartre, Camus and Rimbaud. A cat without an existential crisis slept throughout the meal.
My nicoise starter had fresh salad greens, wasn’t shy of anchovies and I saw the owner picking the basil leaves in the herb garden outside. However, the basmati rice used to bulk it up a bit was superfluous.
Lunches are of the baguette, salad and pissaladiere variety, with cherry tomatoes and anchovies a common theme.
For surfers needing a quick fix to raise blood sugar levels after emerging from the icy ocean, the crepes – with around ten filling options – may be the biggest attraction. Indeed the café bills itself as a creperie-restaurant. I’ll try one next time.
For an early post-beach dinner two main courses, such as cassoulet, coq au vin and moules marinieres, are added to the menu.
Opening hours are 11am to 9pm to allow the owners some ocean time in the morning.
BYOB and cash only (there is an ATM across the road).
Tom Robbins
October 14, 2009
Café de May
tel: +27 (0)21 788 5550
Corner Main and Camp roads (next to Van’s Hardware)
Muizenberg
Cape Town
Tags: Cafe de May, crepes, Muizenberg, pissaladiere, surfboard
