Renee Moodie, IOL Lifestyle Editor
Cape Town -I have a standing list for self-catering getaways that includes items like “pair of scissors”, “sharp knife” and “tea towel”.
Over years of staying in budget getaways we know from experience that these items are often not included in the inventory, and there is nothing more irritating than not having a pair of scissors when you need one.
Bloemendal Guest Cottage in Riebeek Kasteel is not one of those places. It even has little tiny graters for things like nutmeg.
We stayed in the cottage as guests of the owner Astrid McLeod, who has restored what was originally a 1960s block of a dwelling (the ugliest house in the village, she says) into a calm and restorative retreat.
The house is decorated with original artwork and gorgeous objects. It has a wide verandah with a fireplace, a comfortable lounge with another fireplace, a superbly equipped kitchen, really good beds with electric blankets and hot, strong showers. There are two bedrooms, both with double beds, and there is an en suite off the main bedroom. A second bathroom services the second bedroom and the cottage. There is, of course, a dishwasher and a washing machine.
Riebeek Kasteel is a town of art and wine and boutique shops - not necessarily offering the weekend our 13-year-old boy with a shopping aversion wanted. But Bloemendal has free wifi. Problem solved: he retreated to the second bedroom with his phone and tablet and made a teen cave of note, emerging only to raid the fridge.
From this base we set about exploring the restaurants of the town. We had dinner at The Red Tin Roof, just one block along from Bloemendal. Slow-cooked lamb, pork belly and a biltong pizza for Jak were just what we needed on a cold night.
Sam at The Red Tin Roof recommended Eve's Eatery for breakfast, so we found our way there at about 9am on Saturday morning. Eve was there, but said she didn't serve breakfast at this time of year till 10am.
Why didn't we try Beans About Coffee she said - a co-operative friendliness which impressed our teen. “People are so nice to each other here,” he observed.
Beans about Coffee offers a wonderful thing: a base breakfast of two eggs and toast (white, brown or seed), to which you can add whatever you want - bacon, sausage, tomatoes and mushrooms. The service was a tad slow, but sitting in the winter sun on the patio made the wait worthwhile. And the food was good.
We wandered round the shops and paid a visit to Astrid in The Gallery and then drove up to the Olive Boutique, which bills itself as the ultimate olive experience. Here Derek van der Riet and Susan Aird share their passion for the little green fruit (all olives start out green and then change colour as they ripen) with a range of tasting experiences. They don't charge for the tasting, believing that the quality of their products means that people will buy.
We tasted several different kinds of olives, tapenade, olive mustard, balsamic vinegars and their olive oils themselves. None of their oils are infused with other flavours (lemon, for example). Susan is very firm: if the oil is good, it needs no other flavouring. We loved the unfiltered 2016 oil, and came away with two bottles, and some mustard. They were right - those are good quality products!
On from olives to the newly established Flagship Brewery, where Roger Ingarfield and his staff offer four of their craft beers for tasting. Of the four (New World Lager, Summer Ale, Red Valley Ale and Siren IPA), we liked the Red Valley so much we had one each, lingering in their little shady beer garden, and went away with four bottled versions.
We spent the afternoon on the couches in front of a fire at Bloemendal, and then set off for Italian supper at Mama Cucina. It was warm and bustling inside, with good service and fine food. We had Springbok shank and an artichoke risotto. The menu offers a small selection of sophisticated pizzas (one was made acceptable to Jak by taking out some more exotic ingredients) and the small range of other meals are on a chalkboard.
Then it was back home to our electric blankets.
We needed to be back in Cape Town by lunchtime the next morning, so regretfully packed our bags and locked up. We had had a wonderfully relaxed weekend, filled with sensory delights. And no need at all to use the tea towels, even though there was a whole basket of them.
@reneemodie
* Bloemendal Guest Cottage costs R1 900 a night.
More details:
http://bloemendal-riebeek.co.za/
http://www.olive-boutique.co.za/
https://www.facebook.com/FlagshipBrew
https://www.facebook.com/redtinroof
http://www.mamacucina.co.za/