Cafeen Cafe, Harfield Village, 30.03.12

So many locals of Harfield Village have depended on the hospitality of Cafeen Cafe in 3rd Avenue but every time I’ve tried to get my foot in the door it’s been jam packed and impossible. This is a great sign, it must be good, but it’s a little annoying not ever having had the chance to taste the goods myself!

On Friday I decided to take a chance. Cavendish was a complete nightmare and I was starving! Suddenly Cafeen came to mind. I shot down to 3rd Avenue and low and behold it was open and had plenty of space for little ol’ me! Although it was raining, we sat outside on the front porch because it looked so cosy. A little cat was happily napping on the bench as the rain dripped from the roof onto the garden pots. Bliss. I never drink hot drinks but it was the perfect day for a hot chocolate so I indulged. It was delicious and I loved the personal touch of the little heart butter biscuit that accompanied the drink.

For lunch I ordered the chicken and avo open ciabatta sandwich, my partner ordered a toasted bacon and cheese with extra wedges. The menu at Cafeen says that real food takes time, which I appreciate. I hate a restaurant that promises that your food is on the way but you end up sitting for 90 minutes. But if a restaurant acknowledges that they take time and care in their food then I’m happy. Ironically, the food only took 20 minutes and was delicious! The portion size was more than expected, they probably used about half an avo on my sandwich alone and anyone who orders avo in a restaurant knows how ‘shnoep’ the portions can be most of the time! The toasted cheese and bacon also had decent amount of filling and when the bill arrived, they hadn’t charged us extra for the few wedges, talk about great service!

I can now no longer hate on all those Harfield residents who hog Cafeen, I understand why now that I’ve visited myself. With our bill they included little jelly babies which was another sweet touch and the prices were very reasonable. We ended up leaving a big tip because we actually thought the meal was worth more than they charged – about R120 for 2 including drinks. I hope to return again but probably not on a weekend (because I know it’s nearly impossible to get in there!) but I will certainly return for lunch during the week as often as possible. Thanks Cafeen, it was worth the wait!