Superette.

Superette is very much part of the ‘cool Cape Town’ scene. It’s partly the crowd, a mix of bohemian and hipster folk not short on style or scared to create their own. Plenty of cardigans, beards, stripey tops and enough Wayfarers for a Ray Ban advert. Plenty of pretty girls too (even the chef is pretty here). If you’ve got a style blog, come here for inspiration. It’s also definitely the effortlessly cool design of the place, complete with mismatched tables, bench seating and neutral colour scheme punctuated with canary yellow. It’s also location, location, location, in this case smack in the middle of shabby chic Woodstock, aka creative central. And finally, it’s the knowledge that Superette is owned by Cameron Munro and Justin Rhodes, the talented duo behind the Neighbourgoods Market at the Old Biscuit Mill and the What If The World gallery. Yes, more ‘cool Cape Town’ you’d be hard-pressed to find.

During the day, bright sunlight streams in through large windows that look out onto busy Albert Road and its noisy taxis. A small kitchen pants to keep up with orders, working hard to get you your gourmet sandwich, salad or soup. The menu is very rustic country; things like the All Day Breakfast sandwich and the Pork Belly with Caramalised Onions & Apple are favourites, the latter being one of the best sandwiches I’ve had in Cape Town. In fact, it’s one of the best sandwiches I’ve had, ever. When you’re finished it you just want to go home and get into bed, because you know the day won’t get any better. A solid looking machine pumps out good coffee, roasted by Deluxe, another very ‘cool Cape Town’ spot, and you can also get refreshment via some Brewers & Union beers out the help-yourself retro fridge in the corner. I can think of far worse places to come for breakfast or lunch.

They also do a supper club, usually twice a month. This has run around various themes: I missed the Lagosta lobster one (upsetting!) but made it to the vegetarian one and subsequently a night of Spag Bol after a recent art opening (the What If The World Gallery is upstairs). The spaghetti bolognese was superb, but being a raging carnivore the vegetarian night was a challenge. I survived the quinoa unscathed with much help from red wine and a bottle of grappa. It was pure chance/luck/misfortune/evil that Cameron happened to have that grappa on hand that night and decided to leave it on our table. Big mistake. Half an hour later we’d polished off most of it and I have vague memories of announcing my meat devotion to anyone that would listen and chasing the chef down the side alley as she made a rapid getaway in her car. Eish. Either way, it was a really fun night and luckily they’ve allowed me to return since.

If you’re heading out to Woodstock (antique furniture, anyone?) or the suburbs (why would you?) then Superette makes a great stopoff point for coffee or a bite. There supper club is an awesome vibe too and well worth keeping tabs on to see what’s next. This is rather easy to do through their blog, which is very cool and well-written itself. And yes, Superette oozes cool, but that’s what you get when people head overseas, soak up the best bits of food and culture and bring them back here. You also get one of the best neighbourhood cafés in Cape Town.

www.superette.co.za