A Meander Up and Down Kloof Street
Source: insideguide.co.za
One of my favourite things to do on a sunny day is stroll up and down Kloof Street, located in the affluent suburb of Gardens, punctuated with restaurants, cafes, boutiques, and interesting stores that entice passers-by. Kloof Street is also where the Lifestyle on Kloof Centre is located, housing inter alia a Reader's Warehouse, Wellness Warehouse and a Woolworths in addition to several décor and clothing stores. It is difficult to find available parking on Kloof Street itself, so the garage parking provided by the Lifestyle Centre is often the best alternative, although it can get expensive the longer you park there - and given what Kloof has to offer, plan on spending a good few hours there. However, you can also try one of the smaller side streets for parking spots.
Source: readerswarehouse.co.za
If you need a caffeine kick to start your day, a place for coffee and a pastry is the small but sophisticated Molten Toffee (45A Kloof Street) with a laid-back vibe and uber cool décor (check out the light fittings). While I am not a coffee drinker, I can certainly recommend the freshly squeezed juices, their chocolate tartlets as well as the breakfast options. Right next door is Unframed (45C Kloof Street), an understated ice cream parlour that offers an array of delicious and unusual flavours of heavenly artisan ice cream including: speculaas (my favourite so far), coffee, pistachio, dark chocolate and white chocolate. There are also vegan flavours that are made with coconut-milk.
The aforementioned Lifestyle Centre (50 Kloof Street) offers shoppers even more food options. Besides the ever popular Woolworths, there is a fabulous Olive Branch Deli tucked away next door to the Woolworths store. The deli is run by super friendly siblings who make you feel like regular customers from your first visit. The sheer number of delectable deli goods is overwhelming, from cheeses, olives, olive oils and cured meats to pastas, coffees, teas, sweet treats and baked goods. Put it at the top of your list of local delis to visit. According to the deli's website: "In addition to stocking some of the country's finest olive oils, we have evolved our concept beyond a traditional deli to incorporate seasonal and artisan products from local vendors who traditionally trade at the weekend farmer's markets".
The Wellness Warehouse is a great source of alternative medical remedies and health supplements as well as any kind of vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free products your healthy heart (and stomach) could want. The store also has a pharmacy and a café and fresh produce section.
Just off Kloof Street is the iconic Mabu Records (2 Rheede Street), made famous in the Rodriguez documentary Searching for Sugar Man. The store is known for its extensive collection of vinyl records but also boasts an impressive collection of used CDs, DVDs and even books. As a CD collector, I thoroughly enjoy rummaging through the boxes of classic CD singles from the 90s and early 2000s (thereafter artists stopped releasing physical singles). Some of my best finds (at R10 each!) include Atomic Kitten, Gloria Estefan, Catatonia and Dario G - anyone remember Sunchyme? For music enthusiasts, it is worthwhile spending an hour browsing memory lane.
After all the eating and shopping, reward yourself with a film at Cape Town's legendary independent theatre, The Labia (see previous blog post about this fine cinema), which is just around the corner from Mabu Records.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of what Kloof Street and surrounds has to offer, but the above are some of my favourite places to visit when I am in the area. I have no doubt that my list will continue to expand as I explore more of the area where, on any given day, the street is bustling with beautiful people enjoying the sunshine, the scrumptious food, the shopping possibilities and the stunning views of Table Mountain.
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