I have passed Antique Cafe for years, and only ever popped in once. I was not impressed with the food so never bothered again.Subsequently there has been an ownership change and the chick chatter is: “Hot Italian” and “Bee Stings”
My word! Sounds like a lethal combo. I had to see for myself what the fuss was about.
Warm greetings on a sign outside with the quote of the day greeted us: “In wine there is wisdom. In beer there is freedom. In water there is bacteria”
Chuckle.
It looks like Pandora’s box inside with weird and wonderful furniture dotted around, like it was made for Alice in Wonderland. There he was, with a big wide smile beckoning us in. We made eye contact.
Good start.
Still the same beautiful fantasy garden complete with an eclectic mix of tables. Some you can’t sit at because they are too low. And no, those aren’t for the littlies, this is a grown up playground.
Must be Alice’s table.
We aimed for the corner, which reminded me of my fantasy play area as a little girl. It’s a beautiful little haven this, and in the back of this courtyard you can lose yourself a bit. Just hang around for hours….
It is mostly a salad, cake and sarmie type of menu and of course, those Bee Stings.
The Bacon and Scrambled egg wrap with Jalapeno was for much larger people than this tiny furniture could accommodate. A whopper of a wrap tightly stuffed with fluffy scrambled eggs and bacon, beautifully presented with a side salad with generous lashings of Parmesan.
A quiche with feta and butternut was fabulous, also with a large salad. The quiche may have been too tiny for my appetite, and they happily obliged to my request for a side order of extra crispy bacon. The Parmesan shavings are a nice touch, not your usual boring iceberg salad…
The coffee is served in quirky antique cups, but that’s the only old thing about it. The coffee had a good hit, all the better with the lavish cheesecake. Of course we shared all this to make sure the ending was on a high note with the legendary Bee Stings.
Shew, how can one pass those up? I gave my waistband a firm tug, and prepared for the onslaught. The waft of honey drizzled nuts overwhelmed my senses when it arrived. I swished the cream over it, took a bite and closed my eyes. A small muffin sized pudding injected with custard and soaked in honey and crunchy nuts on top. Was it a cake-like cronut, no, a cupcake on steroids? That would be an understatement. More like a warm pudding with what appears to be a mild custard filling.
Now since this, which we will refer to from here onwards as, the “incident”, I have been harassing that Italian all hours for more information.
“What is that filling? How is it made? He has refused all my usual tactical interrogation methods and kept schtum.
How rude! Resist me? Ha!
It was a lovely afternoon though, and we indulged in retail therapy inside, buying oodles of things we didn’t need. I simply had to have a few of Alice’s trinkets….
They say it’s Italian hospitality meets Bohemian Vintage. I say it’s Alice’s home, with lots of secrets!
Antique Cafewas reviewed by Sannie of The Taste Detectives. Follow The Taste Detectiveson Twitter for all Durban foodie updates.