Once upon a time, the single-ingredient restaurant was just something we read about in trend reports for New York and Chicago. Now Cape Town is home to a dedicated bacon bar, a chocolate café, a ramen bar and, as of last week, an artisan cheese restaurant.

Culture Club Cheese is the creation of husband-and-wife team, Luke Williams and Jessica Merton, and has been eagerly awaited by Capetonians since Luke and Jessica announced the coming of their Bree Street store in March, with promises of cheese toasties, raclettes and cheese platters.

Eat Out’s Katharine Jacobs nobly offered to investigate.

Food

The cheese toastie on rye. Photo by Katharine Jacobs.

First, I tuck into a toastie made with unpasteurised Myst Hill cheddar, which comes with a selection of toppings (I opt for walnuts, caramelised onions and apple butter). The toastie arrives golden brown with a fresh little salad of rocket leaves in a mustard dressing. It’s nicely crispy on the outside and the caramelised onions are tasty, with the walnuts and apple butter coming through a bit more subtly. The cheese isn’t as melted as you might expect – Luke explains that over-toasting tends to remove some of the flavour of the cheese – so you’ll have to request an extra-melty version if you’re after that stretchy-cheese experience.

There’s also a range of sarmies, starring wondrous-sounding cheeses like Gansvlei Blue Moon, Foxenburg’s Renosterbos and De Pekelaar Boerenkaas. They’re served on sourdough from the Woodstock Bakery, but you can switch it out for rye if you’re dodging wheat. There are also savoury banting biscuits made with almond flour, paprika and cheese, which can be ordered with a cheese board.

The pea and mint risotto. Photo by Katharine Jacobs.

I also try a pea and mint risotto, which is perfectly cooked and amply flavoured with a nutty Boerenkaas and (optional) bacon from Cape Mountain.

There are also some less cheesy options such as salads and soups that star the cheesery’s other specialities: sauerkraut, yoghurts, free-range meat, duck liver pâté, sausages and eggs.

The fridge at Culture Club Cheese. Photo by Katharine Jacobs.

Breakfast is served until 11.30am and includes poached seasonal fruit with farmhouse free-range yoghurt, and a hot banting breakfast made with gluten-free Toulouse sausage, bacon, tomatoes, mushrooms and ‘extremely’ free-range eggs.

Save space at the end for a gluten- and sugar-free almond flour cookie (there’s no hardship in skipping gluten when there’s almond flour to be had) or a glorious chocolate brownie with a seam of melting rich dark chocolate from local bean-to-bar chocolate makers, Cocoa Fair.

The menu, says Luke, will continually evolve, and he hints that items like baked camembert, raclette and tartiflette may soon be on offer. (Rest assured, we will be back to investigate!)

Drinks

Coffee is by Deluxe. Photo by Katharine Jacobs.

When the liquor licence comes through, cheese and wine, whisky and beer tastings are on the cards, but for now, try a well-made cup of Deluxe coffee, a juice by Juicebox (in interesting flavours like quince) or the home-brewed kvash, a naturally sparkling fermented drink made with carrot and ginger. There’s also coconut water and a live green tea kombucha, and you can even buy kombucha scoby – the mother culture for kombucha – if you’re interested in making your own.

Ambience

The interior at Culture Club Cheese. Photo by Katharine Jacobs.

A glorious yellow exterior announces that you’ve arrived at Bree Street’s cheese HQ. Grab one of the tables outside, or sit inside the white, bright space, with its cheese fridges displaying everything from Langbaken’s Karoo Ash and Belnori brine-ripened cheese to Buffalo Ridge’s gloriously thick water buffalo yoghurt and Myst Hill Farm’s herb butter.

Culture Club Cheese. Photo by Katharine Jacobs.

Service

Service is friendly and knowledgeable. Co-owner Luke Williams learnt his trade at Nottingham School of Artisan Food and spent four years as a cheese monger in London’s La Fromagerie, before relocating to SA, working at Fairview, and travelling the country to develop local cheese-making. He’s incredibly knowledgeable about his trade, and will guide you through the vast array of local and international cheeses in the fridges, enquiring about your preference for ashed or non-ashed, goaty or not-so-goaty cheese, and offering you tasters to help you find your cheesy soulmate.

Eat Out reviewers dine anonymously and pay for their meals. Read about our editorial policy here.

Have you checked out new Culture Club Cheese? Tell us what you thought in a review.