There may be a busy building site across the road, but Dapper Coffee Co. is buzzing. The coffee shop, which opened up on Cape Town’s pre-eminent restaurant road at the end of last year, serves up breakfasts and lunches in a shared space with a vintage car showroom. Eat Out critics Katharine Jacobs and Linda Scarborough take it for a test drive.

A sandwich at Dapper Coffee Co. Photo courtesy of the restaurant.

Food

An inventive breakfast menu makes this a good option for those tiring of the standard ways to start the day. The breakfast brioche bun is perfection – it features a thick rasher of pork, a sweet tomato sauce and eggs. The slow-stewed chickpea dish on toasted sourdough sports beautifully oozing poached eggs and tasty crispy pancetta; although, sadly, the chickpeas are a little undercooked.

Slow-stewed chickpeas on toasted sourdough and poached eggs with tasty, crispy pancetta at Dapper Coffee Co. Photo courtesy of the restaurant.

For lunch, those looking for a lighter option might go for the salad with seared butternut, udon noodles, cucumber, radish, fresh coriander and nuac cham dressing (a Vietnamese-themed splash of lime juice, lemongrass and chilli). The butternut too is a little undercooked for our liking, and the portion verging on the petite side of things, but the slick black crockery contrasts beautifully against the lively greens of the salad, and the flavours and textures are plentiful. The pretzel topped with thinly sliced beef, tomatoes and lashings of mayo is a tasty snack, but don’t expect a filling sandwich.

Coffee at Dapper Coffee Co. Photo courtesy of the restaurant.

To end, we opt for a slice of the cake of the day, which turns out to be a well-executed baked cheesecake.

Drinks

Coffee is a special blend from Tribe and is well made, and served on stylish little wooden board saucers. There’s a wonderfully ice-creamy iced coffee, if you’re feeling in need of a pick-me-up. Complimentary carafes of icy water are an unexpected treat this side of town.

Service

Dapper staff are friendly enough, but could do with a little training. We experience service niggles on all three occasions we visit. We have to ask for menus, our orders are delivered incorrectly, and on one occasion, we abandon our final drink order (which never appears) to settle the bill at the counter.

The eating area at Dapper Coffee Co. Photo courtesy of the restaurant.

Ambience

The restaurant portion of the space is bright and breezy, with an open hatch onto Bree. Think wood, pot plants and oversized light bulbs. The vintage Porsches, Ferraris, and even a gleaming James-Bond-esque boat in the Club9 showroom add gravitas to the shared space.

Have you visited Dapper for breakfast or a lunchtime bite? Rate and review the restaurant and we will pledge a meal to a hungry child through Stop Hunger Now SA.

Eat Out critics dine anonymously and pay for their meals in full. Read our editorial policy here.

Sports cars on display at Dapper Coffee Co. Photo courtesy of the restaurant.