We eat honest and hearty food at My Basaar, a new eatery on the corner of Riebeek and Loop Street in Cape Town.

The people
Owner and chef Bernice van der Merwe had been working in the magazine world for 12 years when she decided it was time for a new challenge. “I heard about the location and the dream started there,” she says. ?

The mood
With its crisp, white tablecloths and huge windows, this daytime venue provides a calming atmosphere away from the city bustle, with natural light and an airy feel.

The food
Ideally situated for city-dwellers’ business lunches, breakfasts before work or takeaway Deluxe coffee, My Basaar has a simple food philosophy. The home-smoked chicken pie has a deliciously punchy flavour with golden pastry; salads of coleslaw, marinated mushrooms, and dressed feta and peas remind you of family lunches; and the lightly crisp apple pie with clotted cream is heart-warming perfection. “I love honest food that’s fresh and hearty. I also love to cook the dishes that I grew up with,” Bernice says. At My Basaar she has worked to combine her childhood favourites with the latest food trends and ingredients.

For breakfast order an omelette with pesto and other tasty toppings, or fluffy scrambled eggs on toast with pan-fried cherry tomatoes. The lunch menu features a couple of pies (venison as well as the smoked chicken) at around R45 with salad; five options for ready-made rolls for around R40 (with toppings such as tomato and basil pesto, gammon and sweet mustard, and seared rump); and a curry or stew of the day, which is slightly pricier. You can also grab a salad selection or go for something special like a seared Asian salmon salad. The menu changes daily, but the pies are a staple.

My Basaar also offers takeaway dinners. Every Friday the following week’s menu is posted on their Facebook page, and customers can order with one day’s notice. Ample enough to serve four people, these dinners take the form of dishes like butter chicken, lasagne, old-fashioned chicken pies, stews and curries.

The drinks
The bar in the dedicated smoking section serves drinks throughout the day, and the venue can be hired out for private functions and birthday parties in the evenings on request.

The verdict
For delicious, simple and wholesome food at reasonable prices, you can’t go wrong at My Basaar. We look forward to seeing the restaurant develop its offering. And we’ve heard a rumour that an additional hand in the kitchen is to arrive from Eat Out’s best bistro of 2012, Bizerca, in June.

By Linda Scarborough
Photographs: Duane Howard

Have you been to My Basaar? Let us know what you think.