One of Bloemfontein’s favourite new restaurants, Bella Sarmie is not your average sandwich bar. Collette du Plessis pays a visit to the city’s first proper street café to make her toebroodjie dreams come true.

Food

You choose; they make. If you can’t decide – which is likely, as there are just so many good options with a choice of 10 types of bread – you’ll be safe with the popular ready-made sarmies.

You could try more traditional toppings like chicken and bacon mayo, or roast peppers, aubergine and feta on a wholewheat or white baguette, but we loved the ‘kitchen sink’ on a toasted panini, filled with spinach, feta, bacon, peppadew, olives and mozzarella. Next time it will be the delicious-looking Italian meatballs with Napoletano sauce and parmesan on baguette. Some of the sarmie fillings – such as roast gammon and sweet mustard, Caesar, and prawns with Marie Rose sauce – can be ordered as salads, too.

Bella Sarmie. Photo courtesy of the restaurant.

Drinks

They are not (yet) licenced, but they do offer wonderful fresh pressed juices; the ‘fruit salad’ option consists of at least three pressed seasonal fruits. There’s also a range of shakes – choose from traditional chocolate, strawberry and lime right through to coffee – and hot drinks to wash your sarmies down.

Bella Sarmie. Photo courtesy of the restaurant.

Service

Everyone’s really friendly, though they could speed things up a bit.

Ambience

This little bit of Europe is the first proper street café – complete with flower boxes and hanging baskets – of the City of Roses, and it lightens up the whole of Westdene. Whether you sit outside or inside, Bella Sarmie’s love of good food is evident all around.

Bella Sarmie. Photo courtesy of the restaurant.

And…

You don’t have to miss out on Bloem’s best paninis if you can’t get away from home or work: Bella Sarmie delivers during lunchtime, if you’re close enough. (Phone to enquire.)

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