Inner-city Pretoria is full of life, and Urban Eatery is the place to stop to take it all in – or grab a quick bite, says Hennie Fisher.

Food

The fish cakes – made with coriander, garlic, ginger and lemongrass and served with rice and sweet chilli sauce – are perfect for lunch, being healthy and light but full of flavour. The menu boasts an equally great Thai green chicken curry, packed with vegetables and juicy chicken fillets, that arrives with perfectly cooked basmati rice. The Urban bunny chow is made with chicken livers in a tomato and peri-peri sauce, served in a bread roll, and if this doesn’t hit the right notes for you, there are some tasty salads, pasta, breakfasts and sandwiches from which to choose. The blackboard may offer specials such as butternut soup with pumpkin seeds, a boerie roll with relish, cheddar and chips, or even a simple plate of stew and pap, while the Portuguese burger and the chorizo pasta with fresh tomato sauce and basil reflect the owner’s Portuguese roots.

Urban Eatery. Photo courtesy of the restaurant.

Wine

They don’t have a liquor licence yet, and owner Kim Clement says she’s considering not applying for one: times have changed, and business lunches that morph into drinking binges are a thing of the past. You can expect the usual array of espresso-based coffee drinks, and the cappuccino here is quite good. Alternatives are juices, cold drinks, fruit shakes, interesting milkshake flavours such as pear and caramel, and smoothies like chai coconut and papaya, yoghurt and honey.

Ambience

It’s a modern and clean space. The walls are painted in hues of blue and grey, punctuated with black-and-white city scene photographs. The tall floor-to-ceiling windows and the partially open kitchen give the eatery a functional, if not entirely industrial, feel. In addition to a counter with bar stools looking out onto the square, there’s a separate eating area with tables and chairs, a smaller private dining-room that could double up as a boardroom, and a number of tables and benches outside (with heaters and cosy blankets for colder temperatures).
Thanks to its location, this is the perfect hangout for Treasury employees, advocates and lawyers, City of Tshwane employees, Department of Statistics workers, and a mix of shop-owners and business people who love the buzz and excitement of inner city life. Nearby there are buildings being revamped and upgraded, and others that are slowly degrading; there are churches and temples and new apartments, and there is life. Across the road, a brand-new shopping mall is going up, which promises 300 new parking spaces and two floors of retail outlets.

Urban Eatery. Photo courtesy of the restaurant.

Service

The friendly and helpful young staff members make this an ideal place to visit when time is limited and you need to get in and out. They always have freshly baked croissants, muffins and mini-quiches to grab before you go.

Urban Eatery. Photo courtesy of the restaurant.

And…

They offer an array of catering options, from standard office platters to elaborate meals with all the trimmings. In fact, they’re happy to box anything on the menu as a takeaway. (They have a regular customer who pre-orders stir-fry for four to take home.) Plus, the Tshwane BRT bus stop is just outside their front door, so you can get anywhere in the city quite easily from here.

Urban Eatery. Photo courtesy of the restaurant.

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

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