Dining Out in Cape Town – J’s Bistro and Delicatessen

In actual fact the ‘J’ stands for Joostenberg which is rather a mouthful and a long text for menu’s and signboards.

Situated just around 7 km’s outside Stellenbosch and just off the N1 freeway this very popular eatery / family picnic area has developed over the years from a dedicated charcuterie to what it is today. On the same premises as the restaurant is a microbrewery producing craft beers, as well as a nursery and the original delicatessen.

microbrewery

The restaurant is only open for breakfasts and lunches, and boasts a summer menu with mostly platters and burgers. There is also a ‘Quiche of the Day’ which is served with a green salad.

Craft Beers have become very popular in and around Cape Town over the past few years with micro breweries popping up all over. I decided to quench my thirst on a very hot day with a ‘Stellies Avenue Lager’.

Take note of the stylish shirt logo

The venue has a small dam and a large lawn section with trees for shade. In the delicatessen there is a large array of tapas and salads conveniently packed for picnics. I must admit the variety of breads and rolls is really enticing and I thoroughly enjoyed the bread which accompanied our meal. Families arrive, stock their baskets and head off to the trees and dam where the children have plenty of room to play.

And some of the local inhabitants always on the lookout for crumbs, but get plenty of exercise from the kids chasing them around

We decided to have a light meal so we chose the Meze Platter as well as a mixed Cheese Platter.

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Spot the missing tapas…. I only noticed when editing the picture

The cheese platter consisted of cheeses from local producers …. The interesting fungus like cheese is a ‘Huguenot’ cheese. The waitress and manager could not give us much more information but for me it tasted very similar to a Gouda.

Another feature which was much appreciated was the ‘misters’ which were pumping out fine mists of cool water every 30 seconds or so. It certainly kept us comfortable whilst enjoying our meal.
J’s is overall a very enjoyable and relaxing venue with decent fare on offer and presents decent value.