I’m impressed with the new Cape Quarter Extension and have been there a few times this last week. On Tuesday evening I went to the launch of Cru Cafe and on Friday evening I went to the launch of Vanilla, and then ate a Cru Cafe after that. All of the restaurants were busy on Friday night, new places always attract a lot of attention but I think the Cape Quarter Extension will be a popular destination going forward.
I liked the look of Voila, so decided to breakfast there on Saturday morning. It’s a very cheerful spot, probably due to the main colours which are pink and lime green. It’s open and airy, so even if you’re not sitting outside in the courtyard, you feel like you could be. Voila is really popular for breakfast/brunch/lunch. There were only a few tables occupied when I arrived at about 9:30am, but when I left an hour later the place was basically full.
They have WiFi (click here for a list of restaurants which offer WiFi) so I was hoping to write this review while I was there but I couldn’t get the security key and was later informed that the WiFi was not functioning. Hopefully this will be sorted out soon. Anyway, the breakfast came within ten minutes so I wouldn’t have had much time to write. Apparently the speed of the service does slow down as the place gets busier. At peak times, your breakfast can take up to 45 minutes.
By the time I left, the service was already becoming disjointed. Luckily, the staff are not fixeted about only serving their own table so I was able to get what I needed from someone who happened to walk past. As an aside, it really bugs me when you go to a restaurant and the waiters won’t even look at a table that’s not in their section.
The breakfast menu at Voila is quite extensive with many healthy options (which I ignored), the usual suspects as well as some more unusual options. I was going to go for the english breakfast (R49), but I was tempted by the Hot Spaniard (it just sounded good) breakfast (R45) and ordered that instead. That (as the Parlotones would say) was a giant mistake. The table next to me ordered Eggs Benedict and it looked amazing so I had high hopes, but my breakfast was gross. Scrambled eggs with chorizo and salsa sounded like it could be good, perhaps along the lines of huevos rancheros. The scrambled egg was fine, but the chorizo was more like polony, not the good quality Spanish chorizo I imagined. I didn’t enjoy it at all and was very envious of other people’s food (if you like the sound of scrambled eggs with chorizo, try the option at Cafe Beleza, it’s excellent). All the meals I saw did look really good, I just made a bad choice. I will definitely be back to try something else.
I had a flat white (R16) which was pretty good (Illy coffee), and while sipping that I checked out the rest of the menu. Lot’s of sandwiches and salads as well as some heavier options. It’s not very expensive, with lunch oriented mains ranging from R55 to R70 and dinner options around the R90 mark. It seems to be popular in the evenings, but the wine list is very short. A good option for a quick, casual dinner but if you want a good wine selection, maybe Cru Cafe next door would be a better option.
Voila!
Cape Quarter Extension, Greenpoint
Tel: 021 433 2377
Original Post on Relax with Dax: Voila breakfast review
