Karen Rutter LIFESTYLE
People are quick to use the word “charming” when describing Kalk Bay village. Especially people who write for glossy magazines or take tours around the Cape Peninsula. “Picturesque” is another word that pops up, while “quaint” is a firm favourite in the adjective line-up. All of which is quite true when viewing the fishing village as a photo spread or through the windows of a luxury coach. Cuddled cosily between the mountain and sea, with its streets speckled with what-not shops and its harbour freckled with seagulls, Kalk Bay is the stuff postcards are made of. But the locals have their trendy moments, too. Most of them at the Olympia Caf’. Situated on Main Road on the site of the original Olympia Caf’, which was around for 70 years and where you could buy everything from bait to biscuits to bad boerie rolls, the “new” Olympia Caf’ has been rolling for nearly three years. Owner Kenneth McClarty started off with a partner or two, who have since moved on, after identifying a gap in the market for a coffee- shop-cum-deli-cum-restaurant that served good food but wasn’t precious about it. “Also, we liked the idea of being an unlikely kind of place. I mean, you see the tacky paint on the walls and you don’t necessarily expect fantastic food and service. And then you get it and it exceeds all your expectations and you’re happy,” McClarty says. A hotel management graduate who paid his dues on the Southern Sun and other circuits, McClarty can be seen strolling down Main Road every morning at 7am to open up shop. Olympia is a typically Kalk Bay kind of set-up – the legendary breads, ciabattas, pastries and cakes are baked up the road in a converted garage, fish is carried in fresh from the harbour across the road and most of the staff live around the corner. It’s mellow and practical. Looking out on fishing boats and the big blue sea beyond, there’s space inside for nine tables, while a long counter faces the view – comfortable for about 40 people. Food is prepared on a gas hob in the same room, making for a homely kind of feel. Such is the popularity of the place that there are often queues of up to 15 people outside waiting for a table. Apart from the hellishly fabulous coffee (beans supplied by the Caturra Coffee Company and ground on site), the ciabattas and pastries are probably the best in the country. Baker Tim Newton, who was a ship’s engineer until he tied on an apron, is now supplying all of the Melissa’s shops plus a number of restaurants in Cape Town with his stuff. And, Kenneth says, the word has definitely spread. “I once had a family from Welkom who had heard all about our pig’s ears and drove here to see for themselves,” he grins wickedly. With prices ranging from R12 (roast tomato and basil soup) to R35 to R40 (Cape Salmon served on a bed of sorrel or sirloin in a herb-butter sauce), the meal tab never gets out of hand. Which is why Olympia is never empty. Another reason is that as a gay-friendly, smoke-free but carnivore-abiding venue, the floor is completely open. While local support forms the bedrock (and an interesting base it is, ranging from fisher families to ceramists to surfers to professional coffee drinkers), it’s not unusual to see Anglo power brokers discussing deals over cinnamon sticks, Jo’burg kugels doing the cellphone thing or djembe- toting hippies going the muesli breakfast route. And in a city famous for its territorial divisions – nobody from Sea Point ever goes to Simon’s Town, and vice versa; if anything is on the other side of the mountain, forget it – a small miracle has been achieved. People actually step out of their comfort zones in Gardens, Observatory and Rylands and drive to Olympia. Somehow, without sacrificing that quintessential Kalk Bay feel (not the “charming” one, we’re talking about the real spirit of the spot), Olympia Caf’ manages to be local and cosmopolitan at the same time. And trendy, too. The Olympia Caf’ is situated at 134 Main Road, Kalk Bay, Cape Town. Tel: (021) 788 6396 (no reservations)