Glenwood Bakery Morningside
Where: 50 Florida Road, Morningside
Open: Monday to Friday 6am to 9pm, Saturday and Sunday 6am to 2pm
Call: 076 633 2993
There are so many things that make a night out special. Naturally the food itself is crucial. Obviously no-one’s going to enjoy things when it’s diabolical. Yet even the best cooking can go unappreciated if other factors intrude.
Naturally the company is important too. No one will enjoy a meal if there is a raging argument at the table. Service too is vital, yet if a crowd are enjoying themselves even small service slips will be overlooked. There’s music too. Who wants to enjoy their creme brulee to heavy beats. There’s also outlook, formality, fun, meeting old friends and sometimes just your own mood. All can make a good meal memorable.
In a somewhat apocalyptic week, I needed good company. I phoned the Poet. Would she and Vivek join me for a simple meal at the Glenwood Bakery? She would love to.
It was such a balmy winter evening we sat on the pavement. We chatted. The wine flowed. We hadn’t even looked at the menu. The Poet and Vivek had never been here at night – only for breakfast in the morning – and were amazed at how comfortable and bustling the vibe was.
They would also go on to be impressed by the food.
The menu is small, but fresh and interesting. There are always specials which change regularly. Naturally being a bakery, the pizza features here. There’s a crisp focaccia with prosciutto, cherry tomatoes, rocket and Parmesan, a vegan option with mushrooms guacamole and tomato salsa, a Margherita and another with beef short rib and a jug of gravy. The roast aubergine and feta version appealed. A couple of pastas including one with slow cooked duck, mushrooms and red wine look interesting. The pasta special of the day was a classic puttanesca.
We ordered a plethora of starters because they all looked interesting. Options include bowls of olives or almonds, and bruschetta with white anchovies and red peppers. There’s a lentil soup as well as a soup of the day – today minestrone – and a falafel salad and gorgonzola and pear salad.
We started with a special of an Italian tomato and bread salad with white anchovies (R61) which was deliciously fresh, and spiked with capers, the toasted bread pieces mopping up all the juices. There was another Cobb salad with smoked chicken, bacon, egg, feta and avo (R102) which was also nice and light and refreshing – I loved the crispy pancetta.
Not to leave Vivek out in the cold we ordered the peri-peri chicken livers with toast (R61). This was less peri-peri than a creamy sauce with fresh green chilli which made such a difference from the usual offerings. It lifted it considerably in Vivek’s eyes. In fact we ordered more toast to mop up that sauce.
And then there were ham and cheese croquettes (R65) which despite looking like they had sat a little long in the fryer, were delicious. Soft with beautiful ham and rich cheese flavours.
Mains includes a good bakery burger with a proper homemade patty. Their rump steak with herb butter chips and salad offers exceptionally good value these days. A friend we bumped into told us she had just relished her Cape salmon on courgette ribbons with capers and tomato salsa. There’s also a sous vide chicken breast with latkes, a green bean salad and aioli. The special of the day was Kassler chops.
After the big starter round the Poet and Vivek shared Middle Eastern flat bread with slow roast lamb, hummus, tzatziki and rocket (R158) which they enjoyed. I had two lamb chops on a cous cous salad with pomegranate seeds and tzatziki (R158) which was lovely. Two beautifully cooked rare lamb chops on a lovely fresh bed of cous cous, both pomegranates and tzatziki giving it some pop. This was Mediterranean cooking at its best.
Neither the Poet nor Vivek are dessert people. Vivek would rather have a glass of wine. But the small selection included pavlova, a trio of chocolate which was mousse, ice-cream and biscuits, and poached pears. There’s also a selection of ice-creams and sorbets, all homemade. The saffron ice-cream is a favourite.
But then I spotted something I hadn’t seen in years. The special was an English baked milk custard with apricots and shortbread (R61). This is something mom used to make for us when we were kids and whenever she was using the oven for something else (because electricity was expensive in those days). She used to call it her “eggy custard”, which sounds revolting but it was delicious. It’s probably one of the reasons I enjoy custard so much today. Apart from the fact that mom always served it hot, this was cold, it was exactly how I remembered it. The addition of stewed apricots was inspired as was the lovely sweet Madeleine served with it – probably better than shortbread anyway.
We enjoyed coffees, more wine, chatted, when suddenly we realised we were the last people in the place. It was a most enjoyable evening.
Food: 4
Service: 3 ½
Ambience: 4
The Bill: R953 for 3
Dining and Cooking