Foodies are savouring the quality mezze, with freshly baked pita and flatbread, that’s spicing up the food scene in the Cape Town CBD.
A wonderfully warm and buzzy atmosphere greets visitors in the recently opened Lebanese Bakery and Kitchen, just off Harrington Street in the East City. The space is crammed with creatives and entrepreneurs who work in the area, taking quick meetings or queuing at the counter for a savoury breakfast, pastry or early lunch.
It’s filled, too, with foodies-in-the-know, who pop in to grab mezze. Dips to take home, with fresh flatbreads and pita bakes. All homemade, too, the mezze ranges from labneh, harissa and hummus, to smoked aubergine mutabal. Tangy, eggless garlic toumeya tastes creamy and similar to mayonnaise, or there is zhough, a spicy fresh coriander, garlic and chilli paste (they make a good combo, too).
The bakery is the second branch co-owned by Egyptian engineer Khaled El-Alfy and Cape Town chef Clara Bubenzer. Khaled tracked down Bubenzer after hearing she’d spent time working in Egypt. He’s lived in South Africa for 10 years.
A BAKERY WITH GOOD BONES
“The story is that the Lebanese Bakery in Claremont was for sale at a year old,” explains Bubenzer. “A Lebanese neurosurgeon owned it. Khaled used to go there to buy bread and dips. He phoned his friend in Egypt, who has an import business, for advice. I’d worked for that business in Egypt for three years,” explains Bubenzer. “It was suggested that Khaled contact me in Cape Town. He asked me to have a look at the bakery. It had good bones and good equipment. And a Lebanese oven.”
The prized, dome-shaped Lebanese oven has gas piped in at the sides. It’s a crucial component to producing a variety of Lebanese baked items, yet the Constitution Street oven is still patiently waiting on specialised gas licence certification. For now, the pitas, kaa’k and flatbreads are brought in daily from Claremont.
Our food arrives ... “This is what we’re famous for, what put us on the map. It’s a yeast pita, but you need the Lebanese oven for it,” says Bubenzer, pointing to a falafel sandwich. Filled with salad and tahina sauce, its delicious fried falafel balls are made to an Egyptian falafel recipe. The falafel are subtly spiced and incredibly moist inside a fluffy pita. Comfort food, alongside lightly pickled cucumbers dipped in white, creamy toumeya. The sandwich makes a quick vegetarian meal, or toumeya can be replaced with hummus for a vegan version.
FOR VEGANS & VEGETARIANS
“Veganism is huge, massive,” notes Bubenzer. “And if somebody wants meat, we have a döner. Or Middle Eastern shawarma, which has a little more meat and less salad.” Both are available, sliced from the rotating grill. In free-range chicken. Or topside beef, marinated for days in a secret spice mix.
Savoury filled pastry triangles and half-moons called fatayer are also baked in the Lebanese oven, making a tasty snack. Assorted Middle Eastern dried goods add colour to display shelves.
“We opened Lebanese Bakery and Kitchen Constitution Street in March 2023. It’s an up-and-coming, cool area. We wanted to be part of that. It’s central enough for our City Bowl and Atlantic seaboard people, so makes sense for where we are,” says Bubenzer.
“People love Lebanese food. It’s light, it’s fresh, and we make everything every day. We’re halal and our food has no preservatives.” The smaller space makes Lebanese Kitchen a real find. Eating inside feels cosy, as though you’re sharing food with friends.
Lebanese Bakery and Kitchen, 7 Constitution Street, Cape Town. Open Mon to Fri 10h00 – 18h00; Sat & Sun 10h00 – 15h00. Tel: (021) 434 1589 | www.lebanesebakery.co.za
SNACKING AT NISH NUSH
Its name refers to a snack, taking its cue from street food classics enjoyed across the Middle East. Coming from that part of the world, owner Ofer Hollinger couldn’t find good pita in Cape Town, so he commissioned a local bakery to supply Nish Nush.
Previously a hatch in a Bree Street building with the mantra “no drama, just shawarma”, Nish Nush is now four shops away from its original position, near Heritage Square. “During Covid, we took the kiosk,” says Hollinger.
HOLE-IN-THE-WALL
“We had a take-away hole-in-the-wall and now offer sit-down, and we’ve added items such as the hummus bowl and the Sabich pita.”
This Jewish-Iraqi vegetarian pita has a fried aubergine, boiled egg salad and tahini filling. It partners pickled mango amba sauce. “People often have hummus as a side dish somewhere; here it is a main dish.” The hummus bowl is topped with chickpeas and tahini, served with pita. The Arayes is also popular. “It’s a Lebanese dish, a delicious way to prepare the meat. It’s beef and lamb mince made into a ball, put into the pita. It’s very good.” The toasted pita includes tangy amba sauce.
A large pickle jar graces the counter. “As a side, we offer a pickle plate. We pickle chilli or cucumbers today, cauliflower and carrots tomorrow,” says Hollinger.
VERSATILE FARE
“What makes this good: it’s versatile so everybody finds something they like. Maybe it’s the pita or falafel, maybe the hummus, maybe it’s the music. I missed the way they do the hummus in the Middle East, the flavours … the taste of the pita.”
With something of a cult following, Nish Nush is bound to maintain its reputation for Middle Eastern street-food favourites “with a whole lot of vibe”.
Nish Nush, 100 Bree Street. Open Mon to Sat 11h00 – 21h00. Tel: 063 483 4282 | www.nishnush.co.za
IMAGES: Kim Maxwell, Nish Nush
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