I had the most wonderful morning last Saturday; enjoying a long overdue catchup with a very dear school friend. We had last seen each other at my 40th birthday lunch in November and here we were in July … where had the time gone too?
As she lives in Durban North and I live on a farm just outside of Stanger we decided to meet in Umhlali which is pretty much halfway for both of us and would not be the chaos that is Ballito on a Saturday morning!
I had heard a bit about a new coffee spot called Wonderland Coffee that had recently opened at the LINC church campus and suggested that we kick our morning off there.
I’ll be perfectly honest here; we arrived (after getting slightly lost which is difficult to believe seeing as there is only one road to LINC) and on seeing only one car in the parking lot wondered if we were even in the correct place. I did some investigating and we were so we chose a table outside and ordered our brew.
The coffee was fantastic and I loved the pitch black Le Crueset cups and saucers they were served in – something slightly different!
At present there are only coffees, teas and juices on the menu but we chatted to the owner of Wonderland and he assured us that they are in the process of working on a menu so I will have to go back in a few weeks to see what is on offer. What I did like the look of though was the strawberry and hibiscus iced tea which is served in a Consol jar! So very clever and effective!
LINC church is an enormous building and Wonderland coffee takes up the majority of the bottom floor with an incredible outside area complete with a kid’s jungle gym apparatus. We sat at one of the outside tables and enjoyed the beautiful views of the surrounding sugar cane fields.
Although quiet when we visited I’m sure Wonderland will begin to attract a coffee loving crowd … I certainly enjoyed both my coffee and my visit and will be back for more.
Please note they are closed on a Monday.
From Wonderland we drove a few hundred metres back to the Litchi Orchard. The café has been taken over by new management and I was keen to give it a try.
I was impressed with the new look of the venue and disappointed we weren’t quicker in sitting ourselves down at the cosy couch in the corner when we were the only customers! However, we sat at a table for two and were quickly attended to by the very friendly waitress.
I ordered scrambled eggs with sliced chorizo sausage and my friend had a full English breakfast … both meals were very tasty and I especially enjoyed the homemade bread that accompanied our meals.
Although the café is relatively small all the inside tables were spoken for when we left towards lunch time … the open sandwiches and salads have obviously garnered a reputation! Directly across from the café is a delightful little shop selling organic vegetables so pop in and stock up on groceries for the week!
Our final stop on our coffee café crawl was the ever popular Sage Café. We arrived just before the crazy lunch period and the owner, Rory was kind enough to allow us 45 minutes at a reserved table before the diners arrived for their booking. Although slightly on the full side after our breakfast we managed to squeeze down another coffee and shared a slice of carrot cake!
What a thoroughly enjoyable morning; I enjoyed trying out the two new kids on the Umhlali cafe scene and of course there is nothing that beats catch up time with an old friend!
Contact Wonderland Coffee:
LINC Church Campus, Foxhill (follow the signs from Sage Café!)
Tel: +27 (0)61 494-3540
Contact Orchard Café:
The Litchi Orchard, Seaforth Avenue, Salt Rock
Tel: +27 (0)32 525-5118
Contact Sage Café and Deli:
1 Old Fort Road, Umhlali
Tel: +27 (0)32 525-8059
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