We went down to Kalk Bay on Sunday for a spot of lunch. We normally go straight along Boyes Drive and then will, nine times out of ten, hook a right and make straight for Polana. However, now that the road to Simons Town is south flowing only, we find ourselves driving along Main Road and discovered a few spots that we haven’t before, purely because we don’t drive past them.
I wanted to have lunch at a little French place I’d noticed but before we got there we noticed 19-on-Main Bistro and ended up walking in, loving the look of it and settled down there instead. I don’t know how I hadn’t seen this gem of a place before. Perhaps its because the sign for the restaurant and, to be honest, the front door are set back a few metres from the road.
My husband and I are hooked though and kept saying that we couldn’t believe we hadn’t found the place before! There are a number of tables inside but we made our way to the ‘outside’ section – although its not strictly inside, its also not strictly outside and is covered with shade cloth in most parts. We decided to sit up at a ‘bar counter’ table – who wouldn’t want the elevated view over the sea?
The menu is varied and the dishes are simple, bistro styled food. Portions are more than generous and with the vegetable accompaniments you definitely get your monies worth. A basket of bread was placed in front of us; thick cut slices of delicious white bread which I smothered in butter.
There is nothing better than fresh white bread thick with butter is there? The chicken livers in a creamy brandy sauce were sold out so instead we shared a starter of Thai fish cakes served with a very gingery sauce. Very Thai and very tasty.
For main I had the chicken pie. For once the pie was 90% meat and 10% sauce; served with mashed potatoes, beans, carrots and creamed spinach it was a huge meal. My husband had, as always, a steak! Served with either a pepper sauce or a mushroom sauce this is accompanied with beans, carrots, creamed spinach and roasted potatoes.
Other items on the menu were for starters: fish soup, a mezze platter and a pot of mussels. Main courses range from Karoo chops, the Harbour bounty, Gnochi and a beef pie. We were too full for pudding but the date and almond tart, Death by Chocolate or the Malva pud would have gone down a treat!
Kalk Bay Links
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Sadly, 19-on-Main Bistro has closed.
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Thank you for your lovely comments on our bistro and glad you enjoyed your meal with us.
We’ve just recently put in a gorgeous bench in the “outside” area with loads of cushions for people to lounge on (we’ve even had one or two customers have a little late afternoon snooze in the sunshine) and our summer menu is now up and running with specials that change weekly depending on what fresh produce is available from the market.
We’d love to see you again…