I won’t beat around the bush. The N2 is filled with farmstalls, so best I get my punt in quickly or you’ll miss out. Riviersonderend, the town most people simply pass through, is your number one pie stop.
Forget Peregrine or Houwhoek farmstalls (even if Peregrine is the spot for fresh apples and Houwhoek is charming). If it’s delicate pastry pies that taste a little bit like heaven, and look good enough to twist even a seasoned dieter’s arm, then the Ou Meul bakery is where you should head (along with everyone else in the know!)…
You’ll find the Ou Meul bakery just beyond the Shell garage on your left, as you enter town (with Cape Town behind you).
You can’t miss it as, other than a couple of biltong shops, an Agrimark (great place to pick up a new fan belt, as we discovered), and another petrol station (this time on the other side of the road), there is little else to grab your attention in Riviersonderend.
Ou Meul bakery has been around in Riviersonderend since the 1980s, although not in its current form. Now the bakery has a fresh contemporary look with blackboards filled with lists of pies, hot drinks and sentimental quotes like: lag is vir jou siel soos seep is vir jou lyf…
But their four-pies-to-a-box pour out of the fridge as moms not prepared to cook ’cause it’s holidays arm themselves with easy eats, and their counter is usually full at lunch time with people jostling to place orders for a Danish, filter coffee to go, or croissant that melts in the mouth.
And I can vouch for their decaf cappuccino.
They also sell a range of handmade breads that include a sourdough, ciabatta and a rye, as well as baguette rolls.
And there are local cheeses, jams, honeys and coffee beans on shelves to add to your bread meal.
Best of all, you don’t have to go all the way to Riviersonderend to experience the pies. Because they’ve moved to Long Street (minus the sentimental quotes) in Cape Town where their breezy, wood and glass décor and rather trendy menu sets their delectable bakes and pies off a treat.
Contact & Address Details
Riviersonderend: Main Road 27, Riviersonderend, Western Cape; Telephone: 028 261 1568
Cape Town: 14 Long Street, (Corner of Long & Riebeek), Cape Town Central; Telephone: 021 419 0662
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