The quaint café with a rich history

The Blue Café in Tamboerskloof is a beautiful reminder of community

Last updated: Tuesday, 19 September 2023

With a history that dates back more than one hundred years, The Blue Café is a beautiful reminder of the importance of community. Loved by the locals of Tamboerskloof, it’s where they go to keep in touch with their neighbours – and also, obviously, to buy coffee, light meals and deli produce. 

The Blue Café in Tamboerskloof is loved by locals. Image: The Blue Café

The owners also have a great initiative – they encourage local parents to allow their kids to harvest fruit and veggies from their gardens to sell to the café. Isn’t that a great way to grow young entrepreneurial spirit?

BE INSPIRED BY BLUE CAFÉ’S HISTORY

The café started trading somewhere between the mid-1890s and early 1900s and has been owned by a few different families. Some will still remember the Kapdi family, who were the café’s owners for two generations in the late 1900s or Paul and Theresa Daly, who were its owners until 2014 and called the café the Daily Deli.

The Blue Café has a rich history that dates back more than 100 years. Image: The Blue Café

Located in Tamboerskloof, the iconic blue of the building inspired its name once Jeanne and Murray von Hirschberg became its new owners. It’s hard to miss and perfectly matches the colour of the sky on a clear day. 

The Blue Café’s menu is open for breakfast through to dinner, and also sells cakes, pastries and deli goods. All dishes are made from scratch, with the freshest local ingredients, often supplied by the members of the Tamboerskloof community.

The building’s blue is hard to miss and inspired the café’s name. Image: The Blue Café

TRY BOBOTIE EMPANADAS AND THEIR FAMOUS DISHES

Two signature meals are the chicken pie and the anchovy, capers and olives pizza. “Nothing (NOTHING) beats a Blue Café anchovy, capers, olive pizza on a Sunday evening!” say Jeanne and Murray.

The chicken pie is made with roast chicken that has been slow-cooked for four hours, encased in a buttery pastry. Jeanne and Murray say it was once described as “dynamite”.

Their latest creation is called bobotie empanadas. A South African dish that we all know and love but with a Spanish twist, courtesy of the Blue Café.

Dine out on a Sunday evening with an Anchovy Capers Olive Pizza Pizza from The Blue Café, whilst enjoying the neighbourly buzz of Tamboerskloof. Image: The Blue Café

The Blue Café also offers plant-based meals, such as the falafel salad, made with homemade falafels, tomato pesto, pickled aubergines and hummus, which has gained “cult-status”, say Jeanne and Murray.

Another “cult-status” item is their peanut butter bomb cookies; whether you enjoy them at the café with a flat white or purchase a bag from the shop to enjoy later on. A special mention must be made to the peanut butter bomb frappe, made with their peanut butter bomb cookies (and just as addictive).

Indulge in a cup of coffee and freshly baked muffin. Image: @kaymin_ashleigh

EAT A MEAL IN SCENIC SURROUNDINGS

The café has Table Mountain as a backdrop and is surrounded by beautiful Victorian buildings.The spot is a gathering place for the community. “Most of our patrons walk to the café. They love the proximity to their homes but mostly they love how the café allows them to keep in touch with their neighbours,” say Jeanne and Murray.

With views of Table Mountain and the Victorian architecture of Tamboerskloof, The Blue Café is a scenic spot to enjoy a coffee. Image: The Blue Café

“Locals use their neighbourhood café as a place to meet. We love [American urban sociologist] Ray Oldenburg’s theory of the ‘Third Place’ – he believes local institutions like neighbourhood cafés are the heart of a community's social vitality and the foundation of a functioning democracy,” says Jeanne and Murray.

BUY LOCAL FRESH PRODUCE

The Blue Café prides itself on stocking fresh produce and deli goods from the local community in Tamboerskloof, including eggs, milk, bread and preserves.  “We will buy (almost) anything that is baked, cooked or grown in the neighbourhood,” Jeanne and Murray say. This is just another one of the ways The Blue Café fosters a strong sense of community and invites everyone to be a part of it.

The Blue Café buys some of its produce from the community in Tamboerskloof. Image: The Blue Café

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE BLUE CAFÉ

Blue Café is open: Monday - Sunday, 7:30am - 10pm

Find it: 13 Brownlow Road, Tamboerskloof

Price range: Mains starting from R42

Contact on: 021 426 0250 | laughing@thebluecafe.co.za |@bluecafe 

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