The Kitchen, a bustling eatery

Lunch with a family vibe that makes you feel like you are in Italy celebrating life together

Lunch with the family – perhaps you don’t consider it pleasant? Well... think about a movie set in Italy or Mexico and all the fun that goes on while a large loud family eats together, sharing yummy and colourful food. Doesn’t this make you want to have lots of bambinis and have these kinds of gatherings quite often? Welcome to The Kitchen, THE lunch place in Woodstock – the place that makes lunch exciting and... fun-family-like.

The Kitchen is a place you immediately want to show others. It really is that good. Oh I love it.

Karen Dudley calls The Kitchen a 'bustling eatery'. And Karen is busy. She runs a family and the business, whilst being a happy character that enjoys what she’s doing. Coming out of the kitchen, she says to one of the girls working at the counter "Oh you must try this new creation I just made". I get a chance to do so, too, it’s a pasta-peanut-ginger-salad. Heavenly. Yeah, that’s what the food is like at The Kitchen.

Love Sandwiches, Salads and Treats

Here you get the yummy 'Love sandwiches' on artisanal rolls with different pestos, meats, salads and dressings (you might know them from the Neighbourgoods Market at the Old Biscuit Mill), a large variety of beautifully presented salads, more than you can imagine – made with ingredients you probably don’t use at home, fresh and unusual. Imagine salads like Lentil Black Rice and Coriander, Black Eyed Bean, Yellow Couscous with Roasted Tomatoes, Baby Spinach and Dukkah-ed Goats Cheese, Black Rice Salad with Red Onion, Lime and Sesame – enough to tickle your fancy?

Top up your salads with chicken, bacon or yummy sausages and you have more than enough. Take the rest home to share with your family, they will probably end up at The Kitchen soon themselves.

On her website, Karen says: "When I used to run my catering company from my home in Woodstock, there were always people dropping in: friends, suppliers, family, clients collecting their dinner party food. Quite often, people would linger to watch and chat, sometimes even participate. Because it was a working kitchen. We were in the process of creating something delicious, something good. Having a restaurant? That is quite beyond me. Just terrifying! But having a kitchen and sharing our work – now this we could do!"

An extraordinary place

The Kitchen is a small room with a couple of seats and many things to look at. Antiques like teapots and cake molds and small little collectables are everywhere. This place is more than extraordinary, it is full of energy, there is excitement and a happy vibe in this place. The staff is motivated and that’s also the reason why many people that work around here pop in again every day.

I know you wanna stay longer than your lunch break... well, say good-bye with yummy take-home treats like Almond Croissants, Prosperity Bars, World Peace Brownies, Ginger Fudge Squares and lovely Kitchen-made cakes and coffee and COME BACK!

by Antonia Heil


111 Sir Lowry Road | Woodstock | Cape Town | +27 (0)21 462 2201

Opening hours: Monday – Friday 8.30am – 4pm

Prices:Sandwich and Salad R35 – R45; A Salad Plate with a Selection of Salads – R40;
A Lunch Plate with Chicken or a Special of the Day – R45 – R55; Treats R5 – R25;
Coffees R12 – R17

Karen Dudley and The Kitchen team also cater for dinner parties, lunches, launches, weddings, all kinds of corporate events and cocktail parties.

Hungry? For steak to Asian tapas, be sure to check out our Eating out Section.