Rosetta Roastery Cafe (Claremont)
1 Osborne Rd, Claremont, Cape Town, 7708
Wow, Cape Town. Things are really gearing up for 'Season' in the Mother City. And we've got to hand it to them, they are stepping it up a gear, utilising pretty much every nook and cranny in the CBD. Rosetta has just opened another little café in Gardens at the evolving Black Brick location.
But if you'd like to take a breath from the cracking energy in the centre of town, the Rosetta Roastery HQ in Claremont will do the trick.
I wonder if the neighbourhood members were on a community chat and decided that jasmine was a good look, because in early November the jasmine was blooming and fragrant all along our walk from a couple blocks away where we found a street parking.
Let's just get this out the way up front: Parking and traffic are consistently an issue in this town even in the Southern suburbs where Rosetta has found a new home for their roaster. The truth of the matter is, you just need to accept that and try to move on gracefully. Adjust your expectations accordingly.
If you visit this beautiful corner cafe, on the ground level of this stylish and jasmine laden building, you have a couple options for parking. As mentioned before, the limited street parking, alternatively the huge paid parking lot at Cavendish Mall, literally across the street.
Alright, alright, on to the actual café!
The roastery is adjacent the cafe and this seems to be an advantage for the Rosetta roasting team, working closely with the cafe staff and feeling a lot more connected to their retail space. We chatted to head roaster Shannen MacKay and Hospitality Manager, Gizelle during our little tour of the roastery and they were setting up for a tasting with a new client - very convenient!
The coffees were elegant and tasty, as we've come to expect. We had the choice of an Ethiopian or an Indonesian coffee, so of course we had one of each! We really like the idea of having a variable price menu, meaning that the cafe can charge specifically for the value of each espresso pulled, depending on the coffee chosen . For example "espresso R39-R45" is clever and gives the customer a ballpark but the cafe the freedom to charge correctly - it's not a one size fits all situation.
The food was also excellent. We thoroughly enjoyed our brunch. Ordering three things for two humans is what happens when you're on the early flight. We regret nothing. And thank you for the recommendation of the sausage roll, Shannen - it was tops!
