I may have found a new country breakfast favourite. The Bakery at Jordan is a café-style deli and bakery on Jordan Winery, which has prime positioning overlooking the dam. There is a buzzy coffee shop atmosphere at tables inside the bakery space, and welcome sunshine for the lucky few that manage to bag tables on the narrow upper deck. The more self-service-orientated lower deck area under the trees is a peaceful option after you’ve tasted some Jordan wines, set further away with more space and a close-up view of the dam.
George and Louise Jardine are behind the project, serving upmarket lunches and dinners at Jordan Restaurant with George Jardine on the property. Pastry chef-turned-baker Ciska Roussouw mans the baking oven and also oversees the small deli breakfast and lunch menu (but you’ll see chef George about too – the advantages of having a restaurant next door). The two-metre wood-fired baker’s oven with its mosaic flame-patterned door was purpose-built – George reckons the secret is in the layers of insulation. The bakery counter is regularly filled with pastries and breads (R22 to R30) including sourdough, rye and seed loaves as well as ciabatta and honey and spelt baguettes, to take away (the sourdough and ciabatta are both excellent but this baker favours a crisper, slightly blackened outer crust). Also on sale are biscuits, rusks, preserves and savoury sauces (chimichurri and aioli) made on the premises, and gorgeous bunches of roses from a neighbouring farm. The rich chocolate brownie (R25) I bought was still delicious the next day, and true to its name, decadently rich.
Breakfast options (served between 8.30am and 10.30am) include homemade granola, free-range eggs scrambled, or cooked ‘en cocotte’ and served with a couple of variations. We loved the ‘poach then bake’ (R55) breakfast of poached eggs, ham and spinach on a home-baked English muffin, under a herby hollandaise. Toasted sourdough served with smoked marrow, parsley, confit lemon and creamed spinach (R60) might appeal to those bored by egg-and-bacon combos. The cappuccino and Americano is decently made here and the croissants (R18) are buttery and pliable so worth ordering with cheese and jam. Our junior diner got stuck in and sticky. He also enjoyed watching pastry chef-baker Ciska Roussouw rolling and folding various pastries and breads in the bakery.
Brunch is served between 10.30am and 3.30pm, and plates sent out looked good. The menu is small so items rotate often, but I hope I’ll be able to return to have the Caesar salad with pancetta lardons (R90) or the salt-crusted baked hake (R105) with crushed minted peas and woodfire-roasted potato wedges. The pork pie with salad that passed me en route to a deck table looked mighty good.
In short, this is a great spot to linger at a table, or to pop in when in the area to buy freshly prepared supplies (aside from breads, pastries and condiments, salads are available to go). The great part is The Bakery at Jordan is a fairly direct drive along the N2 from Cape Town CBD, so getting there doesn’t take as long as you think.
THE BAKERY AT JORDAN, Jordan Winery, Stellenbosch. Open from 8.30am to 3.30pm Wednesday to Sunday (open daily from January 2014). Tel 021 881 3441, Bakery.