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You are here: Home / Restaurants / South Africa restaurants / Cobblestone Bakery, Port Elizabeth

Cobblestone Bakery, Port Elizabeth

by Jeanne Horak on February 14, 2010 10 Comments in South Africa restaurants

CobblestoneBakery

I love my hometown.  It has plenty of things to recommend it:  a wonderfully temperate climate.  Some truly gorgeous colonial and Art Deco architecture.  Some of the best beaches in the country.  A university with one of  the largest campuses in the southern hemisphere.  The world-famous Addo Elephant Park on its doorstep. And it lives up to its nickname of the Friendly City.

But one of the things that it does not have is what you’d call a fine dining scene.  Yes, there are places that serve good food, there are places that serve up retro-tastic delights, and there are places with pretty views, and but every time I have been home to visit and somebody has suggested I go somwhere for a fine dining meal, I have come away disappointed.  The problem is sometimes that the menu is just plain boring (creme brulee is no longer cutting edge, people…), but more often than not the problem lies in a menu that looks good on paper but fails to deliver on the plate, combined with sloppy service and a fat price tag.  Not a winning combination!

I think that part of the reason is that there isn’t much by way of demand for that style of eating in Port Elizabeth – we like our restaurants to serve steak, seafood and pizza, and to do all three reasonably well.  Still, it makes it a difficult when people ask me for restaurant recommendations – I don’t want to send them somewhere with high expectations and come away disappointed and many Rands poorer.  But what I have discovered over my past three or four visits is the emergence of a new restaurant scene in Port Elizabeth, and it is a style that we do spectacularly well:  coffee shops.  I don’t mean in the style of Starbucks – more in the style of an informal, predominantly daytime restaurants that take pride in their baked goods.

One such place that I’ve visited a couple of times and hope to visit many more is the Cobblestone Bakery, situated in a converted residential house in the suburb of Walmer.   They bake a variety of fresh artisanal breads from stoneground flour as well as other baked goodies daily, and is one of the first places in Port Elizabeth where I have seen a good selection of gluten-free breads.  The room is bright and airy and the breads are attractively displayed in wicker baskets (go early if you want a specific bread as they sell out later!) and the sweet treats are displayed on adjacent shelves, to drool over and take home with you, or enjoy on the spot.

CobblestoneCollage

 

On the first of my two recent visits, I had a fresh warm flatbread topped with a generous dollop of cream cheese and smoked salmon, and a creamy herb dressing.  The flatbread was crusty on the outside, pillowy on the inside and truly delicious.  On my second visit I had the absolutely delicious peri-peri chicken livers (just enough heat, indulgent amounts of cream) with toasted sourdough, while a friend had the gluten-free rye toast with jam, served in a glorious resealable jar. Warning – those chicken livers are addictive!

Coffees are also excellent, the service is charming and the prices are reasonable.  I also noticed that there seemed to be quite a few regulars, and a restaurant that has regulars is always a good sign in my book!  On the way out I could not resist buying a packet of their peanut butter cookies and I must admit that they were a work of art: crumbly with butter, and packed with peanut flavour.  I had to fight my nephews for the last morsels!

CobblestoneFlatbread

Whether you are looking for a spot of breakfast, having a leisurely brunch with friends, or just want to pick up a loaf of artisanal gluten-free bread, Cobblestone Bakery is the answer to your prayers in Port Elizabeth.

Cobblestone Bakery
no. 40 6th Avenue
Walmer
Port Elizabeth
South Africa

Tel. +44 27 (0)41 581 0182

This post is part of a new series for 2010 called Sundays in South Africa.  As the entire football-conscious world knows by now, the FIFA World Cup 2010 will be taking place for the first time ever on African soil – in my home country of South Africa!  I can’t tell you how proud this makes me, or how good it is to see that all the stadiums that the naysayers said would never be built on time standing tall and proud and beautiful.  The country is, of course, anticipating a huge surge in visitors and I know that many people will see the cup as a reason to visit a country they have long been meaning to visit, and use the tournament as a jumping-off point for visiting other, non-football South African destinations. With this in mind, as well as my backlog of posts about my South African trips, I will be trying to post a review of somewhere South African, or a South African recipe, every Sunday in the run-up to the tournament.  I can’t pretend it is going to be a comprehensive guide to South Africa – but it will certainly be enough to give you some ideas!  Click here for previous posts in the series.

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  1. joey says

    February 15, 2010 at 6:12 am

    What a great bakery to have in your hometown! My husband will be following the world cup (as he does every year) on tv…wish we could actually go there! Him for the football and me to see South Africa! 🙂

    Reply
  2. Firefly says

    February 15, 2010 at 9:21 am

    You know what. I pass it every day on my way to work and back and I have never stopped. Bad me. I will make a plan.
    Apologies for not always answering your questions on my blogs. The walkway is in South End just below First Avenue just before you turn down towards Valley Road. I will check up on the family that put it up.

    Reply
  3. Costa, Kara's Original Greek says

    February 15, 2010 at 10:44 am

    lovely… the idea of dipping some fresh bread into that tangy sauce in the image really appeals! always good to have a pro baker in the neighbourhood, but they seem to be fading away…

    Reply
  4. Gourmet Chick says

    February 15, 2010 at 12:30 pm

    This looks like the perfect bakery/ coffee shop to have in your home town. I love the idea that you are doing this series for the World Cup – lots of tips for my next visit, I last went to South Africa about 8 years ago and have been dying to return ever since.

    Reply
  5. Manggy says

    February 16, 2010 at 1:51 am

    I love these kinds of artisan bakeries – my kinds of places. Thanks for sharing a little bit of your hometown with us! 🙂

    Reply
  6. PinkPolkaDot says

    February 16, 2010 at 1:32 pm

    Wow, what a wonderful review with beautiful photos…. I want to go there…will definitely on my next trip to PE!!

    Reply
  7. Po says

    February 16, 2010 at 10:04 pm

    I hate to admit I have never been to your home town properly, ever, except via Greyhound buses, or as a beach/petrol stop on road trips. I hope to change this soon!

    Reply
  8. Necia says

    February 17, 2010 at 7:06 pm

    Wonderful! I’m sorry I missed this! I could have made a ‘draai’ there! I was amazed at how many restaurants were now in private homes….we had a meal at one and it was wonderful. I just cannot remember the name. My sister also had a Birthday Breakfast in Marylins, a Coffee Shop in PE too. It was lovely.

    Reply
  9. VerdantSF says

    February 18, 2010 at 10:13 pm

    Dankie vir die aanbeveling! If you ever visit San Francisco, you should try Arizmendi Bakery. San Francisco sourdough is outstanding!

    Reply
  10. Mark Rose-Christie says

    September 17, 2014 at 5:49 pm

    Hi
    Do you sell Gluten free Oats ?
    Mark

    Reply
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Jeanne Horak is a freelance food and travel writer; recipe developer and photographer. South African by birth and Londoner by choice, Jeanne has been writing about food and travel on Cooksister since 2004. She is a popular speaker on food photography and writing has also contributed articles, recipes and photos to a number of online and print publications. Jeanne has also worked with a number of destination marketers to promote their city or region. Please get in touch to work with her Read More…

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