Cafe Del Soul Review: for www.jhblive.co.za

Soul Food with the Famiglia

 

As host and kitchen head, Chiara Treccani, describes her restaurant as “a destination”, I am beginning to feel that smarm which accompanies confirmation of a suspicion. I do enjoy being right. I’d tasked myself the search for great venues in what I’ve heard described as ‘the frozen North’, wasteland where the hip fear to tread with the artsy scorn of those who will not venture beyond Norwood or Parkhurst.

 

And the search takes me to Café Del Soul; a disarming venue conceptualised and run by Chiara and brother, Ryan Treccani, under the Italian clout of mother Luciana, (‘Mamma’, if you please).  The family is as integral to the restaurant’s concept as its food and décor; their near-constant presence and anecdotes around passion – a real concept, insists Chiara, as she explains the energy transfer involved in cooking with love – convincing even my cynical self. It is a warm afternoon and we’ve exchanged mall and madness for sidewalk and sipping, starting with an Avocado Ritz and Bruschetta, topped with artichoke and Parma ham, pear and gorgonzola, and pesto, ricotta and cherry tomatoes. The menu does us well into our mains, as we opt for stuffed calamari tubes on vermicelli and vegetables and a sesame chicken stir-fry, with pine-nuts and parmesan truly displaying Mamma’s idea of ‘Italian-fusion’. We’re lastly lured, in the way that women are lured, to the Chocolate Ganache, which is rumoured to have a fairly significant effect on Café Del Soul’s female clientele, and I can not so much explain, but vouch for it. Extreme indulgence.  

 

Under the banner “eat, drink, be inspired”, the menu joins crisp décor – complimented beautifully by choice quotations across the walls, a treat for word-geeks or awkward-dinner conversation – to offer a space for an uncomplicated, holistic examination of pleasure. As we leave, I notice I’ve been seated next to Julia Child’s words: “Life itself is the proper binge”. That’s what this place is about. Take a time-out in the North – it’s better than most suspect.

 

 

Cnr Olive & President Fouche Rds
Shop 17 and 18, Olivedale Corner
Olivedale
Johannesburg
Tel: 011 704 6493