The quaint café with a rich history

The Blue Café in Tamboerskloof is a beautiful reminder of community

Last updated: Tuesday, 9 November 2021

With a history that dates back more than one hundred years, The Blue Café is a beautiful reminder of the importance of community. Loved by the locals of Tamboerskloof, it’s where they go to keep in touch with their neighbours – and also, obviously, to buy coffee, light meals and deli produce. 

The Blue Café in Tamboerskloof is loved by locals. Image: The Blue Café

The owners also have a great initiative – they encourage local parents to allow their kids to harvest fruit and veggies from their gardens to sell to the café. Isn’t that a great way to grow young entrepreneurial spirit?

BE INSPIRED BY BLUE CAFÉ’S HISTORY

The café started trading somewhere between the mid-1890s and early 1900s and has been owned by a few different families. Some will still remember the Kapdi family, who were the café’s owners for two generations in the late 1900s or Paul and Theresa Daly, who were its owners until 2014 and called the café the Daily Deli.

The Blue Café has a rich history that dates back more than 100 years. Image: The Blue Café

Located in Tamboerskloof, the iconic blue of the building inspired its name once Jeanne and Murray von Hirschberg became its new owners. It’s hard to miss and perfectly matches the colour of the sky on a clear day. 

The building’s blue is hard to miss and inspired the café’s name. Image:The Blue Café
 

STOP BY FOR A DYNAMITE MEAL

The Blue Café’s menu is open for breakfast through to dinner, and also sells cakes, pastries and deli goods. All dishes are made from scratch, with the freshest local ingredients, often supplied by the members of the Tamboerskloof community.

Pick up a freshly baked savoury tart topped with sundried tomatoes, feta cheese and fresh basil at The Blue Café. Image: The Blue Café
 

Two signature meals are the chicken pie and the anchovy, capers and olives pizza. “Nothing (NOTHING) beats a Blue Café anchovy, capers, olive pizza on a Sunday evening!” say Jeanne and Murray. The chicken pie is made with roast chicken that has been slow-cooked for four hours, encased in a buttery pastry. Jeanne and Murray say it was once described as “dynamite”.


Dine out on a Sunday evening with an Anchovy Capers Olive Pizza Pizza from The Blue Café, whilst enjoying the neighbourly buzz of Tamboerskloof. Image: The Blue Café

The Blue Café also offers plant-based meals, such as the falafel salad, made with homemade falafels, tomato pesto, pickled aubergines and hummus, which has gained “cult-status”, say Jeanne and Murray.

Indulge in a fresh homemade falafel salad at The Blue Café, which has gorgeous views of Tamboerskloof. Image: The Blue Café

EAT A MEAL IN SCENIC SURROUNDINGS  

The café has Table Mountain as a backdrop and is surrounded by beautiful Victorian buildings.The spot is a gathering place for the community. “Most of our patrons walk to the café. They love the proximity to their homes but mostly they love how the café allows them to keep in touch with their neighbours,” say Jeanne and Murray.

With views of Table Mountain and the Victorian architecture of Tamboerskloof, The Blue Café is a scenic spot to enjoy a coffee. Image: The Blue Café

“Locals use their neighbourhood café as a place to meet. We love [American urban sociologist] Ray Oldenburg’s theory of the ‘Third Place’ – he believes local institutions like neighbourhood cafés are the heart of a community's social vitality and the foundation of a functioning democracy,” says Jeanne and Murray.

BUY LOCAL FRESH PRODUCE

The Blue Café prides itself on stocking fresh produce and deli goods from the local community in Tamboerskloof, including eggs, milk, bread and preserves.  “We will buy (almost) anything that is baked, cooked or grown in the neighbourhood,” Jeanne and Murray say. This is just another one of the ways The Blue Café fosters a strong sense of community and invites everyone to be a part of it.

The Blue Café buys some of its produce from the community in Tamboerskloof. Image: The Blue Café

13 Brownlow Rd | Tamboerskloof | www.thebluecafe.co.za | 021 426 0250 | www.instagram.com/bluecafe   

Hours: Monday - Friday, 7am-10pm ;Saturday and Sunday, 7:30am - 10pm (kitchen closes at 9pm throughout the week)
Price range: breakfast ranges from R45, pizzas from R75, pies and baked goods from R55, cakes from R23 

By Jessie Leverzencie

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