Zim on a Plate, Zim in a Glass
Restaurant Reviews
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2 Rowland Square,
Milton Park,
0772 711985

 

Horses for Courses
I have always been a bit skeptical about the term “local is lekker “. 2011

Not only is it totally meaningless for someone who has not come into contact with, or ever spoken a word of Afrikaans,  I have often also found that local is indeed not very “ lekker “ at all.  In fact, it can be downright disappointing.  Of course there are always exceptions to the rule and it's always nice to be surprised by one.

Nestled in a quiet corner of Milton Park, Spring Fever has found its third home in Rowland Square since its inception and original popular site on the Kariba side of the main road just outside Karoi.  Westgate was the next destination on the track, but the slow demise of that brilliantly designed shopping centre, due to lack of feet passing through led the owners to their present premises.  Spring Fever has entered the competition in the Coffee Shop category, which to me is the wrong course for this particular horse.  We went along on a Sunday afternoon with keen anticipation, having heard from friends who had recently been and described in rapturous tones the quality of the traditional Sunday Lunches served. 

We sat in the garden and congratulated ourselves for having booked.  All tables were taken - mainly by families, from Ouma and Oupa right down to the “kleintjies” in push chairs.  Our enthusiastic waiter, the fabulously named Smart Salute greeted us with his normal effusiveness, charming my ancient Mother shamelessly.  We were immediately impressed and realized that the rest of the meal would be plain sailing with a benevolent and smiling Ouma now very definitely on sides.

Mum was born in Cape Town of English heritage, but although it wasn’t a compulsory subject at school, she learned Afrikaans out of the necessity of sheer survival.  Her school friends were Italian and Afrikaans and she was exposed early on to the culinary sides of the two cultures, learning to cook dishes from both and was keen to see if the “plaaskombuis “ description deserved its title.

Spring fever is unashamedly Afrikaans in its character, and the dishes served display true testimony to the Afrikaans culinary style.  It’s more like “boere-fusion“ as the menu contains many mouth - watering breakfast variations from good old eggs, bacon and boerewors to an exotic mixture of pancakes and a choice of a savoury side dish (bacon) smothered in maple syrup or konfyt .  We were not there for breakfast, but for their well known Sunday lunch, and having had a small(ish) breakfast in anticipation, we were raring to go. Mum reckoned that that particular breakfast dish looked "Baie Lekker".  Praise indeed.  We were off to a good start!

Lunch is advertised at the entrance to the restaurant on a brightly coloured board, and at $ 15.00 per head is, fairly good value, the proof, however, being always in the eating of the whole nine yards, and not just the pudding!

Soup, creamed spinach, (not very “Boere“ ) but excellent nevertheless, started us off and Smart popped up to inform us that we could have as many servings as we wanted.  I was tempted, but fought back the urge valiantly, in anticipation of the main course.  I wasn’t disappointed.  A simple salad selection (self service on the veranda) including homemade pickled onions and beetroot was followed by a choice of mutton curry and/or pork roast shoulder accompanied by finely chopped green beans and onions, and the traditional mashed pumpkin with cinnamon.

Serving two starches at one meal is taboo in English culinary circles, but if you have grown up in Southern Africa, the serving of potatoes and rice at the same meal is perfectly acceptable, and there would be an outcry if one of the two was missing.  The roast potatoes on the day were irresistible; golden orbs that whispered to you of temptation and all things delicious.  I slipped two next to the not so little pile of spicy rice in the centre of my plate, spooned on to form the bedrock of a healthy dollop of piquant mutton curry.  The Curry itself could have been a little spicier for my taste, but there were a selection of suitable hot and spicy condiments on hand to add a few more decibels for the more adventurous (all hand made by the proprietress).

Puddings consisted of an interesting offering of a beautifully light homemade cake covered with a tropical fruit jus, and good old Tapioca.  I declined bravely, thinking of the Festive Season revelries ahead and also because I was just too well fed from the mutton and roast pork, but Ouma tucked in to the tropical fruit and jus and cake.  She’s quite small in stature and normally has an appetite reminiscent of a sparrow, but when invited out for a meal, manages somehow to transform into a seemingly bottomless pit into which gargantuan helpings of food regularly disappear.   It is safe to say that she enjoys her food, and was particularly complimentary of her lunch so far.  One small disappointment was the absence of her favourite pumpkin fritters.  This she told me was staple fare when growing up in Cape Town during the Second World War.  Although not in the front line, South Africa experienced rationing and pumpkin fritters became a very popular substitute at tea times.

Spring Fever is indeed a coffee shop, and a well appointed one at that.   Cappuccino, Filter and Espresso are all in attendance, as well as a selection of English breakfast teas and special herbal offerings.  Elise Oosthuizen, also known as “Mrs O“ is famous for her fabulous selection of cakes and biscuits, and is especially sought after for her beautifully made and intricately iced Wedding Cakes .  Scones, biscuits, “Koeksisters “, all combine to make up the perfect menu for a coffee shop.  There is also a comprehensive selection of savouries and excellent bistro style meals including the previously mentioned breakfast choices and great salads, (to tempt or console) the ladies from what I consider is the cruelly positioned Gym next door! There is also a good selection of more substantial lunches, (steak and tilapia) and their famous Sunday lunches.  This combination cries out plaintively for a listing as a Family restaurant.  Perhaps the Oosthuizens reckon their horse is running a shortened course because Spring Fever is not open for dinner, possibly precluding them from a Family restaurant classification, however in my mind they would certainly be excellent contenders.

Friendly staff, unostentatious décor, great “Boere fusion” cuisine including konfyts and sublime melktert, put Spring Fever up with the leaders in the coffee shop category, but a few more cracks of the jockey's whip  would push them  onto the Family restaurant race track, but only for the last furlong to include evening meals.

Coffee Shop
4 Plates
Expect to Spend $15 plus per head for Sunday Lunch
Spring Fever, 2 Rowland Square, Milton Park, Tel:  0772 711985