Mulberry & Prince
In my opinion, brunch is not just a meal, it is a religion. In my family the Sabbath is welcomed by an early afternoon fry up orchestrated by my dad. Eggs and bacon are a given, accompanied often by beans, hash brown, sliced sausage and haggis and always good bread. Almost everything is fried, my father is Scottish so you cannot blame him, and although Scottish food may be regarded as lack lustre by some, breakfast is where the Caledonians reign supreme. There is no mucking about with fussy French pastries, delicately eaten at the rate of an hour a bite. Instead there is an effusive table of hearty food fried with love and tea overflowing. Sunday brunch is the monolith of the Black family and the smell of bacon being fried makes me think of Sundays on our sunny patio at home. But ever since leaving home to study, I have been left with a yearning to fill the fry up hole in my heart.
Thus began my search for the perfect places to brunch in the Western Cape, and over the years I have developed, in consultation with friends and family, a list of criteria imperative to the brunch experience. The most important rule is that the breakfast menu must be available until at least 2pm and preferably all day. This may seem extreme, but why should society tell me when I can eat bacon pancakes or an omelette, especially when living on an erratic student sleep schedule. The second criterion is that the menu should contain eggs benedict as this is the holy grail of brunch. A good hollandaise sauce is a standard requirement of all chefs, so it should be of the highest quality- creamy, not lumpy. The third criterion is that the coffee should be good, this is of course subjective but a good cappuccino to accompany brunch is of importance. In this section of my blog I’ll be exploring brunch spots and review them based on ambiance, the food, the service and of course, their eggs benedict.
First up we have Mulberry and Prince in Pepper Street in Cape Town. The circumstances under which I went to this particular brunch spot were of the highest calibre, as my friend Bhavini treated me to brunch here as a late birthday gift. The first thing one must know about Mulberry and Prince is that they only serve breakfast on Sundays at two sittings; from 10am-12pm and then from 12pm-2pm and booking is essential. Mulberry and Prince already receive the nod of approval from me as they serve brunch until 2pm, however I do wish they served brunch every day. The spot is positively instagramable with splashings of Millenial pink, a copper table mounted to one wall and gilded paintings throughout. Bhavi and I were seated at the table facing the window and despite there being no partitioning of any sort; it felt surprisingly private and cosy. The service was great, very warm and friendly.
Mulberry and Prince have an American style menu, including a large plate of waffles served with fried chicken, buttermilk pancakes but unfortunately no eggs benedict. However, this is not to their own demise as the food Bhavi and I ordered was exceptional. I had the pancakes, which are three fluffy, buttermilk pancakes served with butter whipped with honey and syrup on the side. It was a transcendent experience eating those pancakes, and I have since forgiven Mulberry and Prince for not having eggs benedict. Bhavi had the toad in a hole, which was also a large portion which she described as delicious, but perhaps a bit on the safe side.
The coffee was good and Mulberry and Prince do serve Naartjie mimosas which I unfortunately didn’t try. The waffles and fried chicken look as though they could feed a family of four, so if you wish to indulge in this ample looking dish, bring three family members or friends will do. Mulberry and prince are quite pricey, but make your money count with their big portions and positively Cape Tonian hipster aesthetic. I would gladly run, not walk back to Mulberry and Prince and try the waffles as they could probably keep me going for a couple of days.
Check out the Mulberry and Prince website here:
https://www.mulberryandprince.co.za/