185 Bree Street, Cape Town Central 8001, South Africa
Cuisine:
Bakery, Cafe
Good for:
Breakfast/Brunch, Lunch
Jason Bakery
13 Visitor Photos +
REVIEWS
3 Reviews
185 Bree Street, Cape Town Central 8001, South Africa
Expert Review
Jason Bakery is a modern and hip corner café serving up delicious breakfast, lunch, and snacks. They also specialize in...
Jason Bakery is a modern and hip corner café serving up delicious breakfast, lunch, and snacks. They also specialize in gourmet coffee and fresh made specialty fruit juices. The décor is very cool with modern paintings and photography on display, clean wood tone and black color scheme, and window box gardens full of interesting succulent plants lining the bar counter seating area. There are also a few tables set out on the breezy sidewalk surrounding the café. Jason Bakery is open weekdays and Saturdays for breakfast and lunch. If your day demands something stronger than coffee, don’t worry! Jason Bakery even offers beer!
Like any bakery worth anything, Jason sells fresh made bread and pastries including sourdough rye, multigrain seed loaf, ciabatta, challah, brioche, and baguette along with croissants, muffins, and cakes. They also have traditional breakfast options like poached egg, bacon, and emmental cheese on a croissant or eggs, bacon, and toast. For lunch, they offer a selection of gourmet, out of the ordinary, sandwiches and salads. I opted to try the Cuban—pulled pork shoulder, emmental cheese, hickory ham, and pickles served on toasted pan Cubano. It’s the only time I’ve seen a Cuban sandwich on the menu in South Africa, so I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised to have been underwhelmed. The Jason Bakery Cuban sandwich doesn’t hold up to the competition on offer in Miami, but I guess it’s something different and worth a try. I also tried a fresh made apple and wintermelon juice which was interesting, tasty, and refreshing.
The atmosphere at Jason Bakery is great, and it’s a great spot to stop off for a chat with friends or a quick lunch. It’s a cut above the café options on nearby Long Street and the atmosphere is much more relaxed and peaceful as well. All in all, Jason Bakery is definitely worth a try.
Expert Review
Jason's Bakery is one of those places I've heard about on a few occasions, all reports were good. I figured...
Jason’s Bakery is one of those places I’ve heard about on a few occasions, all reports were good. I figured the time was ripe to pay a visit.
My first attempt failed — I didn’t check the opening hours. My second attempt was also a fail — the restaurant was closed due to a public holiday / long weekend. Undeterred, I made a third attempt. This was a win.
My waitress arrived, menu in hand and asked me what I would like to drink. I asked what fruit juices are available. My waitress rattled off the usual, but ended with something totally unfamiliar — I stopped her there. “What was that I ask”? She gave me its name (which meant nothing) and went on to tell me it was beetroot based, with apple and something else, which I cannot remember.
It arrived, it’s color is screaming beetroot. I gingerly have a taste. I am unable to recognize any particular flavor. It was a drink that to my mind, would be a somewhat acquired taste which I failed to acquire.
Time to order my meal. Being a first timer, I again ask for a recommendation. This comes as a croissant filled with poached egg, cheese and bacon. My plate arrives with a somewhat lost-looking croissant on it. The croissant itself was very average, the poached egg was nothing more than a plain old poached egg, the and the cheese seemed a little tired. Right at the end of eating the croissant I discovered a micro slice of bacon, which I almost missed.
My able was outside, like most, on the pavement. The restaurant is situated on the corner of an intersection so there is no shortage of exhaust fumes from the assortment of vehicles that stop at the intersection and pull off again. As I was about to leave, a huge trash dumpster arrived right alongside the restaurant — not a pretty sight, or smell!
Jason’s appeared to be filled with regulars who must be in on some kind of secret that I was not party to, causing them to return in droves. But my uninspiring meal and unusual drink were complimented by an ambiance which was energetic and care-free, supplemented with superb service.
Expert Review
Jason Bakery is the coolest spot to stop by for lunch, brunch or breakfast when you’re in central Cape Town....
Jason Bakery is the coolest spot to stop by for lunch, brunch or breakfast when you’re in central Cape Town. Whether you’re talking a walk up Long Street or exploring the city, don’t miss Jason Bakery on hip Bree Street. They focus on bread, beer and bubbles – who wouldn’t want to visit a place like that?!
When you enter the modern, casual interior, you feel as if you’re in a cool, cosmopolitan European city. For lunch, I ordered the juice of the day, which was “wintermelon,” cucumber, pineapple and lemon. It tasted like summer in a cup and I can’t wait to try another one of their amazing juice creations. I also ordered the summer salad with grilled plums, red and yellow cocktail tomatoes, roma tomatoes, basil, goat cheese, honey-baked sunflower seeds and raspberries. Although the salad was definitely fresh, summery and healthy, I did find it a bit overpowering with too many flavours going on.
I also ordered the baba lamb sandwich served on fresh 66% sourdough rye bread with roasted free-range lamb shoulder, cucumber, mint yoghurt, baba ganoush, pomegranate and lemon preserve. It definitely had that Mediterranean flavour that was exotic, unique — and also a bit overpowering to be honest.
For dessert, I ordered the New York baked cheesecake that was quite savoury and not very sweet, but made for a great lunchtime treat and I would definitely have it again.
The restaurant closes at 3:30pm on weekdays and 2pm on Saturdays so don’t be late if you want to enjoy some of the great meals and drinks available. This place is busy from open until close, so make sure you check it out whenever you’re in the area so you don’t miss out.