Restaurant Review
Bespokery has all the things we Joburgers didn't know we were missing
This new Parkview eatery fills the gap with well-priced, well-executed small plates of clever, Mediterranean-inspired food
Image: BESPOKERY
There is something utterly comforting about your local. The quotidian joys of familiar dishes and faces is a recipe for human connection, more so in this peculiar time when its role as a social glue and social lubricant feels that much more significant. The local is a very necessary bulwark of warmth and sustenance against the sad loneliness of lockdowns and Covid anxiety.
Imagine my angst when, just as lockdown started last year, my Parkview local, Croft & Co, moved one shop down to its present corner location on Tyrone Avenue. So many questions: how would I deal with this larger, glossier, greener version of my happy place? Would this upgrade change the tone? And would it be for the better? What would become of the table of morning regulars? And, crucially, what would happen to the old location — that nexus of simple pleasures and cappuccino on tap?
On a recent Thursday I tried the harissa spiced mussel chowder with sweet potato and coriander (from the low carb/ keto section of the menu), R80, perfectly complemented by cauliflower croquettes with a gooseberry and elderflower sauce, R70, that floated in my mouth like little cloudlets of joy. The saffron poached quinoa with dates and nuts, R80, would give Ottolenghi a run for his money.
On Saturday I tried the beetroot cheesecake with rocket and roasted seeds, R80, the charred broccoli with ash goat's cheese, quince and hazelnut, R80, (just right) and the heavenly croquettes, of course. I am feeling bolstered. The Bespokery right next to Croft is giving me hope — the world will be restored to equilibrium, one or two locals at a time.
• Find Bespokery at 66 Tyrone Ave, Parkview, Johannesburg. Open daily: noon - 10pm, closed Mondays and Tuesdays.