Home-style cuisine is a highlight of this new Hout Bay deli

Sometimes really good home-cooked food is what you crave. No fancy plating, no frills, just really tasty, simple dishes made with fresh local ingredients.

If you’re in Hout Bay you’re in luck because recently opened Barney’s Artisan Deli offers just that. Picture a lunch buffet bursting with trays of lasagne, moussaka, chicken pie, roast beef, chicken schnitzel, macaroni and cheese, as well as plenty of vegetarian and Banting options, all freshly cooked and delicious.

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Then there’s a colourful assortment of cooked vegetable side dishes and salads. It’s hard to choose between roasted butternut, artichokes and green beans and almond salad, but the great thing is you can have a tiny taste of everything that takes your fancy and pay by weight.

When owner, Allen Swaine, opened Barney’s in December his goal was to provide wholesome, locally sourced food, made fresh and without preservatives, that people could eat in or take home for dinner. He focuses on sourcing artisan products that are made locally and ethically for the shelves of the deli, visiting each supplier and tasting his way to the best. His choice of Kristen’s Kick-Ass Ice Cream is definitely a winner along with coffee from Truth Coffee roastery, together with irresistible brownies and cakes, or something from the specialist breakfast menu. These can all be enjoyed on the outside deck, conveniently located just at the start of Chapman’s Peak Drive – a perfect meeting place after a walk on the beach.

As well as Banting breads and baked goods, which Allen says fly out of the door almost before they’ve made it onto the shelf, the biggest hit at Barney’s has been the supper club. After only a month there are already 100 subscribers ordering individually plated meals of a main and two sides, which are delivered free within Hout Bay on any night of the week. There’s a new menu each week, but signature favourites like the excellent chicken pie and the tasty moussaka tend to stay on the list.

The deli’s philosophy is all about locally grown and produced ingredients, so with that in mind Allen is negotiating for some land to start a vegetable-growing project, to train unemployed youngsters in vegetable gardening, with the aim of supplying the deli’s needs and then expanding into a community feeding scheme.

Call 021-791-0923.

This article was originally published in one of the Sunday Times Neighbourhood: Property and Lifestyle guides. Visit yourneighbourhood.co.za, like YourNeighbourhoodZA on Facebook and follow YourHoodZA on Twitter.