&Union? No! Weinhaus & Biergarten? No! It’s Love Thy Neighbour and it’s making big waves in Cape Town.
Love Thy Neighbour offering plenty to their guests with an extensive selection of food & drinks. A large area is set up outside for the warmer summer season, but quite a number of tables can also be found if the wind comes howling through Bree Street. Inside or outside, you’ll find many long tables to encourage people to join Love Thy Neighbour with friends and order several dishes to share.
Chef Nick Charalambous, originally from Cyprus, is taking a hand-on approach with his current menu, sourcing ethical ingredients from all over the Western Cape. Meeting each and every farmer, he can ensure that he is working with like-minded partners all the way from the farm to your table. His heritage also allows for Mediterranean and Arabic influences to shine on a wonderful menu. You will immediately see that each dish is specifically designed to be shared for larger groups.
To start, we enjoyed taramasalata with preserved lemon, green olives and sumac which was an absolute dream and was served with light but crispy flatbread. While I’m not a fan of olives, I really could get used to ordering them roasted all the time from now on. The healthy dose of garlic also didn’t detract from the most delicious olives I’ve ever had. Another winner, were the aubergine fries that came with whipped feta and sesame seeds. The date molasses added a refreshing sweetness that made these fries really stand out.
Afterwards, we moved on to a few heartier dishes. I’m a huge fan of haloumi and the saganaki was another dish that I really enjoyed. It came with a sweet pumpkin preserve and walnut salsa that lifted the flavours of this dish to another level. The fire roasted cabbage had been cooking over the coals for several hours before we arrived and was served with tahini, muhamarra, and dukkah. It’s covered in lamb fat throughout the cooking process which gives it a very unique taste. The chicken and pork souvla is another popular dish. It consists of large pieces of meat cooked on a long skewer over a charcoal grill. This was served with a fresh celeriac and green apple salad which complimented the smokey souvla really well.
Last but not least, it was time for dessert. The loukamdes are small doughnuts with hints of orange which were served with a delicious Nutella-like sauce for dipping. An absolute dream.
It’s refreshing to see a restaurant offering a menu that boasts a variety of influences with dishes that you will not find at several other establishments in Cape Town. You’ll walk away from Love Thy Neighbour having experienced new and exciting flavours while wondering what you’ve missed out on. There’s one solution to that problem. Get your friends together again, order four or five new dishes and enjoy the creations by Chef Charalambous.
Directions to Love Thy Neighbour
110 Bree Street
Cape Town
8000
021 422 2770
