Travel – Page 7 – Latitude Post

The interior of the Bocca Dolce Cafe

The Bocca Dolce Cafe is a paradise of a place situated in the beautiful Quarry Lake Estate around the Wittedrift area close to Plettenberg Bay and planted firmly on the lush and infamous Garden Route in South Africa. The heavenly location alone is enough to warrant a visit. I am also told that they have excellent coffee, which I completely believe judging by what I’ve seen on my few forays over there. Sadly for me, I am not a coffee drinker.

The beautiful surroundings

But for me it’s not about the beautiful location (yet it’s certainly a bonus) or the excellent coffee. My primary reason for visiting (and returning) is the divine, delicious and generous weekend vegan buffet they serve up every Saturday and Sunday from 1pm. I suppose one could split this abundant and tasty vegan buffet into three categories; Salads, Mains and Desserts.

The salads alone are a meal in itself with about 10-12 different selections to choose from. The selections change each time yet my personal favourites are the curried potato salad, the chick pea salad, the beetroot salad, the spinach, broccoli and bean concoction and, last but not least, the sublime humus. With such a selection I often run the risk of not leaving any space for the mains or desserts.

My plate loaded up with some delicious salad selections

Now for the mains. The highlights for me are the vegan lasaña and the vegan curry. Both are excellent and very tasty. There is also a table loaded with a grand selection of different and exotic vegan snacks. I particularly love the vegan satay kebabs.

Delicious and exotic vegan snacks

Finally the deserts. It would be a crime not to leave any space for those (easily done). Like the salads, the dessert selections change each time. On my last visit I got very lucky with the desserts to the point they became the highlight of the buffet that day. That day some of the dessert selections included a sensational vegan trifle, a very rich and delicious vegan chocolate and date cake, and a good no-nonsense vegan apple crumble. I have a weakness for trifle and I was very impressed with the textures, flavours and even creaminess of it all made a la vegan.

Exquisite vegan desserts

If you can’t make the weekend buffet the salad buffet is available on the weekdays.

The Bocca Dolce Cafe is a special place. The exceptional food notwithstanding, it offers a unique and unforgettable experience. The place is a real labour of love designed and created very tastefully with beautiful furniture and artworks on the wall by local artists. I highly recommend dropping by if you are in the area.

by Nicholas Peart

16th May 2016

I’ve been spending the last few days of a cheeky little trip around the Western Cape in South Africa in the coastal town of Mossel Bay. A big draw for visiting Mossel Bay is its history. Evidence of Middle Stone Age people occupation some 170,000 to 40,000 years ago can be found at the nearby Pinnacle Point caves, and the Portuguese explorer Bartholomeu Dias rocked up here in 1488 christening the place Aguado de São Bras before the Dutch came and renamed it Mossel Bay.

The Santos Express Train Lodge, Mossel Bay, South Africa

But it’s fascinating history was not the highlight for me. For me it was my choice of accommodation one night in a converted defunct train called the Santos Express Train Lodge. I don’t think I’ve ever stayed in such a setting like this in all my vast traveling life. All the compartments in each carriage are converted into bedroom cubicles. Two toilets and a shower compartment were also incorporated into the carriage I was staying in. My room was uber poky with a small single mattress but how I relished it all! It was a snug, warm and very rich experience. If only this thing moved. Through the Gobi desert in Mongolia across the endless Sahara and vast expanse of Patagonia. I have a high capacity for dreaming and unlimited fantasy. All the rooms overlook the Indian Ocean and this only augments my imagination and the good feeling about the place. It’s such a unique experience that I think I’ll return one day to Mossel Bay for at least a week and book myself for the duration of that time into one of the rooms on the Santos Express. I could spend all day in my compartment reading, writing poetry and staring out of the window and day dreaming.

Inside my room on the Santos Express

A great lover of trains, the American travel writer Paul Theroux would fall in love with the Santos Express Train Lodge. And so would the criminally underrated English singer songwriter Robyn Hitchcock who once wrote an album (and song) entitled I Often Dream Of Trains. I know that if he ever touched down here he would spend the rest of his days on the Santos Express.

Also, if you do happen to drop by Mossel Bay, I highly recommend that you have breakfast, lunch or dinner (or all three) at the Sea Gypsy Cafe. It is a very cool little place with friendly staff and the food is hearty, delicious, no-nonsense and very good value. The hake and chips is stellar. And if you ever come here for breakfast, I highly recommend (providing you are non vegetarian) the Pirates Breakfast. A gut busting feast comprising of a 150g lump of steak, wors (South African style sausages), bacon, 2 eggs, tomato, mushroom, toast and chips. It makes all my past Full English indulgences woefully lightweight.

by Nicholas Peart

2nd May 2016, Mossel Bay

Tag: Travel

Bocca Dolce Cafe: Sensational Vegan Food In A Paradisiacal Setting

All Aboard The Santos Express