Closer

I have met lots of interesting people online, but it is especially great when you meet them face to face. One such meeting was Laura from the Veggiebuntch, a vegetarian site that I sometimes write reviews and recipes for. Fittingly we went for vegan.

To my knowledge there aren’t many vegan restaurants in Cape Town (Planet does a wonderful vegan fine dining tasting menu).  If there are good ones, I would love to hear about them because I find that vegan food can be really creative. That is when it is not overwhelmed by that earthy “food is solely for sustenance”- flavor combined with a dash of “meat eaters are murderers” all too common in vegan restaurants (served with the best intentions).  Not eating meat has been on my mind a lot these last few months, as friends, who have listened to me raving about the book Eating Animals by Jonathan Saffran-Foer, can attest.

Closer vegan restaurant

Back to the restaurant review. Closer is in Muizenberg on a quaint little side street called Palmer Rd. Muizenberg has a stunning white beach popular with surfers, but, sadly, it has the air of a dying seaside resort. Quaint is not a word that is often bandied about to there.  Closer is however quaint and quirky. It is a tiny little café /lunch spot with mismatched tables and chairs that seats about 20 people.

Burgers and sandwiches seem to be the main focus of the menu paired with some lovely smoothies and fruit juices. I had a thai veggie wrap that came with crisp potato wedges. The veggie wrap was tasty but not very Thai. Laura’s spicy bean burger was the winner. Moist and not in the least bit crumbly, quite a feat for an egg-free patty. We had vegan orange cupcakes for dessert. They were airy and moist, covered with some moreish orange icing.

Yum. It is a bit of a drive, but worth a visit if in the neighbourhood.

42 Palmer Road, Muizenberg

tel: 074 144‑0033

"Thai" veggie wrap

Veggie burger

Vegan cupcake

The only animal that featured on our visit to Closer

Tags: burgers, lunch, muizenberg, palmer road, vegan, vegetarian, wraps