This post, featuring Bertrand in Maboneng, is the fifth in an occasional series about my favorite new coffeeshops in Joburg.
Yesterday morning I was hurrying down Fox Street in Maboneng. I was in a rush but needed coffee and food. In the corner of my eye, I glimpsed wooden tables on the pavement that I hadn’t seen before. I looked up and there was Bertrand.
I’d seen a few pictures of Bertrand on social media but hadn’t yet discovered its whereabouts. Here it was.
The waitress tried to show me around but I only had ten minutes and sustenance was paramount. Hardly glancing at the menu, I ordered a croissant and a flat white in a take-away cup.
I sat down at a sunny table near the coffee bar, drummed my fingers for a moment, then grabbed my camera. Ten-minute time limit aside, I couldn’t leave this little wonderland without documenting it.
As I shot my pictures, a charming man in sneakers and sunglasses walked past.
“Good morning,” the man said in a charming French accent. “Have you tried our croissants?”
I told him I was about to. The charming man was Mel, co-owner of Bertrand. The other co-owner is Bertrand himself.
Mel, Bertrand’s charming co-owner.
The croissants, Mel told me, are shipped in straight from Paris. I bought two.
It killed me to walk away from this straight-out-of-Paris café with my coffee in a cardboard cup and my croissants in a styrofoam box. Bertrand is the kind of place that deserves to be savored, relaxing outside in the sun with a plate of eggs benedict or inside on one of those lovely couches with coffee and pain au chocolat.
Fortunately, the cardboard and styrofoam did not affect the taste of my breakfast in the least.
Ten minutes was enough time to know with certainty: Bertrand is one of my Favorite Jozi Coffeeshops.
Bertrand only opened a month ago and doesn’t seem to have a website or Facebook page yet. Follow them on Instagram. I didn’t have time to look at the menu, but Bertrand is a restaurant and bar as well as a coffeeshop. I’m guessing it’s all fantastic.
How have I never blogged about 44 Stanley Avenue, the coolest shopping and dining complex in Joburg, which is only five minutes from my house?
I guess it’s wrong to say I’ve never blogged about 44 Stanley; I’ve mentioned it countless times over the years (see here and here) when writing about specific restaurants or shops that are there. But I’ve never written a dedicated post about 44 Stanley as a destination and it’s about time I did – especially now, with the holidays upon us.
I’ve been dreadfully uninspired lately, struggling to think of anything I want to blog about despite having a long list of great ideas (many of which you, my readers, provided in September). I’m finding it hard to feel positive about life at the moment. But on Saturday Thorsten and I got the chance to visit Indwe Park, an indigenous garden and sculpture park in Braamfontein, and I knew I had my topic for today.
Given this week’s political nuclear bomb blast, it feels like a weird time to publish a light-hearted post about my recent (pre-election) jaunt through the United States. But I’m hoping you’ve have had enough of the U.S. election horror show – I know I have – and are ready (at least temporarily) for some wholesome American travel adventures. If so, please read on about my four-day visit to Maine, the northeastern-most state in the lower 48, with my sister, Susanna.
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It makes me smile, when I see it.