Eating out is firstly about service. Nothing any restaurant has ever come up with beats home cooking, so when I sit down at a restaurant I believe I have every reason to expect a high standard of service. Either that or service that is so atrocious it gets talked about and becomes a selling point and something that sets the establishment apart from all the rest.

That’s the second thing I look for, originality. There are very few restaurants or coffee shops in Knysna where I cant sit down and order without even looking at the menu. They are all the same and they are mostly deadly dull.

Finally there is the question of the taste. What can you say about a kitchen which throws marmalade into their humus; other than try it. My first choice (in Knysna) has to be the Cafe Francois bistro at the Scarab Market just outside Sedgefield. That said with apologies to Cruise Cafe which I do enjoy and Zest which I haven’t got to yet. I cant see them maintaining their poise and good humour when faced with a boisterous six year old who is always accompanied by his younger brother.

When I stop to think of newspapers and coffee shops, it has to come down to Gabriella’s where I am quite happy to pay an extra six rand for the cheese, jam and marmalade that comes with ones croissant and along with everything else. She also does the best french toast I have yet managed to find. And this without a mention of the bacon that’s missing. The plate is large, its simple, looks good and tastes better.

For a takeaway there is grilled calamari from the Seafood Safari. It reminds me of the Fishmonger when it first started up, oddly enough,  in Joburg. I enjoy the buzz one finds in what is an interesting “foodie” shop.