Once a year the Overberg village of Napier holds a very unique festival. A festival that celebrates the humble sweet potato. Their annual “Patat Festival” is held just after harvest and involves a half marathon, a cycle race, classic car exhibitions, floats, stalls, art exhibitions and sackloads of potatoes. As I love potatoes as much as I love country towns, there was no way I was going to miss out this year.
What followed was a fun weekend with the cheerful and friendly Napierians who are really passionate about their town and the festival. We watched the floats come down the main road followed by vintage cars and tractors. We learnt how to make croissants, bought goat’s milk cheese after meeting the goats it comes from, drank beer at the Napier Brewery and even met Miss Napier. We also ate a lot! Napier has many places where one can find truly good home-made, fresh-from-the-countryside food. Here are some of the places we loved best.
The Red Windmill Nursery and Farmstall
This was our first stop for the weekend, chosen because it is located on a working sweet potato farm just 3km’s out of Napier. The Red Windmill is a charming Cape Dutch homestead, complete with a headless windmill. In addition to being a country padstal with an array of interesting produce (including the biggest pumpkin I have ever seen) and preserves, they have a nursery with mostly indigenous plants, a charming old world candy shop that will make the most hardened “I don’t eat sweets” person want to pop a gobstopper into their mouth and a vintage clothing section with some very intriguing hats.
Lunch is served daily through Dave’s Country Kitchen, with menus up on chalkboards so you can decide if you want to come back for dinner (on weekends only) after eating lunch. You may well want to as Dave’s food is superb and reasonably priced. I had a delicious ginger-infused Sweet Potato Soup (of course) served in a teacup, a novel idea which I am using at my next dinner party. Following that was the lamb Bunny Chow, which came in a mini home-made crusty loaf. It was as perfect in size as in taste. Other items on the menu include African Spring Rolls (vegetables with biltong), salmon fishcakes (also recommended), prego rolls (they had sold out due to popular demand), toasted sandwiches, curries, country platters, as well as cheesecakes, scones and Malva pudding. You may never leave until closing time! Parents will also be pleased to know that they have kiddies entertainment on offer too, in the form of treasure hunts, egg and spoon races, story records and colouring in books.
The nursery, vintage shop and restaurant are open on Wednesdays to Mondays until 4pm. The restaurant is open for dinner on Friday and Saturday evenings. Pop in for lunch, send the kids on a treasure hunt, buy an indigenous plant for your garden, grab some jars of jam and shove some sweets in your pocket for the journey. Phone 028-423 3576
Pascals Country Kitchen
A friend who joined me for the weekend used to live in Napier and she practically refused to start the day unless she’d had a cappuccino from Pascal’s. I don’t drink coffee, but she swears they make the best cappuccino in town. Judging by the amount of people in Pascals on any given morning, I think she may be right. They also do breakfast (friend also recommends those), lunch and dinner. We shared a slice of their cheesecake for afternoon tea and it is quite possibly the best cheesecake I have ever had. That’s if you can bring yourself to eat it, the presentation alone is a beauty to behold. All those berries! Quite frankly it’s decadently delicious. Not content with many cups of cappuccino and tea time treats, we went back on the Sunday for their legendary Sunday Roast. We chose the two course option and had sweet potato soup (again!) as the soup starter, which in light of it being the last day of the potato festival weekend was as perfect as the bowl of creamy potato soup that was placed in front of me. The roast that day was succulent roast pork with rice, potatoes and vegetables. Considering we had been piggies for the whole weekend and it was our last meal in Napier it all seemed quite fitting. We trotted out of there with our very own happily filled pork bellies.
Pascals is on the main street in Napier. You really can’t miss it with it’s bright yellow and red sign and rainbow umbrella. On the one side of the wall you will find a painted smug-looking cat. You’ll find a smug cat inside too, called Pascal. Funny that. Mark and Stephen are charming hosts and by the time you leave Napier you are more than likely to be firm friends. Give them a call on 028-423-3146, email [email protected], or visit their website at www.pascals.co.za. You won’t be disappointed, nor leave hungry.
The Suntouched Inn
I have been to the Suntouched Inn on a few occasions and apart from having an awful lot of fun in the bar and learning to play pool after too much tequila, I haven’t found a better pizza anywhere. I am not just saying this because I know the owners (which lucky for me, I do) but because it really is good pizza. It is so good that they are famous for it in the village. But don’t take my word for it, go try one and let me know if you disagree.
The Suntouched Inn has a bar that is a firm favourite with locals and those passing through. You can drink the famous Napier Bier, play pool, occasionally catch a local band and grab a bit to eat. There’s also a restaurant and if you have a little too much to drink or simply don’t want to leave, they have stylish accommodation too.
Contact them on 028 423 3131, email [email protected] or go to their website at www.suntouchedinn.co.za. Stop in at the inn – you may even find me there, eating pizza and drinking Napier Bier at the bar.
Napier Farmstall and Restaurant
If you like quaint farmstalls with interesting decor and the smell of freshly baked bread filling your nostrils, then pop into the Napier Farmstall. If you like pastries, I suggest you definitely make a stop. Their croissants are to die for and if you are extra-lucky you may get to meet the charming pastry chef at the Bonjour Patisserie behind the farmstall. With his rastafarian-French accent, Daniel Bourget is a Napier legend and was quick to tell me that he’s been in many magazines. Yes, he’s that good! That weekend we got to attend one of his pasty-making demonstrations and got to sample a little too many of his fine creations. You can also find Bonjour Patisserie delicacies if you visit the Biscuit Mill market in Cape Town on a Saturday. I have made a mental note to do just that.
We also sampled their chicken pies, again at the advisement of my friend. If you like pies, you will go back for more. In fact you probably will anyway. They are just like pies should be, filled to the brim with chicken encased in a flaky pastry. I actually want one now!
Other than yummy pastries and pies, they also serve breakfast and lunch. Many patrons were having breakfast out of a pan which I found fascinating. I have since found out that their “black pan breakfast” is legendary. Another mental note made to go back and try one! Besides, where else am I going to have breakfast whilst being serenaded by a violin player?
Join the locals, visitors and bikers at this Overberg landmark the next time you are in Napier, or even if you are simply driving through. They are open every day of the week. Give them a call on 028-423-3440. Have a chicken pie, or a croissant and say “Bonjour” to Monsier Bourget from me.
