There’s a new kid on the block in inner city Cape Town and this one is quite the over achiever — Cafe during the day, bar by night, and art gallery around the clock.

A Gallery You Can Eat At is Riebeek Street’s new restaurant-cum-art-gallery situated in Black Brick Cape Town — a new live-work-play residential development offering small studio apartments for sale and rent. With communal recreation areas, gyms and work spaces, Black Brick is working towards creating a sense of community in one’s living area. It’s a pioneering space where resources are freely available and shared among like-minded people.

A Gallery You Can Eat At is the food and beverage space for the hotel’s residents, but is also open to the public and thank goodness for that because it offers delicious food, incredible coffee and some pretty amazing cocktails.

The Food

With food that caters to both worker bees and holiday-makers, the cafe offers all day breakfasts, smoothie bowls and freshly pressed juices, but it’s their signature sandwiches that really steal the show. With names like The Holy Grail, Notorious B.I.G and A$AP Rocky, it’s evident where they’ve drawn inspiration from. A personal favourite has to be the Virgil Abloh, a sesame brioche bun with mozzarella, fresh tomato, basil and basil pesto mayo. It tastes like a caprese salad on the go.

The Booze

At night, the gallery transforms into a bar and event space. With a small stage and full sound system, there’s plenty of potential to have a roaring party. The bar, with it’s subtle art deco influence, offers a variety of interesting cocktails, including a personal favourite, the New York Sour, a whiskey sour with a dash of red wine (trust me, it’s delicious). You can also get a delicious pint from Jack Black and their wine list offers some local gems too, like the Blacksmith Bare Bones Cinsault or the Savage ‘thief in the night’ 2017 Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault Blend.

The Art

A Gallery You Can Eat At’s concept is centred around fostering a vibrant, creative space where local artists can exhibit their work. There is a general encouragement towards play and creative expression, with colouring pens and notebooks on the tables. Curator, Farai Engelbrecht, helped conceptually design the space and also exhibits many of his pieces there. His art ranges from bright and colourful to darker, more introspective work drawing on both street and cubist influence.

Built and designed in the constructivist style, the Gallery offers its visitors more than just a coffee, or a cocktail. It pulls you into the space, with its floor to ceiling walls of art, exposed surfaces and high ceilings, which allow plenty of space to contemplate on the existence of an inner city art gallery in Cape Town, post COVID. Unlike traditional art galleries, A Gallery You Can Eat At is a collaborative space, relying not only on the art, but the customers, the staff and the environment to make meaning and bring life to Cape Town’s inner city.

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