Nothing says “this is going to be completely delicious” like food that smells. Food brought out by a proud chef that gently teases the senses long before you’ve taken that first eager bite. At The Barn, Windhoek’s newest edition to the culinary scene, the bobotie and butternut smells amazing.
Interim chef, Cape Town’s Anton Bekker, sets it down and I take a moment to remember and appreciate how appetising the smell of a meal can be. Fresh, warm, splendid in its mix of spices.
A little more than three weeks old and operating from Acacia Street in Suiderhof, The Barn is everything you want in a stylish family restaurant. A play area behind sparkling floor-to-ceiling windows; plush, industrial yet cosy interiors; homemade fudge; sweets, pies and brotchens on display and a sprawling upstairs deck ready for destination and cocktail evenings.
I know that last bit is possible because on a Friday afternoon, I walk into the good news yelled at me by the owner.
“We have a liquor licence!”
Why she may think this is of particular interest to me is a mystery but a winning bet and I smile my congratulations before settling down at one of the tables.
Beside me is a digital nomad’s dream. Plug and USB cable points with free Wi-Fi available to patrons with no pesky minimum order.
As for the clientele, it’s a cross section of Windhoek society. An elderly Afrikaans couple sit down for lunch, two black women gab over some snacks, men and women meet for business, all sorts grab a takeaway from the glass display, two tykes sip strawberry milkshakes and I work from the restaurant like a true-blue millennial, plunging my fork into scrumptious layers of my beautifully plated bobotie.
On offer in addition to the counter grub is a daily special and a menu enticing travel. Croque Madames and crepes and berries with Chantilly cream, butter chicken, Cajun chicken breasts and corn dogs for the children amidst breakfast, burgers and vegan chickpea omelettes.
With service as pleasant as it comes and a note about happily attempting to accommodate dietary requirements, The Barn is your friendly neighbourhood eatery done right.
Head here to work, to meet and to eat. The food tastes better than it smells. And it smells pretty damn good.
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