The Backyard Café — Restaurant in Heathfield

Saw the beautiful pictures on maps so we thought we'd stop off for a quick bite as we had about an hour and a half to kill before our next appointment and we love discovering new little spots around Cape Town. So much effort had clearly been put into making the place nice with all the plants and the trickling fountain but then we sat nearly 20 mins before our drink orders were taken and another 25 mins to recieve a cup of coffee, a slice of carrot cake and a smoothie (we were 2), I had also ordered French toast with our drinks, which took another hour to arrive. We had to call our waitress over several times to check on the progress in the kitchen because we were now actually running late.. in the end the kitchen staff came running out with the food which we sadly had to just chuck in a take away box as we quickly paid the bill and rushed off.

One waitress on duty in a fully packed restaurant, 1 hr 45mins to get a coffee, a slice of carrot cake, a smoothie and two pieces of overpriced bread dipped in egg which turned out was burnt at the bottom and a few mushrooms. It made for a pretty disappointing experience in the end.

I understand that there is usually a delay when a restaurant is packed but I actually felt so bad for the waitress, who was very sweet and clearly under a lot of pressure, just trying her best. Had I known before I ordered that she was working alone I wouldn't have even bothered and we would actually have just left and gone to eat somewhere else. A pity because it's a very nice...

Update Soooooo I've sneakily returned, incognito and it was for a quiche too......much better. Totally yummy. Juicy and simply delish! Just the way I know Backyard Cafe to be. When I had my previous issue, the owner got in touch with me in a very friendly yet professional way. I appreciated that. I'm very happy that there are ongoing developments too. So now whether it's Brekkie or lunch or anything in between.......it's good, really good! It's not really a good place for younstas to be, but it's very safe. Great for mommies with prams to catch up or even book clubs who need a little peace and tranquility.....and to essentially be left alone to get on with thingies.....and have hot cuppas in the side, or a lovely cool glass of lemon water or two......

Service is and always has been awesome. These ladies do know what service is all about, even when you order a tricky coffee or meal....as my cousin does ❤️ Ambiance is so peaceful. It's definitely worth a try......like attending a Mad Hatters Tea Party under the trees without the...

The service was terrible and the food was dried out. Our waiter did not check up on us once after she had taken our order. We then waited for over an hour and half for a small quiche that arrived extremely dried out. We were told that they have no sauce for us to use and we can come back tomorrow for tomato sauce because they did not order today. When we asked for a takeaway (so we that we could take away some of the dryness and tomato sauce for the chips) we were told they don’t do takeaways but we can have a small piece of foil. They were taking care of one specific table and every other table there was complaining about how long the wait for their food was. I don’t think I’ve experienced worse service than at this place and they are very overpriced for what they offer. Would give this place zero stars if I could and would not recommend that you come here. I’m embarrassed to have taken my boyfriends mom out here on...