TRAVEL BACK IN TIME ! My wife and I go back a long way with Bassam the very courteous owner of this iconic cafe. I remember the very first time we came here for lunch about 10 years ago...everywhere I looked there were beautiful old furniture pieces, fun bric-a-brac, ornaments, Cafe Bassam signs, unusual water vessels, huge assortment of teas, even a grand piano. And classic music from a bygone era would waft throughout the high ceilings of the cafe which is situated on the ground level of a high rise apartment building. IT WAS LIKE A TIME WARP ! And of course we met Bassam the owner who impressed us with his kind words and attention to detail. YOU NEVER FORGET KINDNESS ! We have since been back many times for lunch, maybe just a latte or even a delicious milk shake once...always fabulous sandwiches, well made coffees and friendly service ! Quite often we did not get to see Bassam himself but his young female assistants looked after us very well. In fact the last time we had a chat with Bassam was 4 years ago ( almost to the day ) when we brought our 3 year old grand daughter here for lunch before heading to Balboa Park nearby. Baasam gave our little one a chocolate kiss in a pretty box. That put a smile on her face ! On Saturday at the very top of our to do list was HAVE LUNCH AT CAFE BASSAM ! After parking our wheels in a metered parking spot around the corner at 12.30pm we walked inside...not much had changed....the grand piano was still in the front corner. And then I spotted Bassam sitting at a small table doing some paper work. Wearing a facial mask I walked over and said hi...and immediately a huge smile appeared on Bassam's face, he stood up and we shook hands like old friends...a very touching moment for me. My wife was just as warmly greeted by the wonderful gentleman. We had a lovely conversation with Bassam and then we ordered our lunch. It was a very hot day so Iced Lattes were first up followed by a TURKEY MELT Panini ( to die for ), a SUN-DRIED TOMATO PANINI ( yummo ) and 4 of the sensational DATE COOKIES ( love 'em ). Lily, Abby & Michelle...the trio of young ladies behind the service counter took care of everything with consummate ease. In the meantime Bassam showed my wife his hat collection on stands and shelves at the side of the cafe and my wife found one she liked....a black Clint Eastwood style wide brim model. Bassam even said to me...your wife looks good in that hat ! We found a nice spot at a high counter top furniture piece with 2 very comfortable bar stools with backs. Bassam brought over an elegant bottle of Evian natural spring water with 2 glasses for us to enjoy. Soon after our tall Iced Lattes arrived courtesy of Abby and tasted truly revitalizing on such a hot day. WHOO HOO...and then Abby brought out our fabulous looking panini sandwiches with stacks of fresh fruit on the side. I got hungry just looking at them. We split our sandwiches in half and both tasted very well made full of fresh quality ingredients. We just loved the parmesan melted on the outside of the bread for that added zing ! The sides of fresh fruit were so fresh I could smell them....gotta love fresh fruit ! Good thing we put an hour and a half on the meter because we ain't finished yet. I had to try one of the Date Cookies which had a very delicate date flavor with a shortbread like exterior. I asked Lily to box the remaining 3 for home. We thanked the 3 lovely girls behind the counter and Bassam who said...come back soon !