Square Café, Windhoek – It’s all about the coffee!

Text and photographs Marita van Rooyen

“Our coffee is by far the most-ordered item on the menu,” says Geraldine Goosen, manager of Square Café in Windhoek. “It is definitely our main seller, and a popular accompaniment to all our meals. That said, the Namibian Breakfast is another well-liked choice, especially amongst our business regulars.” It’s the Illy brand that draws the eye, complemented of course by the red chairs and umbrellas that represent the café. But that’s not all there is to fulfil the cravings.

With a menu covering the hot and steamy drinks, cold drinks, alcoholic beverages, light meals, wraps, breakfasts, brötchens, toasted sandwiches, tramezzinis, paninis, salads, and, needless to say, the sweet temptations, there is something for every taste bud. The fact that there are always fresh flowers on the tables and not the faintest trace of any paper or trash lying around (Geraldine is fastidious over neatness) makes it a pleasure to sit back and smell the coffee.

A selection of chocolate, carrot and custard cakes are baked by Albertina Ouma Nanus and are displayed in such a way that you can’t leave your red chair without trying at least one slice. Also popular are the German sweet varieties of Berliner, Spritzkuchen, Käseplunder and Schweineohren, not to mention the all-time Afrikaans favourite, the koeksister.

With its 25 tables Square Café can seat about 100 people in total. There’s also a take-away section, Square2Go, which can seat even more hungry customers. If this is still not enough, the Square Coffee & Kitchen shop sells a variety of goods that relate to coffee and kitchens, from a selection of coffee machines, coffee beans, imported Italian chocolates, syrups, vinaigrettes and ‘Dippas’ (a block of chocolate on a stick to dip into a mug of hot chocolate), to cups, saucers, glasses and cutlery. As part of the Carl List Mall, the café finds itself in the midst of shops like Die Blumenecke, The New Bookcellar, a Casa de Cambio foreign-exchange facility, Namcrafts, Leder Chic, Katharina Karl Costumes and Adrian & Meyer Jewellers. It’s definitely a great place for window-shopping (or resting over-shopped legs) while sipping on a Dancing Cappuccino or Freddo Shakerao!

CHEF’S CHOICE 

A real Namibian brötchen (a roll, crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside) with smoked beef, mozzarella and gherkin serves as a perfect mid-morning snack. It’s best rounded off with a red cappuccino, complete with complimentary ‘honey stix’, for an added cinnamon and antioxidant kick. If being caffeine-conscious is not your thing, the ‘normal’ cappuccino is a great alternative.

Square Café is situated in the newly revamped Carl List Mall in Independence Avenue. The entrance to the mall is conveniently located across the road from the Windhoek Tourism Information Centre and the café spills over into a busy walkway, making it perfect for people-watching and as a mid-centre place to meet.

Open Mondays to Fridays from 7:00–17:00 and on Saturdays from 08:00–13:00. Closed on Sundays and public holidays. Tel 061 40 2078

As featured in the September 2011 Edition  of FLAMINGO Magazine.