SINCE it opened in September 2017, The Yard At Silo has forged ahead with new offerings including Sunday brunch and (coming soon) high tea.
The gorgeously curated space includes the restaurant, Rosetta Roastery, and a shop with shelves filled with desirables from wine and deli items to homeware and clothing. It’s all the brainchild of retailer and hospitality visionary, Abigail Bisogno, and her business partner, restaurateur, GP Singh. Bisogno explains: “The inspiration for The Yard came from my wine farm background, and my creation of the Spice Route Destination in Paarl, together with my partner’s experience in the food industry over the last 15 years.”
Although the two come from vastly different cultures – Bisogno was raised in the Cape winelands and Singh hails from the Punjab in India – they share a combined love for fusion and collaboration, which they wanted to express in the formation of The Yard. This will be immediately apparent when you visit – visually and on the menu.
You can sit outside with a slice of a view of the harbour and fishing boats, or inside at a booth. We did both, taking our coffees outside into sunshine that has no right being so hot in April, before returning to our cool interior table to order bubbly and brunch.
The first thing I noticed is that there is no bacon on the menu. Brunch without bacon? How is it even possible? Because The Yard is halaal, that’s how. And the world did not end.
Served from 10am, options include croissants, Bircher muesli, omelettes, Benedicts (with twists like Maltaise sauce which is blood orange juice and hollandaise, and toppings like smoked turkey or biltong), bagels (try saffron chicken tikka for something very different), sweet and savoury (bobotie and fried egg anyone?) waffles, and the main attraction which sets this brunch apart from all others, the Indian fare. These include egg dish akuri, a vegan omelette (nope, no clue how that works either), pao keema (spiced bread with minced lamb and peas), and chicken biryani, among others.
My choice was the egg-white soufflé in which nested spinach, Brie and mushrooms, topped with sliced avocado. Sexy Deborah had dosa – fermented rice flour pancake – filled with chicken biryani. Vegan and wheat-free, the dosa is GP’s signature offering, and can also be ordered with keema-spiced lamb, palak paneer or dal makhani. We drank Graham Beck brut rosé and Fairview brut. Afterwards, we went back outside for dessert – a pretty fig-topped cake because the most must be made of their short season – and some live jazz. A bit of shopping rounded off the afternoon, as I left clutching a nice bottle of red from Fairview and a dragonfruit. As one does.
The Yard is open Mondays to Saturdays 7.30am till 10pm, Sundays 7.30am till 3pm. For more information or to book, call 021 879 1157, or click here.
