Burgers and Dog

2Summers | 4 May 2012
johannesburg food restaurants pets

Jozi dogs have been finding their way in front of my camera lens lately.

Last weekend, in addition to photographing a friend’s dogs on the Melville Koppies, I also met a very special guard dog at a café in Northcliff.

Amiga, guard dog at the Indulgence Café.

I hate using clichés. But the Indulgence Café epitomizes the term “hidden gem”. It’s a quirky establishment in one of a long row of nondescript strip malls along Beyers Naude. (It’s actually one strip mall over from the famous Thunder Gun!)

The quirky patio at the Indulgence Café.

I’m not sure how best to describe the Indulgence Café, and I didn’t spend enough time there to do it full justice in a blog post. My friend Nina and I just stumbled in on a Saturday afternoon looking for lunch. I was there long enough to learn that Indulgence is a gourmet restaurant, a bakery, a catering company, a lounge, a bookstore, and a venue for writers’ talks and other literary events. (Considering the subject of my previous post, I’m ashamed that I didn’t find out if the Indulgence Café has free wireless internet or not. But there’s a good chance it does.)

I can tell you two things for sure about the Indulgence Café:

  1. Indulgence Café serves a mean burger.

Burger topped with avo and thick Danish feta, served on a bagel with a side of fried potatoes on a stick. I believe this meal cost R65 ($8.40).

  1. Indulgence Café has the most fabulous, gentle guard dog in Johannesburg.

Amiga.

Amiga is a boerboel, a mastiff breed created by South African farmers (boers) to protect their homesteads. Funny that such a uniquely South African dog has a Spanish name. Somehow it suits her.

Mandi, Amiga’s owner and the proprietress of the Indulgence Café, said Amiga is normally camera-shy. For some reason she tolerated mine. I’m glad she did.

Amiga enjoys one of the sofas at the Indulgence Café.

Life imitates art.

I’ll definitely be back to the Indulgence Café, for the burgers and for the dog.

The Indulgence Café is located at 225 Beyers Naude Drive, Northcliff. It also goes by the name Lollipops Catering. You can subscribe to a newsletter about the café’s events by emailing [email protected].