#Gauteng52, Week 21: Breezeblock in Brixton

2Summers | 25 May 2017
johannesburg food coffee gauteng52 brixton

Welcome to Week 21 of my #Gauteng52 challenge, for which I will visit and blog about a new place in Gauteng Province every week for 52 straight weeks. This week I visit Breezeblock, a new café in Brixton.

I blog a lot about Joburg restaurants, and I must confess it’s not always as interesting as it used to be. When I first moved to Joburg I blogged about practically every restaurant I ate in. But these days I often go to a restaurant set to do a blog post, then leave an hour later thinking, eh…not exciting enough.

Breezeblock, the newest hangout in Brixton, is not one of those restaurants. I knew Breezeblock was blog-worthy the moment I walked through the door.

Table at Breezeblock in Brixton
A simple, beautiful table at Breezeblock.

Breezeblock, the Best New Thing in Brixton

First and foremost, Breezblock is in Brixton. Brixton (which is next door to my beloved Melville) is one of Joburg’s most interesting and underrated neighbourhoods, but up until recently there were few places in Brixton to hang out and have a meal. A couple of years ago the Roving Bantu Kitchen opened, and now we have Breezeblock – open every day for breakfast and lunch and serving excellent coffee. Breezeblock is a perfect place to work (there’s wifi), meet a friend for coffee, or have a meal. (Note there’s no liquor license yet, but you can BYOB.)

Breezeblock interior
In case you’re wondering what "breezeblock" means, those patterned cement blocks across the courtyard are breezeblocks.

Second, Breezeblock’s atmosphere is perfect: beautiful design, great light, eye-catching art, unpretentious vibe. The palette of green, yellow, gold and brown is both striking and soothing. The furniture is comfortable. The music is nice. The dishes are delightfully mismatched-yet-matching.

Hibiscus tea at Breezeblock in Brixton
A cup of pink hibiscus tea, which contrasts against the delicate gold cup and saucer, which matches the white tile and gold caulk of the table.
Justin Brett mural at Breezeblock
I love this mural by artist Justin Brett in the Breezeblock courtyard.
Breezeblock light
More lovely light.
Decor at Breezeblock
Quirky style. I only noticed later that the Asian pig-dragon statue on the desk is facing the wall – I guess someone didn’t like the statue staring at him/her and turned it around.
Wireless speaker at Breezeblock
Even the wireless speaker is perfect.

Third, Breezeblock serves delicious food. I’ve only eaten one meal there, but I loved what I had and I’ve heard nothing but praise for the rest of the food.

Salad from Breezeblock
Breezeblock’s "Earthy Hearty Salad", a warm salad with lentils, chickpeas, sun-dried tomatoes and feta, among other things. Restaurant salads often bore me but this one was fantastic.

Fourth, Breezeblock is the kind of place where one always bumps into friends.

Sifiso at Breezeblock in Brixton
Sifiso Ntuli, the Roving Bantu himself, materialized at just the right moment to photobomb my cappuccino shot.

Breezeblock only opened two months ago but I’m already late with my blog post. Breezeblock has already received a glowing review in the Sunday Times and a nice video feature on Between 10 and 5. There’s no need to repeat what others have already said, so I’ll leave my description at that. Get yourself over to Breezeblock before the rest of the world discovers it.

Breezeblock is at 29 Chiswick Street, Brixton.

Read all of my #Gauteng52 posts and check out the interactive #Gauteng52 map.