Josephine’s Mill was bequeathed to the Cape Town Historical Society in 1975. At the time, the Mill was in a sad state of disrepair.  It took 13 years to complete the restoration project, but by 1988 the fine iron waterwheel was turning once again supplying the surrounding community with freshly milled, stone ground flour, just as it had done, for so many years before.  Today the Mill is a destination that honours a precious piece of Cape History.

There is, of course, more than one reason to meander down Boundary Road, where the Mill is situated: There is the historic Newland’s Brewery on the banks of the Liesbeek River where Pieter Visagie first brewed beer in 1658 and of course, Newlands Rugby Stadium, one of the oldest rugby stadiums in the world.

A new kid-on-the-block has just moved into Boundary Road and The Mill Museum; honouring the legacy of the Mill with their name: Josephine’s Cookhouse.

Owned and managed by an experienced team of restaurateurs, Josephine’s Cookhouse is warm and inviting, while being airy and spacious at the same time.  Open all day, Monday to Saturday, Josephine’s offers comfort food that is not pretentious, no frills and the only bells or whistles you may hear will come from the train passing nearby.

The breakfast menu is small and will change often; we both enjoyed our breakfast calzone with mushrooms and bacon (what is breakfast without bacon, after all?) for only R44 each.  The lunch/dinner menu offers a small selection of starters (priced from R37) with the cauliflower and cheese soufflé (R40) looking like the most interesting.  Mains are pizza (priced from R60), pasta (in starter and main portion sizes, priced from R41) and “Cookhouse Favourites” like grass-fed beef burger with hand cut chips and mayo priced at R72.

Josephine’s Cookhouse only opened this morning, 2nd June, but by the time we arrived at 11am they’d already served 10 tables! Service was fast, efficient and very friendly – always good to see all staff members working together to make a new venture a success.

We loved the look and feel of Josephine’s, the beautiful wooden tables and the wood burning pizza oven.  We’ll be there soon trying that soufflé and one of their pizza’s.  Hopefully Josephine’s Cookhouse will also become part of Newlands’ illustrious history just like the Mill, the Brewery and the Stadium.

http://www.josephinescookhouse.co.za/

021 – 686 1437

Monday – Saturday 9am to 10pm

ADDENDUM:

We visited Josephine’s Cookhouse for dinner tonight and I am happy to report that the Cauliflower and Cheese Soufflé was a piece of cheesy heaven.  The dried porcini, tomato and chilli pappardelle (R52 for starter portion/R78 for mains) was rich and creamy with a hint of a bite to cut through the richness.  The pizza (R85) and burger (R72) also both over-delivered on price.  The wine list is small, covers all the bases and is quite reasonable.  We decided on White Wine in stead of Red and had the delicious Hartenberg Chardonnay for R158.  The Red option from Rupert & Rothschild; their Classique (R188) caught our eye too, but there’s always “next time”.