Charly’s Bakery, Roeland Street, Cape Town: Shop Review

Charly’s Bakery
20 Roeland Street
Cape Town | Map

Specialty: Muffins, cake and pastries, but mostly muffins and cake.
Tel: +27 (0) 21 461 5181
SA Blog recommends a look inside? Don’t miss it!

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Further Insight & Opinion
The east side of Cape Town, much neglected by tourists, holds many secrets – so many that I probably won’t get to them all during my tenure at SA Logue (but click here for another tip) – and this is one of the best: Charly’s Bakery.

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It’s on Roeland Street, which sweeps into the city from De Waal drive, abruptly ends at Parliament, and is decidedly off the radar for most tourists. But take my advice and undertake the modest hike to the city’s less-favored half: at the end, you’ll find the most decadent muffins, brownies, pastries and pies for 1000 kms in any direction.

Charly’s is a favorite for weddings, too; magical towers of chocolate, tapers, roses and frosting are miraculously constructed in its back rooms, fit for unveiling at the nuptials of a prince.

My standard order is a date-and-nut muffin (if you hanker for an American-sized muffin, this is your place) and a cup of coffee, which is strong and poured into a generously-sized styrofoam cup. On fighting days, I swap the muffin for a drippingly decadent brownie or mini-loaf of chocolate cake, and spend the next several hours on a dangerously illegal sugar high.

Without a doubt, Charly’s stampedes to the top of the “Best of Cape Town” list.