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“What a find!! ”

Clarke's Bar and Dining Room
Ranked #118 of 1 175 Restaurants in Cape Town Central
Cuisines: American, Diner, Bar
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Restaurant details
Good for: Bar Scene
Dining options: After-hours, Breakfast
Description: Cape Town diner with juices, all day breakfasts, sandwiches, brunch, dinner and excellent cocktails.
Reviewed 14 June 2017 via mobile

Despite Clarke's being quite an institution in Cape Town I've somehow never eaten there until this week......to say I'm impressed is an understatement - more like bowled over. Excellent food; an appealing array of All Day Breakfast options; affordable prices; efficient service & friendly staff.....yes, Clarke's has it all......only open in the day time tho so go there for breakfast or lunch......

Date of visit: June 2017
Thank 756margueritew
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ClarkesCapeTown, Owner at Clarke's Bar and Dining Room, responded to this reviewResponded 5 July 2017

Hi there Marguerite! Very glad to hear that you had such a great experience, we'll be sure to let our team know and we hope to see you again soon! :)

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Reviews (321)
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126 - 130 of 321 reviews

Reviewed 3 June 2017 via mobile

A really quirky cool urban coffee bar with a fun menu and a full kylemore vibe, a menu of straightforward but imaginative and tasty. The restaurant is much bigger than it looks from the street so don't be put off if the street area looks busy. Cool patio at the back. Open on Saturday afternoon (mant places higher up in Bree street close 2pm). Nice reading rack too. Will be back for sure.
Lovely friendly waiters and a total discovery.

Date of visit: June 2017
Thank 688albertc
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ClarkesCapeTown, Owner at Clarke's Bar and Dining Room, responded to this reviewResponded 7 June 2017

Hey there Albert! Thanks so much for the great review :) It's super good to hear that you had a good time. See you soon! :)

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Reviewed 22 May 2017

This is such a cool spot and typical of the new wave Bree Street vibe. Terrific breakfast and, at last, a decent toasted sandwich. I didn't like the coffee, though so I'll give it a miss next time.
Their version of a Caesers salad must be avoided. Simply because it isn't one. Bland spinach leaves instead of cos lettuce; Tasteless watery dressing with no hint of anchovy; A poached egg somewhere, instead of a coddled egg. Forget it.
Stick with their sandwiches and you won't be sorry.

Date of visit: May 2017
    • Value
    • Service
    • Food
Thank DudleyFeebish
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ClarkesCapeTown, Owner at Clarke's Bar and Dining Room, responded to this reviewResponded 7 June 2017

Hi there! Thanks for the review and the great feedback. We've been made aware that our baristas coffee has not been up to standard as of late, and have already been sending them off for more training. As for the Caesar salad, that is also a point that we've been made aware of and will be working on. Glad to hear that you enjoyed the sandwiches though :)

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Reviewed 18 May 2017

Clarkes' is a Cape Tonians spot for sure, if you're a tourist looking for Michelin brekkie-thrills, then you'r setting yourself up to leave disappointed (you're fault really) but if you love fresh comfort food then this will likely become your go-to place. Great breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner + coffee & bar drinks.

Top spot.

Date of visit: February 2017
    • Value
    • Service
    • Food
Thank dlikesdoodles
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ClarkesCapeTown, Owner at Clarke's Bar and Dining Room, responded to this reviewResponded 24 May 2017

Hi there! Thanks so much for the great review, glad you enjoyed it! :)

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Reviewed 5 May 2017 via mobile

I visited on Cape Town First Thursdays, so admittedly they were busy. I ordered a Caesar salad, but just with lettuce. No mention this could be a problem. Thirty minutes later, a different waiter comes back, and yep, spinach instead of lettuce (it seems the salad had been lying there prepared yet forgotten for a while too, be that as it may). The new waiter argues the the menu says spinach (perhaps in tiny print) and that is that. But I'm like I asked and got confirmation it could be lettuce. They're like we won't take it back (it's literally just spinach with one large cruton and dressing). I don't like spinach so the salad is worthless. I go to pay... Yep they​ charged me for the uneaten salad, in addition to my drink.

I'm from the US, so our credit cards normally require signatures in a bill instead of inputting a PIN. On the receipt I only accepted partial liability for my drink... I will be able to dispute the rest of the transaction as consumer fraud.

As the other restaurants were very busy with First Thursday​, I basically lost a window to have dinner.

I realize the place was busy. But this is just unacceptable. Luckily I can dispute the transaction as consumer fraud, but people with chip and PIN cards wouldn't be as lucky. And this shouldn't even be necessary. I suppose I should have demanded to speak to a manager, but the damage was already done and I was in a hurry to leave. Much easier to dispute after the fact.

Strangely enough the receipt even had the section requesting a tip highlighted. Here's a tip... Even customers visiting from other countries have access to TripAdvisor. And running a credit card doesn't mean you've made money from your mistakes.

Date of visit: May 2017
Thank Chris B
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ClarkesCapeTown, Owner at Clarke's Bar and Dining Room, responded to this reviewResponded 7 June 2017

Hi there Chris. I'm sorry to hear about your experience, this is certainly not that way that our waitors have been taught to treat customers. I'm sure the madness of First Thursdays didn't make it any easier to resolve the issue either. Thanks for your feedback about the situation, it's good to be informed when things aren't going like they should and helps us to improve our service. I did bring this up with our team as an example of what should never happen here and we'll continue to work on being able to provide great food and great service. Thanks!

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