Cafe Felix at Riebeek Kasteel

My painting takes you to Cafe Felix, nestled in a house built in 1856 and named for a real life cat. I was instantly bowled over by the soothing music, the hand-carved chairs reminiscent of Vincent van Gogh and the oversized orange linen serviettes. Soft from washing, they invite you to sit down and inspect the blackboard menu of Mediterranean-like food.

Or wait, there is such a wonderful courtyard linked to the main dining room and dappled in sun-and-shadow from the enormous trees, where you can eat al-fresco. It is furnished in rusted-looking cast iron furniture and has tables laid in various printed cottons with the same large serviettes. I would recommend the chorizo salad made with pears and chilli-flavoured olive oil, but the menus change all the time, and new wonderful dishes will appear every few weeks. We are not leaving Cafe Felix, because I am on a mission of finding Felix, the stray cat who adopted the restaurant....so watch my next blog for that elusive cat!