PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIAThe reason for the name is obvious if you’re on the south side of busy Chapel Street: the overhead parking signs list an area with 80, and an arrow that seems to point in the direction of this small dark cafe where the menu is written on a blackboard and is composed almost entirely of filled pide and rolled roti. The front section houses a bar where you place your order and pay, the rear offers tables and benches. The colours are dark, with black concrete floors and stripped brick walls. One wall at the back has coloured wooden panels, looking a bit like an early Mondrian.
The food is straightforward: a vegetarian pide comprises eggplant, capsicum, tomato, rocket and pesto; while a roti is filled with dhal, spiced yoghurt and tomato. There are good teas, reasonable coffee, and a range of fruit juices and up market soft drinks. No eggs for breakfast but you can get by with muesli or fruit salad. It’s not a place to bring someone you want to impress, but it is useful for hanging out for half an hour with a newspaper or magazine (it actually has quite a nice selection of reading material). It’s licensed but they weren’t serving any wine or beer when we were there last. Coffee-lovers should pick up beans from Cisco next door and cakes to go with it from nearby Pattersons.
Rita Erlich, September 2007
