Food Lover’s Eatery opens its doors in the heart of Braam’s Business Improvement District.
The Braamfontein branch of Food Lover’s Eatery, on Ameshoff Street, caters to the cosmopolitan audience Johannesburg has to offer.
The eatery, which doubles as a grocery store, is a one-stop destination with a variety of options, making it a convenient location for those on the move. In terms of their fresh daily meals they offer everything from a pasta bar, to a selection of Mexican dishes and poke bowls. The shop’s food court has a variety of market-like stalls, each of which has a unique design based on its country of origin. While waiting for their food, customers can also watch chefs cook and assemble their meal of choice in a matter of minutes.
As with other Food Lover’s stores, the Braam branch boasts a nuts and sweets selection to satisfy quick snack cravings. This snack bar is smaller than those in regular Food Lover’s Markets, but this being said, there is still plenty to choose from considering the small size of the eatery in comparison to the original grocery stores.
Freshly made sushi, displayed on a conveyor belt, unique to the Braamfontein eatery.
Photo: Gemma Gatticchi
One of the unique things about the Braamfontein Eatery is that it offers both ready-made sushi for those on the go, as well as a sit-down area where customers can pick from an assortment of sushi on a conveyor belt. Details like this cater to the medley of people with different schedules, who walk through the doors every day.
Sushi is not usually seen as a meal favoured by the student budget, but the Braam eatery offers a R50 deal for a 14 piece sushi combo, every Tuesday and Saturday.
Manager of the Braamfontein Food Lover’s Eatery, Mario Petim, told Wits Vuvuzela, “We saw potential in the high-density site. There was a need in the area for fast, healthy, affordable food.
“We are moving away from pre-made food, to food on demand, made fresh to order”.
Some of their most popular items include a ‘pap’arazzi station where they have introduced a new style of pressed pap in a container, filled with your selection of chicken, beef or boerewors with gravy. The pap is moulded to resemble a bowl and your choice of ingredients are added to the middle.
“We felt the need to introduce a great South African lunch time staple into the store,” said Petim.
The pressed pap dish, shown here with boerewors, is a new take on a classic South African favourite.
Photo: Gemma Gatticchi
I tried the new pap dish, which was a clear lunch time crowd favourite. I chose the pap with boerewors and gravy combination that ended up being an incredibly filling, sometimes messy, but delicious version of a traditional home-cooked meal. The gravy was rich and offered in just the right ratio to the pap. I would recommend this as a sit-down rather than a to-go meal, so as to prevent any leakage from the packaging.
My personal favourite was the poke bowl which offered a balanced lunchtime option of fresh ingredients of your choice. I chose a combination of quinoa, salmon, butternut, beans and avocado with a sriracha sauce. Their wide variety brought a medley of different flavours and textures to one bowl. In this way I felt like I got to taste a bit of everything.
In the future I would be interested in trying the different combinations they have to offer because it seems that the bar is designed in such a way that every choice complements the other.Rosebank College student, Palesa Ramalope who ordered a fish and chips dish told Wits Vuvuzela, “It’s very good, it has everything, and we (Ramalope and her friends) are always here. At this point I eat something different everyday”.
The Braamfontein eatery is distinct because, unlike other eateries, most, if not all the food is freshly made in front you. It gives customers peace of mind being able to see what goes into their meals and how they are prepared. There is also a ‘daily deal’ for every day of the week, along with easily over a thousand different meal combinations to cater to everyone’s lunchtime needs.
FEATURED IMAGE: The Braamfontein Food Lover’s Eatery has a selection of ‘stall-like’ stations to cater to a variety of dietary needs. Photo: Gemma Gatticchi
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