“Oh, have you been to that new restaurant in Observatory?” SAID NOBODY FOR THE PAST 6 MONTHS!!! Well, thankfully, all that is about to change…
Address: 78 Lower Main Road, Observatory
Hours: 9am-7pm Mon-Sun
In an industry that has been brought crashing to its knees, it takes a true warrior to give Covid-19 the middle finger and open up a new eatery during a global pandemic! Thankfully that is what Dana Korstenbroek from The Conscious Kitchen has done by opening her second branch of the popular Kloof Street hangout, on Lower Main Road in Obs.
Some will call this decision madness and lunacy. I’m going to label it courageous and a sign of hope that we desperately need.
Aesthetically it’s very similar to the Kloof St branch. However, with an outside area out the back (which is still under development) it will allow for more customers. It will also be an excellent spot for the summer months ahead! Those that love the swinging chairs at the front of Kloof St also won’t be disappointed.
The menu has all of the tried and tested favourites including tofu scramble, smoothie bowls, pancakes, waffles and bagels, so there are plenty of choices to suit whatever foodie mood you’re in.
We both opted for the Vegan Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Charcoal Bagel, which was delicious. It always amazes me how you can create salmon out of carrots, but The Conscious Kitchen always get this right.
Don’t even bother to try talking me out of dessert, you’re just wasting your breath. Shame.
The Chocolate Brownie & Ice Cream grabbed my attention whilst Bae opted for the Raw Peanut Butter and Banana Cheesecake. Both left us happily stuffed.
You can sit in the front window, sit at a table, sit at the bar or sit out the back so if you bump into your ex from lockdown, then you can still easily avoid them.
Service is awesome.

I asked him for a few words:
“I have started to appreciate the vegan community since I started working at TCK. You can mostly find me lounging underneath one of the tables, keeping a close eye on the steady flow of customers, ensuring that the place is secure and safe at all times. Most customers are very friendly, and often compliment me on being cute. However, I like to think of myself more as a voracious lion. I am still in the process of figuring out how to get my paws on one of those peanut butter smoothies! Any tips are appreciated.”
We’re all getting used to the outside world again, and it’s places like this that make it worth stepping out of our home bubble and exploring our incredible food scene.

Oh how I loved this article — and besides the delectable food of course the Golden Retriever was the star of the show.
Thanks so much for this lovely story.
My family, friends and I will definitely visit the Conscious Kitchen.
We neem more places like this around the Western Cape and all over South Africa