Old Town Italy, an Italian Food Emporium in Durban

If you're a long time follower of my blog you'll know I love showcasing new Durban coffee shops that fit my criteria for awesomeness... and it has been a while since the last one! Enter the new and amazing Old Town Italy in Umhlanga. I popped in there for a visit yesterday after having already heard much hype about it, and I wasn't disappointed. On entering I was given the friendliest greeting by Ally, and immediately felt at ease. She introduced me to Kirsten, the GM, who very kindly took some time to sit with me and chat about this wonderful new space and concept, even though the place was busy and bustling at 10:30 AM.

“Old Town, the very word, evokes a sense of history and a portal back to a time when life itself was defined by a seemingly more romantic set of values.”

Old Town Italy is owned by the Fratelli group, of Remo's fame, possibly best known for their diet-crushing cronuts which are gladly also available at this new spot amongst a plethora of other delicious goodies. Old Town Italy is exactly that - kind of like a little old Italian town in one space. It's got a butchery, bakery, ice cream cart, all the cheeses, seasonal organic vegetables, groceries which are mostly authentic and imported from Italy, and of course a restaurant. All in one space! There's also a variety of seating options available from the bakery area, to the bar counter, to the diner style couches, tables and chairs, and outside seating as well.
I took like a bazillion pics to try and convey the full experience of the place, so click through to see them all ;)

Verve Café, Umhlanga

Verve Café is an awesome new coffee shop that opened recently in Umhlanga, and it has instantly become my favourite place north of the river. My judgement of a coffee shop is not usually based on just coffee, but on the location, the general vibe, decor, staff friendliness, and food/cake/coffee selection. They've done a fantastic job with the decor here, the most striking and defining factor of course being the very large art piece taking up a whole wall as you enter. The whole place has a comfortable, old feeling with lovely old furniture and items of interest all over. Those couches are just magnificent.

 

Verve is at 59 Meridian Drive in a little office park called Outlet Park (first shop on the left when you turn in). It's just down the road from Duke & Duchess, my other favourite Umhlanga spot. They're open Monday to Friday 7:30am to 4:00pm.

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The Durban Good Food & Wine Show 2014

I experienced the Good Food & Wine Show for the first time this year, so thought I'd share a taste of what it was like (haha, pun totally intended). It was at first pretty overwhelming - there were so many stalls and so much to see, lots of little demo areas all over with interesting people to watch, as well as the celebrity chef theatres which were at an extra fee. I tried to take lots of pics, but unfortunately they aren't the best as it was really busy and it's pretty difficult to get good pics in such a crowd without getting all up in people's faces. But I think it gives you a good idea of the general vibe...

Anthology, Durban

Anthology is the name of a lovely new store at Windermere Centre in Morningside, Durban. It's the creation of super talented Durban artist, Terry Angelos, and started off as a pop-up store. It now has its own permanent space and is looking great! Terry has a natural eye for decor and curation, and I love how the shop is relatively small yet holds so much in a way that's not cluttered, but rather has little areas of detailed interest that you can get lost in...