Ah, Ile de Pain. Perhaps one of the most famous attractions in Knysna, we couldn’t spend time in the town without visiting here at least once. We came under the ruse of ‘breakfast’ – but in all honesty, it was a feast of pastries.
After ordering buckets of lattes, and the most delicious hot chocolate I have ever had – ask for the grand cru – it comes in a terracotta pot and is made with melted chocolate buttons, we had ‘real food’.
I had the max deluxe – a toasted ham and cheese sandwich, topped with toasted tomatoes, mushroom sauce and a poached egg. A solid start to the day if ever there was one.
After our ‘grown up’ breakfast was done, it was time to dive head first into pastries. Chocolate croissants, almond croissants and pasteis de nata came quickly to our table – with light, flaky pastry, the perfect balance of bitter sweet chocolate and the smoothest custard, everything we ordered was perfect – and, reasonably priced. For a place this well-know (and, considering its location) they could charge almost anything they wanted – but, their prices are decidedly average – even when compared to Cape Town.
After reaching the I-can’t-eat-any-more stage, I ordered some pastries to go – walnut daquoise, opera slice and another pasteis de nata – all safely to Cape Town in my hand luggage. Thank you, Ile de Pain for allowing me to leave Knysna on a delightfully sweet note.
All images are my own. Our meal was paid for in full.
What do you think?