The number one thing to do if you are trying to get in for one of the epic Pierre Roelof dessert degustation evenings at Cafe Rosamond is: get there an hour and a half early. They’re that popular.
In around September 2010, a group of six friends and I mistakenly thought, we’ll just amble down there around 7.30pm, go in and get a big table and try some desserts out. WRONG. The cafe is small, the largest tables seat around 6 with some squashing, and if you aren’t lining up by around 6.15pm you are unlikely to get a seat at the first sitting (7pm). Demoralised, the group walked over to Brunswick Street and consoled ourselves with some okay churros at Chocolateria San Churro.
Undaunted, I tried again A FULL YEAR and a bit later, in around October 2011. This was pre-blog, but I was still impressed enough with what came out that I took photos of everything on my phone to show other people. (We also had the test tubes, which were a chocolate eclair flavour, but I didn’t take photos of those). The dessert degustation costs around $10 a course. I’d recommend going the full whack and just chalking it up to an expensive night out eating desserts – that being 3 dessert courses (you can skip the ‘tube’), for $40.
We got to Cafe Rosamond at 6.15pm and were second in line. While two people stayed in line to look longingly in the window, pressing their noses against the glass as the cafe staff sampled all of the desserts, no doubt to be able to explain them to customers – two went to the bottle shop and the other two went off for Nandos for all. Contentedly eating our peri peri chicken “main course” in line (with what I like to think were jealous looks from other patrons who hadn’t been that clever/organised), we were comfortable with the fact that we could now move on to spend four times that amount on dessert.
First up – you’re instructed to take one end of the test tube and slurp it up in one long … well, slurp. It was okay – tasted like a chocolate eclair in a tube, but somehow you’re left thinking, “well yes, but wouldn’t it be nicer just to eat a chocolate eclair?”
-
- Roelof Dessert 1 – Strawberry, pistachio, something something
-
- Roelof Dessert 2 – amaranth puffs, meringues, something, something
-
- Roelof Dessert 3 – peanut butter, passionfruit, something, something
The desserts, however, were amazeballs. This eating experience was full of the type of comments like, “I don’t know what I’m eating or how it all goes together but it just DOES,” and “I didn’t think I liked liquorice but now I do!”. Now you’ll have to bear with me because the desserts were deliciousand full of components that the waitress explained at the time – but the benefit of three months later staring at one’s iphone photos is that they have combined into a happy hazy memory of deliciousness and all I can do now is recommend the experience. Even Mr Behemoth, who is not a dessert eater, enjoyed himself immensely.
Fresh Bread 