A little village in the big city

A young professional enjoys his lunch in the sun. He takes a bite of his chicken-sandwich, flicks through a newspaper and chills. The noise of traffic and police-sirens in the far distance fill up the silence, but he doesn’t seem to hear it. He’s at Dunkley Square now, a little village in a metropolis.

Dunkley Square is a hidden spot in Cape Town, tucked in between the Company’s Gardens and Table Mountain. Apart for a few restaurants and a guesthouse, there’s not a lot happening here. But at the same time, that’s really its charm.

“The magic of this place is that not a lot of people know about”, Cindy Beetge says. Together with her brother Clint she’s owns Dunkley’s, a small lunch café with a terrace. Its been in existence for about four years, and business’s going great, according to Cindy. “Since we’ve been here, our business quadrupled. I know more and more people are getting to know our place, but I think Dunkley Square could still use some more exposure; otherwise it might get quiet here. And that’s not good for business either!” There used to be another restaurant opposite of Dunkley’s, but they closed down a while ago.

Other places to go at Dunkley Square are the Roxy Bar (only opens at five), Maria (a Greek restaurant that has been around for almost thirty years) and, just up the road, French restaurant Aubergines. Opposite of Dunkley’s is iKhaya Guest Lodge. Cindy: “Most of the people that come to our place are locals, everybody knows each other here, just like in a village, but thanks to iKhaya we get our share of tourists as well.”

Cindy: “I know this sounds funny, ‘cause I work here and all, but I can’t get sick of this place. Even after I worked a long day, I can just sit here and not want to leave. That’s the cool thing of Dunkley Square; you are in the centre of a very big city, but it doesn’t feel like that. It feels serene.”

If you walk from the city bowl, you’ll have to cross the Company’s Gardens in order to get to Dunkley Square. A nice walk you won’t regret, especially in summer where it hardly ever rains and the flowers show their beautiful colours.

Everybody who’s ever been to the south of Europe will surely get a déjà vu once you’ve walked around Dunkley Square. The place is surrounded by lovely trees and beautiful yellow buildings. “I reckon it’s just as quiet as some southern European villages as well”, Cindy says. “You don’t get the stress from the city here, that’s what people love about this place.”

Although the parking lots on the square come in handy if you’re just passing by, it does spoil some of the beauty of it. Constantly looking at cars parking in and out can’t be anyone’s hobby, now can it?

Dunkley Square used to be a field, and the houses around the field were occupied by the army. Cindy: “The block our pub is in, used to be for the lower ranked army men, and if you look at the other side: that’s where the generals and all slept. The stables were where the guesthouse now is.” Dunkley is apparently to name of one of the soldiers here, but Cindy’s not too sure about the history. “I also heard that this block used to be a Red Light District, so I really have to go to the library once to check it all out, there’s more people asking me about this stuff I don’t know half of it.”