Cafe & Deli Natural
Add: Room 101, No. 2, Lane 99 Ronghua East Rd, near Shuicheng Rd 荣华西道99弄金马公寓2号101室，近水城南路
Tel: 6219 9115
Hours: [Sun-Thu] 11:30am-10:30pm [Fri-Sat] 11:30am-midnight
Price: [lunch] 55 RMB [desserts] 25~50 RMB [dinner] 120~180 RMB
Visited: Nov 2011
Discovered another cozy cafe in Gubei. Polished wooden tables, leather sofa, eclectic knickknacks, warm palettes of brown and cream. What they serve – light and healthy Japanese comfort dishes, and a decent cup of coffee.
There are several lunch sets at Cafe & Deli Natural, all priced at 55 RMB. LOCO MOCO Hamburger Plate (55 RMB) came with a burger patty, a scoop of white rice, an over easy egg, tomato soup, and potato salad. The sizable beef patty was nicely done, though not as amazing as those at Big Apple.
Chicken Nanban Set (55 RMB) came with marinated fried chicken in seasoned vinegar, tartar sauce, white rice, miso soup, and a side dish. Loved the tender and flavorful chicken, but unfortunately the white rice was slightly too soft for my liking.
Spaghetti in Tomato Sauce (55 RMB), which came with bread, butter, and tomato soup, was overcooked to the point of disintegrating at the fork. I’m not sure if this is a mistake or just the style at this cafe…?
All lunch sets include a drink. Hot coffee was an excellent choice.
I also tried a green tea latte (38 RMB), a rich, aromatic, and pricey little cup.
We decided to try Cafe & Deli Natural’s honey toast (32 RMB) to see how it compares to Organ‘s. The version here is a lot smaller and simpler: Criss-crossed incisions at the top, drizzled with caramel (where’s my butter?!) and topped with a scoop of ice-cream. Not too shabby, but not very memorable either. I’ll stick with the honey toasts at Organ.
The verdict: Cafe & Deli Natural is a nice place for a casual lunch or afternoon break if you happen to live in the area, but it’s not exactly a destination in itself.
