Situated in the peaceful town of Irene,which lies between Johannesburg and Pretoria, this iconic venue is well know to both the locals and the many visitors that frequent it.
My wife and I joined some friends there recently for breakfast and we only left shortly before lunch.Partly because we were enjoying ourselves and largely due to the almost total lack of service…on a previous occasion it had been blamed on “staff shortage”, but this time no excuse was offered. We waited 45 minutes for our food to arrive…totally unacceptable…
If there is any advice I can give, it is get there early as the Deck(which is where we had breakfast) fills up quickly.
We all started off with a ‘proper’ breakfast, toast and coffee.Sitting and catching up with a couple whose company we really enjoy meant that scones and pancakes seemed to magically appear before us…or perhaps we did order them.
But we are equal opportunity eaters and all of the above were shared and enjoyed by all four of us.
And they do not chase guests away as the longer you sit there the more of the menu you will want try.(and the view over the lawns is stunning.)
The main attraction is the fresh milk that the dairy produces.Visitors used to be able to watch the cows being milked though a glass window in the shop.This view has been replaced by large steel vats from which the milk is sold.For those,like me, who remember “those days” it is not quite the same.
The shop has a variety of home-made goodies to choose from and I can HIGHLY recommend the ginger biscuits that barely lasted the trip home.
For somewhere different to try on a week-end, The Irene dairy is hard to beat.
Just a warning though…the venue is cashless and only takes cards(as a security measure) So load up your trolley as you don’t want to waste card fees on just a cool-drink.
The Deck restaurant is open from 8am to 5pm, 365 days a year.
For more information visit: www.irenefarm.co.za
