Bonsai Bistro:
The Healthy Alternative Text Le Roux van Schalkwyk
Le Roux van Schalkwyk
Opening its doors in Windhoek earlier this year, Bonsai Bistro has quickly become known for its delicious coffee, warm service and health-conscious food.
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itting outside her shop on a windy morning, owner Elzaan Nel explains how her business came to life. It all started when she saw a gap in the market for delivering gourmet sandwiches to offices. Called Bread and Butter, the business grew so quickly that she soon realised that she needed a commercial kitchen to keep up with demand. Running a commercial kitchen she might as well have a coffee shop in front, Nel figured. This idea also resulted in a shift away from gourmet sandwiches only to creating meals for healthconscious customers. Bonsai has been embraced by everyone looking for healthy alternatives. An indication of the diverse clientele is the eclectic mix of clothing seen in the shop, ranging from suits to gym attire.
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Nel’s passion for healthy food stems from her lactose intolerance. Being a sucker for desserts she was forced to look into dairy-free recipes. She quickly realised, too, how difficult it is to find food on the go that does not contain butter, cheese or other dairy products. This inspired her to make healthy food without compromising on taste or flavour. Calling them guilt-free desserts, some of the treats you’ll find at Bonsai are gluten-free vegan cakes, raw tarts and health brownies that contain your daily almond intake. Treats so tasty that if you didn’t know they were healthy you wouldn’t be able to tell. Even the vegan ice cream and the vegan sugar-free ice cream is so delicious that it’s difficult to tell it apart from the normal variety you would buy at a store.
