City Xpresso hits a perfect 10 for convenience and price

JAN CRONJE

TWO months ago new coffee shop chain Xpresso opened its first store in Durbanville where everything (yes everything) on the menu costs R10.

Earlier this month it opened a third branch in the Cape Town city centre on the corner of St George’s Mall and Shortmarket Street.

At 10.30am on a Tuesday morning the small store was busy, with customers popping in for R10 cappuccinos.

Although the menu makes clear everything costs R10, many still asked whether this across the board price was indeed true.

The menu is divided into six sections – coffees, cold drinks, teas, sandwiches, pastries and sweet treats.

I ordered a cappuccino and an apple Danish.

At R20 for both, it still cost less than a single cappuccino at swankier coffee shop. How was it? The cappuccino was perfectly fine. It was perhaps a little less creamy and smooth than one would buy at one of the many hipster joints down the street, but it still gives you that caffeine kick. The Danish was excellent. It was fresh and crunchy with loads of sweet apple.

Since I had spent only R20, I also ordered a freshly squeezed fruit juice and a chicken salad sandwich.

The juice was plain tasting, while the chicken mayonnaise sandwich – served on a small soft hotdog bun – tasted like what your mom would pack in your school lunch.

The service was fast and the staff friendly, but the biggest selling point, of course, was price.

At R40 for a breakfast of a cappuccino, an apple Danish, a fresh juice and a chicken sandwich, you can’t beat it.

And thought has gone into the set-up of the shop as well.

Everything is take-away, but you can sit down at a couple of tables and two small wooden counters. These have twoand three-pronged plug points for your electronic devices – but you’ll have to bring your own charger.

jan.cronje@inl.co.za