Atlantic seaboaders have two new locals - Sérénté Lifestyle Rituals in Beach Road, Mouille Point and Coco Latté, in Main Road, Sea Point.

With a view over the lawns to the sea, Sérénté is as good a place as any to ensconce one’s self while watching the beautiful people. On the morning that I was there, there were as many pretties propped up on the supa-chic Haldane Martin Weightless Chairs sipping freshly pulped juices and munching equally weightless nibbles.

The Warm Butter Croissant with Condiments (R24) was beautifully presented on a square blue-glass plate with a curved knife that is nicer to look at than to hold. Butter didn’t arrive with the dish and when I asked for some, I felt like a pimply youth asking for rubbers in 1982 – dangerously subversive.

I opted for Beetroot and Ginger juice (R14) which was freshly made and fabulous although I was alarmed the next day when I feared internal bleeding.

The croissant was delicious but lashings of butter were required to counteract the abstemious environment. Although they have cakes on the menu, Daily Cake (R19) and a Gilded Flourless Chocolate and Almond Torte (R28) looks enticing but I can’t imagine people daring to order them in a place that even smells weightless. The rest of the menu looks healthy too - good salads from R35, warm tofu served with greens and a dill cucumber glaze R48, lightly smoked chicken, basil pesto and rocket on rye R39 all look like good options.

The croissant was served with grated cheddar cheese and Hillcrest jams. I think they would do better serving goats cheese or Halloumi with their croissant rather than cheddar. That dish could be as exotic as other menu items with a dash of imagination but instead it was as pedestrian as the passersby.

Nibbling at Sérénté is a sensual experience in a beautiful space with a great view. Even I felt weightless and, before long, found myself wafting out with the lightness of a scented candle.

Coco Latté, inspired by Coco Chanel, is a bijou coffee house that has added a long-overdue lift to Sea Point’s tawdry Main Road. The mind marvels at how they fit so much style into a tiny spot that feels cosy but never cramped.

A New York Times reviewer likened the taste of a dish to the feeling of a warm bath – I mention this because I feel like a cold shower every time I leave Coco Latté. Owner Tristan, whose previous life as a personal trainer is still patently evident, is a wonderful host. Friendly and welcoming without being invasive and just enough muscle power to keep marauding lovers away from interrupting one’s cappuccino. Run of the mill cakes (R20) and sometimes great but mostly adequate LaVatza coffee (R8) are some of the tidbits to entice while the English (R32,00) and Continental Breakfasts (R28) are as you would find anywhere. But like Sérénté, it comes down to the look and feel of the venue. I, for one, would rather have adequate food in a stunning place than the other way around.

The bathrooms are especially impressive with my favourite Molton Brown hand soap catapulting their taste in toiletries to a level on par with The Grace and Club Class on British Airways. An outside deck puts one in tight proximity with some of Main Road’s less salubrious characters and others one doesn’t want to meet like Joe Pollack from Bantry Bay.

Sérénté Lifestyle Rituals, 87 Beach Road, Mouille Point. 021-434-2950
Coco Latté, Shop 4, 267 Main Road, Sea Point. 021-434-8017