Eating, Shopping & Exploring Woodstock, Cape Town, South Africa

We spent a few hours this morning on Albert Road in the up and coming industrial neighborhood of Woodstock, one of Cape Town's oldest suburbs. The main attraction is the Old Biscuit Mill renovated in 2006 with eco-conscious flavor and housing stationery shops, antique artefacts, clothing, jewelry, art, ceramics and other collectibles.

On Saturdays at the Mill, the Neighbourgoods Market takes place, featuring organic farmer's market produce, flowers, herbs, cheese, bread, honey and fresh prepared gastronomic delights for every taste including designer beer and curries to butternut frittata, young coconuts, acai smoothies, fair trade coffees, parisian macarons and coal fired pizza.

Find a spot on one of the long communal benches and it's elbow to elbow creatives, raw foodies, organic hippies and  tourists listening in the annex to the sounds of the DJ spinning or the French pop tuned in to the speakers in the main hall.

Local fashion and accessories designers have their own shade covered area as part of the Neighbourgoods Market. Here you can find hand crafted footwear, one-of-kind applique t-shirts, the finery of bespoke BlueCollarWhiteCollar or kidswear in the Kindergoods Market area.

Named one of the city's improvement districts, companies are incentified to locate to the Woodstock area and add to its vibrant culture. We visited in 2008 and since, the area has really emerged.

Vintage Dutch modern furniture and pottery can be found in some of the older shops, while a newer boutique mall (a renovated 1927 hotel that used to be a brothel) called the Bromwell offers curated objects to covet or buy via computers located in each well-dressed room for a self-guided shopping experience. Superette, Bread Cafe and Boulangerie, What if the World gallery and Weekend Special are noticeable amongst the still-delapadated storefronts.

We ran out of time to visit the art galleries on Sir Lowry Rd (including Raw Vision Gallery, owned by our friend Mike Fisher) and await a return visit early next week.