Chelsea Café has relocated and now welcomes guests as Babette’s Bakery and Eatery at the Sprig Wellness Centre in Somerset West.
A familiar Somerset West café has entered a new chapter, with Chelsea Café relocating to the Sprig Wellness Centre and continuing its journey under the name Babette’s Bakery and Eatery.
The café now operates from 43 Panorama Drive inside the Sprig Wellness Centre, next to Rooha Pre-Primary and opposite De Hoop School, offering customers a fresh new setting while staying true to the food and philosophy that built its loyal following.
A Fresh Home for a Familiar Favourite
While many locals knew it as Chelsea Café, founder Fran van Tiddens explained that the business actually adopted the name Babette’s in 2020 following the COVID-19 pandemic. The café was renamed after her youngest daughter, Clara Babette, who, like Fran, lives with coeliac disease.
That personal connection continues to shape the menu today, with Babette’s placing a strong emphasis on wholesome, farm-to-table food and an extensive range of gluten-free options.
The move to the Sprig Wellness Centre marks the next step for the business, with the team saying the new space allows them to expand their gluten-free offering while continuing to cater for a wide variety of dietary requirements using local, preservative-free ingredients.
Bakery, Breakfast and Wholesome Meals
Babette’s combines an artisan bakery with an all-day café menu centred around fresh, homemade food.
The bakery offers an impressive selection of freshly baked treats, including flourless chocolate cake, New York baked cheesecake, carrot and ginger cake, butter scones, savoury muffins and homemade rusks. Customers can also pre-order whole cakes and a variety of gluten-free breads, including sourdough, nut and seed loaves and chocolate banana loaf.
Breakfast ranges from homemade granola with seasonal fruit and fynbos honey to Eggs Benedict, omelettes, breakfast burgers and avocado on toast, while the all-day menu includes open sandwiches, croissants, wraps, salads and homemade burgers.
For those looking for something more substantial, Babette’s also serves a selection of slow-cooked dishes, including Karoo lamb Rogan Josh, Cape Malay chicken curry, chana masala and traditional Karoo tripe.
A New Chapter
Every local café has a story, and for Babette’s Bakery and Eatery, this move marks the beginning of a new chapter. While the address may have changed, the heart of the business remains the same, giving Somerset West residents another welcoming spot to gather over good coffee, fresh baking and wholesome food.
