Since the 7th of June 2020, when South African lockdown levels were lifted to level 3, and we were allowed to exercise further than the 5km radius from home, we started running every Sunday morning. What started as a way to socialise with friends, get out of the house and support small businesses soon became a Sunday tradition and the search for the best croissants in Joburg.
I’ve never considered myself much of a runner and struggled for many years to get to a 5km distance without serious hip flexor pain. It has taken a lot of cross-training and building of strength over the years to get to where I am today, which still feels a lot slower than most of the people I run with, but our Sundays are far more about chatting and catching up and less about running speed, so it’s all good.
Today we ran from Nice on 4th in Parkhurst. Our running route took us through Delta Park, which is looking beautiful and green at the moment. It was wonderful to see so many people out and about exercising in the park today.
If we start from the beginning, our very first croissant run was from Nice on 4th, Parkhurst, and today we have come full circle back to where it began. And well it’s a nice place, very nice.
Our first croissant from Nice in June 2020 was on the 4th Avenue Parkhurst pavement with take-away coffees as we weren’t allowed to sit and eat at restaurants. Today, we arrived post-run just after 9am and there were almost no tables available! Great to see restaurants busy again.
My standard post-Sunday run order is a cafe mocha (like a coffee + hot chocolate mix) and a croissant, although sometimes we mix this up a bit.
We were amazed by the croissant selection on the menu at Nice, a far greater range than our standard morning spots, however quite expensive. I went for the chocolate croissant with Nutella and strawberries (R72) which was delicious. When there’s Nutella on the menu I won’t say no.
So the overall rating for today’s Croissant run:
Mocha - 68%
Too milky and a bit bland for my liking, also pricy at R41Croissant - 85%
If this were a plain croissant I’d rate it very highly, however I’m not sold on a chocolate croissant being just a plain one with chocolate sauce drizzled on top. But, the chocolate, Nutella and strawberries combo was a great change and worth repeating.
Nice on 4th comes highly recommended from me. Friendly and efficient staff, tasty food, very quick food turnaround times and great interior decor. An added bonus, the restaurant is pet friendly and offers bowls of water to your dog if you request it. It’s just a pity the restaurant overlooks a busy and noisy road (as so many Joburg restaurants do).
