Tuesdays at Struik: the roti that was and the taco that wasn’t

Please note that since writing this article, Cafe Struik has closed down

I went in search of tacos… I found roti. Well, that’ll teach me not to leave restaurants on my “To-Eat List” for so long that they change their concept before I even make it along! Hipster hangout Café Struik has been hosting guest chefs on Tuesday evenings for a while… they made it to my list because I heard about “Taco Tuesdays” (and those of you who’ve been following for a while will know I’ve been in search of decent tacos for some time now) but when I arrived to meet the Honey Badger and his ex-colleagues, it became apparent that there wasn’t a single tortilla in the building – soft or fried.

Instead, we were met with a veritable smorgasbord of Surinamese food: there was chicken (or a vege option, if you preferred), sweet potatoes, beans, a spiky little cucumber salad… all atop a soft, lightly spiced roti bread – and all for about a tenner. You can’t say fairer than that for a Tuesday night.

Scrolling down Struik’s Facebook page while writing this post, I realize that this review is more or less useless, however. I see brunch, I see burgers, I see tagine, I see tortillas (yes, after all that, I even see tortillas again!). But nowhere do I see roti. I don’t know if it was a one-off, or whether the Surinamese chefs will be back. All I do know is that if the Tuesday I stopped in is anything to go by, it’s worth going back to try out some more of Struik’s guest chefs… Now, who’s up for checking out those tacos after all?