Olives & Plates is a cafe and catering company found in a quaint Cape-Dutch style house tucked away in a distant corner of the Wits University Braamfontein campus. Heading to a university campus for lunch might bring to mind images of baked beans on toast and R5 sandwiches, but Olives & Plates is not your average student hangout. Think of it as more the place that the mature residents of the campus, like the staff or alumni, might frequent. On a warm afternoon the sheltered courtyard is a relaxing place to sit under the shade of oak trees, surrounded by blooming rose bushes and imagine yourself to be in some other quieter town.

Aside from the unique, somewhat incongruous Cape-Dutch architecture, the other most eye-catching feature of Olives & Plates is the massive cake table that greets you at the entrance. On our last visit we counted more than 20 different cakes sheltered under giant glass bell jars. And these weren't just your average Victoria sponges. There were rocky road, black forest and red velvet gateauxs, a sumptuous soft cheesecake made with a layer of crunchy peanut butter brittle, a towering multi-layered vanilla chocolate mousse cake (highly recommended) and even homemade marshmallows and fudges to take home.

The bulging menu runs to several pages and may take you longer to choose from than it actually does to eat. There's everything from Greek souvlakia, pasta, schnitzels and gourmet burgers to Middle Eastern salads, steaks and classic pies topped with crispy filo pastry and a wide variety of vegetarian options.

All the dishes arrive beautifully presented and generously portioned, and it is only the more than reasonable prices (starting from R50 for a burger or salad), and perhaps the occasional bespectacled professor with their head buried in a pile of exam papers, that remind you that you're actually in the middle of a university campus.

If you are visiting the excellent Origins Centre which is also in the Wits University campus, Olives & Plates is a worthy spot for lunch afterwards, although bear in mind that the cafe is situated at least 10minutes walk away down the hill. The cafe is located closest to the Yale Road entrance of the campus near to Empire Road. Note that when you enter campus you will need to sign in and get a visitor's slip from the guard. Olives & Plates also has a casual canteen-style cafe in the Wits Art Museum.