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Cape Town Nightlife
There are essentially five nightlife precincts in Cape Town: 1) Victoria Road in Camps Bay, aka the ‘sunset strip’, with tables on the pavement or on raised platforms – all the better to toast the setting sun; 2) Long Street, an increasingly grungy area attracting a young African crowd, and where most of the backpackers are located; 3) Bree Street (running parallel with Long Street so it’s fairly easy to explore both on the same night) where you’ll find the densest concentration of hip bars and cool casual eateries; 4) upper Kloof (an extension of Long Street) and parts of Kloof Nek; and 5) the somewhat diminishing options for LGBTQ+ revellers in Waterkant and Green Point. Take a stroll around any of them and make your selection.
The Stack
Located in Leinster Hall, a pretty double-storey with Victorian fretwork set right back from the street. There is a large terrace shaded by mature trees, an oasis of calm for grown ups seeking respite from bustling Kloof Street, but the glam emerald-green bar is where you want to be – grab a pink upholstered seat, and watch the mixologists shake their stuff. There isn’t an extensive cocktail menu but it is very, very good – if you’re stumped, order the Smoked Negroni (gin, Vermouth and Aperol over cinnamon and apple smoke) or Kiwi Sour. The brasserie is also excellent, so there’s no reason not to stay on and order dinner.
Contact: 00 27 21 286 0187, thestack.co.za
Opening: Mon-Sat, 8am-11pm
Orphanage Cocktail Emporium
Bowler-wearing bartenders are centre stage in this tiny city-centre bar-club, located on trendy Bree Street and named after the orphanage once housed in the church around the corner. These friendly chaps make the wittiest cocktails: ‘Knicker Dropper’ adds raspberry jam, fresh lemon, egg white and sugar to whiskey; ‘Childcatcher’ is a sweet melange of gin, elderflower, grapefruit and blackberry; ‘More tea vicar?’ is a vanilla-infused vodka, rooibos syrup and cranberry juice cocktail, served in a floral china tea cup. The vibe is laid-back; on weekend nights DJs amp it up with deep house.
Contact: 00 27 21 4242004; orphanageclub.co.za
Opening: Mon-Sat, 4pm-2am
Planet Bar
Located in the venerable Belmond Mount Nelson Hotel, this small, elegant bar opens onto a fern-fringed glass-enclosed veranda, with more doors opening onto an outside terrace overlooking the gardens and pretty fountain. With great staff and good nibbles, this is a much beloved after-work gathering place for Capetonians old enough to pay a bit more for the perfectly mixed tipple. The cocktails aren’t particularly innovative but there are plenty of them, and there’s a good wine list too. It’s very close to the city centre (across the road from the Company’s Garden), with another entrance off Kloof Street.
Contact: 00 27 21 483 1000, belmond.com
Opening times: Bar, 12pm-12am; Restaurant, 6.30pm-10.30pm
Alexander Bar, Café & Theatre
This quirky bar attracts an interesting crowd, often here for the theatre shows which are short (about an hour) and for the most part fabulous; owner-playwright Nicholas Spagnoletti is a great writer and has an eye for talent too (check the programme online). Enjoy a pre-theatre drink at the cosy tables; there are plenty of nearby restaurants but serviceable meals are also served here. A neat touch are the dial-up vintage telephone on every table – place your drinks order by dialing 9; then place a flirtious call through to table number two. Or maybe table number six?
Contact: 00 27 21 300 1088; alexanderbar.co.za
Opening times: Mon-Sat, 11am-1am; Sun, 3pm-12am
Asoka
The unprepossessing exterior of a residential house hides this intimate candle-lit courtyard around a fairy-lit olive tree. It’s a great lounge-bar in which to have a pre- or post-dinner drink (or drink all night and line the stomach with Asian-style tapas). Expect a schmoozy place attracting a slightly older crowd, where the music played by respected in-house DJs is usually lounge-model deep house with occassional electronic evenings. If you want to vet the music before entering, listen to their soundcloud profile.
Contact: 0027 21 422 0909; asoka.za.com
Opening times: Daily, 5pm-2am
Yours Truly and Up Yours
There are now four branches of this popular bar, all in the centre city and easily identified by the preponderance of hanging potplants in each venue, but Kloof Street is still the biggest and best. Early Friday evening, the upstairs balcony, dubbed Up Yours, is the place to watch hip, young, creative Capetonians of all persuasions at play. A DJ keeps the atmosphere upbeat and the cool crowd moving their heads but it’s a bar not a dance floor, with a cheap drinks menu (G&T is just about the only cocktail) pulling in students and backpackers. Great peoplewatching. There’s no reservations so get there early over weekends.
Contact: 00 27 426 2587; yourstrulycafe.co.za
Opening times: 6am-11pm, (Up Yours: Mon-Fri, 4pm-10pm; Sat-Sun, 3pm-10pm)
The Piano Bar
In the middle of De Waterkant’s social hub, this cosy New York-styled jazz and cocktail club offers live music every night, ranging from jazz and blues to classical piano and indie pop. Solo artists make for a relaxed feel from Sunday to Thursday with bigger bands picking up the tempo Fridays and Saturdays. There’s also great tapas and creative cocktails on their wraparound veranda with views of De Waterkant stretching all the way to the bay. It’s happy hour every day (4pm to 6pm) and there are almost daily specials; check out their website for more details.
Contact: 00 27 418 1096; thepianobar.co.za
Opening times: Daily, 12.30am-late
Tjing Tjing
Located in a 181-year-old heritage building on Longmarket Street in the Cape Town city centre, Japanese-themed Tjing Tjing bills itself as a rooftop bar but it’s really a pretty renovated attic space that opens onto a small outside terrace, with three other floors to explore too. The curved timber beam ceiling structure creates a cosy atmosphere, the red lacquer bar counter and cupboard add a classy touch and the cocktails are pretty good – try the signature lychee martini. Great tunes – new indie and electronica – attracts a cool local post-work clientele and tourists staying in nearby hotels.
Contact: 00 27 21 422 4920/00 27 21 422 4374; tjingtjing.co.za
Opening times: Tues-Fri, 4pm-2am; Sat, 6.30pm-2am
The Power and The Glory
What started off as a kind of extension of owner Adam’s home is still one of the best places to spot the Cape Town hipster; The Power and The Glory is where creative types hang out and order good coffee, handcrafted beers and interesting shooters while watching the traffic crawl up towards Kloofnek. It has a good, simple breakfast menu and great sandwiches. At 5pm the tiny attached bar-room, called The Black Ram, opens up, to fit a few more of the regulars and newbies who drift in off the street. Trendy but unpretentious and very welcoming.
Contact: 00 27 21 422 2108; see Facebook page
Opening times: Mon-Sat, 8am-10pm; The Black Ram, 5pm till late
Fiction DJ Bar & Lounge
If you want to dance, Fiction pulls in cool international DJs and has a broad variety of events (including the only regular drum and bass night in the city) hosted on a pumping, thumping postage-stamp dance floor, and a balcony (replete with foosball table) overlooking Long Street. Tuesdays see a slightly older crowd with a ‘top of the pops and golden oldies’ type evening. It’s tiny though – if too crowded, head over to nearby Reset (71 Loop Street) where guest DJs play a mix of soulful house, tech house, dub and disco on two separate dance floors (it also has the best sound system in the city), or to Modular (34 Riebeek Street) for harder, more underground techno.
Contact: 00 27 21 424 5709; see Facebook page
Opening times: Tue-Sat, 10pm-4am
Chinchilla Rooftop Café and Bar
Chinchilla, the more informal option located on the rooftop directly above Bilboa, is the best place to watch the sunset. Picture a sexy well-dressed bo-ho café bar, with comfortable lounge areas for those who are only here for the cocktails and the view (which is, of course, fabulous), and a few dining tables in between. There’s also a small classic café menu that includes the usual suspects: beef carpaccio; rocket salad; prawn cocktail; grilled tuna nicoise; salmon en papillote; steak bearnaise; beef burger – familiar dishes, well executed.
Contact: 00 27 21 286 5075; chinchillarooftop.co.za
Opening times: Daily, 11am-11pm
Reservations: Advised for dinner in particular
Payment type: Cards accepted
Bascule
Hands down the best bar in the Waterfront, with yachts parked right outside, an intimate, elegant atmosphere, and the best selection of whiskies in the city – over 400 at last count. Cocktails aren’t too shabby either – try the signature ‘Figment of Thyme’: lemon, fig jam, fresh thyme and Campari topped with a Singleton 12-year-old, or ‘Spiced Apple Julep’ – blended with Maker’s Mark, spiced apple purée, fresh lime and mint. Fridays see live DJs, with the after work crowd spilling out onto the edge of the marina, with a great view of Table Mountain. Note it’s part of the Cape Grace, but feels completely separate from the hotel.
Contact: 00 27 21 410 7100; basculebar.com
Opening times: Daily, 10am till late
Grand Africa Café and Beach
Sit with your toes curled in the sand while sipping a cocktail and watching the ships chug in and out of the harbour. There’s nothing ‘grand’ about what is essentially a warehouse overlooking a manmade beach in Granger Bay (adjoining the Waterfront), but the atmosphere is amazing and the views are sublime. Since it’s been taken over by the Harbour House group, it’s been upgraded and extended (can now seat up to 1,000 people) – but that also means when it’s full, service is slow. There’s a good food menu (pizzas particularly), but it’s definitely more of a cocktail vibe; the wine list is also excellent.
Contact: 00 27 21 4250551; grandafrica.com
Opening times: Daily in the summer, 12pm-12am. Closed 28 June to 15 September 2017
