There was a time when Cape Town’s allure rested largely on its extraordinary setting. Her visitors flocking in to catch sight of Table Mountain, brave the Atlantic’s waves, settle beside the vineyards and indeed sample the finest vintages.
Over the last decade, the city has acquired another kind of distinction. Its cultural and hospitality scene has matured into something altogether more sophisticated. Worldly without being overworked, and polished without losing its irreverence. European sensibility mingles with African creativity, Cape Dutch heritage sits beside contemporary design, and centuries of trade, migration and exchange have left the city with a cosmopolitan character that is entirely its own.
To know Cape Town now is to know the places where its personality comes alive. The intimate wine bars, the brilliant restaurants, art-filled hotels, listening rooms, hidden speakeasies and elegant terraces where the evenings effortlessly unfold. It is this curious fusion of landscape, culture, taste and atmosphere that places Cape Town firmly among the world’s most compelling destinations.
Across the City Bowl, East City, Southern Suburbs and the Atlantic Seaboard, a new generation of rooms is marrying serious drinks with design, vinyl, views and a distinguished sense of place. These are the addresses worth knowing.
• ANTHM Cocktail bar – Loop Street Japanese precision meets Cape Town’s laidback looseness. Expect complex cocktails, vintage glassware, vinyl and an intimate listening-room mood.
• Talking To Strangers – Loop Street The slightly unruly neighbour to ANTHM, where inventive cocktails, and a touch of quirkiness make this one for those who prefer their sophistication with its collar undone.
• Cause Effect Cocktail Kitchen – V&A Waterfront A Cape Town institution that continues to earn its place, pairing inventive cocktails with local culinary history, sustainability and an impressive appreciation for vintage spirits.
• Art of Duplicity – East City For those who like their evening with a little theatre. Passwords, Victorian warehouse glamour and meticulously executed cocktails give this speakeasy an appropriately conspiratorial air.
• The Gin Bar – City Bowl Hidden behind a chocolate shop and all the better for it, this atmospheric little den remains a classic for gin lovers and nocturnal romantics alike.
• Culture Wine Bar – Newlands The newest Culture brings the conviviality of a European neighbourhood wine bar to the Southern Suburbs.
• Tannin on Bree – City Bowl Three storeys, heritage architecture and more than 300 South African labels. Tannin is a love letter to the Cape’s vinous intelligence, best approached with all the curiosity in the world of wine.
• Publik Wine Bar – Tamboerskloof Dark, intimate and refreshingly unpretentious, Publik champions new-wave South African wines, small producers and a smorgasbord of treats to accompany every tasting.
• Leo’s Wine Bar – Bree Street A bijou wine bar with serious bottle credentials and a distinctly social spirit. Recent events pairing curated wines with DJs suggest Leo’s understands that wine culture in the Cape doesn’t whisper.
• Labotessa’s Café & Terrace – Church Square We have to include our very own Café & Terrace that brings hotel elegance into the modern Cape Town vernacular. Its spaces are particularly appealing when the occasion calls for good design, considered cocktails and a little glamour before an evening at the concert halls. Or a little pre-dinner sip on the square.
Labotessa…A Marvel in the Mother City
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