World City Guide

Nightlife

Cape Town is a party town, especially in summer, when tens of thousands of tourists (foreign and local) descend upon the city. But even during winter, the action never stops. The city has also become an international Mecca for DJs, running huge rave, trance and ambient parties – often held in stunning locations on beaches or in forests. The city is also firmly entrenched on the international rock music touring circuit.

Much of the nightlife activity is concentrated on a handful of popular city streets and suburbs. Long Street and Kloof Street in the city centre are alive with restaurants, live music clubs, bars, coffee shops and the occasional strip club. On the outskirts of the city centre, the De Waterkant/Green Point area has a string of gay and gay-friendly clubs and restaurants, while the V&A Waterfront is simply awash with nightlife hotspots popular with both tourists and locals. The Camps Bay beachfront brings LA-style outfits, trendy restaurants and some stunning sunsets to Cape Town. Heading towards the southern suburbs, Lower Main Road in the suburb of Observatory is another gay-friendly area and the territory of Cape Town’s students, offering up a more Bohemian and laid-back style of entertainment. This is the place for local alternative music, slightly seedy pool halls, philosophy, poetry, stand-up comedy and vegetarian food. On the N1 highway, north of the city centre, the Century City development combines a state-of-the-art amusement park with scores of restaurants, several sound stages and the Dockside multi-level club and live music venue. The seaside suburbs of Kalk Bay, Fish Hoek and Simon’s Town, although traditionally family orientated and ‘dry’, are becoming increasingly trendy for nightlife beyond the city limits – although this is largely centred upon restaurants.

There are no strict licensing hours in Cape Town and many clubs stay open until the small hours and even sunrise. The dress code is almost always as casual as you wish, although shorts and trainers are not appreciated in some venues and a ‘no effort no entry’ rule is sometimes enforced. Admission prices to clubs and raves range from R20 to R200 – many are free before 2300. The legal drinking age is 18 years, although some pubs demand a 21- or even 25-year age limit for entrance. Alcohol is extremely cheap for foreigners, at approximately R10 for a beer purchased in a bar.

The bi-monthly Cape Etc and monthly SA Citylife publications are excellent sources of information and listings for Cape Town’s nightlife. The Friday editions of the Cape Times and The Cape Argus newspapers, as well as the weekly Mail & Guardian, all have arts and entertainment sections. Information on Cape Town’s club scene is available online (website: www.clubbersguide.co.za).

Bars: In the city centre, the Long Street Caf, 259 Long Street, is one of the trendiest haunts in town, while Caf Bardeli, Longkloof Studios, Kloof Street, is where Cape Town’s media and modelling community strut their stuff and sip fantastic summer cocktails and a DJ entertains on Friday nights. The equally trendy Caf Camissa, 80 Kloof Street, features live music, stand-up comedy and poetry readings. A great pre-club treat for Captonians is a trip to Jo-burg, 218 Long Street, a contemporary bar brimming with urban chic.

The V&A Waterfront has dozens of bars and cafs, many with beautiful sea and mountain views. Mitchell’s Scottish Ale House & Brewery, East Pier Road, is a comfy pub serving home-brewed beer and British-style grub, while Paulaner Brahaus and Restaurant, Shop 18/19, Clock Tower Square, brings a staggering array of German beers to this trendy brewery-restaurant with beer garden. Situated on the water’s edge of the international yacht marina, the Bascule Whisky Bar and Wine Cellar, in the Cape Grace hotel, West Quay (overlooking the Alfred Basin), is an atmospheric, nautically themed hideaway, with over 400 whiskies on offer (the largest collection south of the equator).

Lower Main Road, in the arty district of Observatory, has Rolling Stones, a laid-back but crowded pool hall with a balcony, and Obz Caf, where the terminally hip serve up cocktails to beautiful bohemians. Despite facing east rather than the setting sun, the informal bar at the Brass Bell, Main Road, St James, has long been a favourite with tippling locals and refugees from the ‘dry’ Fish Hoek. The Kalk Bay area is exploding into nightlife and earning itself a bohemian and arty reputation with quirky venues.

One of the best venues in which to watch the sun go down is La Med, at the Glen Country Club, Victoria Road in Clifton. Bikinis are optional. Another trendy sundowner spot favoured by those who have had a trying day sunbathing on the fabulous beach below is the Clifton Beach House, 72 The Ridge, Fourth Beach, Clifton; Baraza and Eclipse Cape Town, both located in The Promenade, Camps Bay; or Sunset Beach Bar, 41 Victoria Road, Camps Bay. But for the best view in town, enjoy the sunset from Table Mountain Bistro (see Key Attractions).

Casinos: The finest casino in the Cape is undoubtedly the GrandWest Casino & Entertainment World, 1 Vanguard Drive, Goodwood (website: www.suninternational.co.za). This massive complex is a reconstruction of various historic Cape Town buildings and includes two hotels, an Olympic-sized ice rink, several restaurants, shops, cinema, children’s entertainment and, of course, the casino itself, complete with 1,750 slot machines paying out jackpots of up to two million Rand, 60 gaming tables, and a salon priv, as well as bars, lounges, restaurants, a nightclub and revue bar. The gambling areas are open for those over 18 years, dress is smart-casual in the gaming halls and a passport or ID is required.

Clubs: There are literally hundreds of clubs in Cape Town, varying from your average disco playing standard dance fare to deeply alternative clubs where bouncers assess dress, body piercings and language before deciding whether or not patrons make the grade. Persian plush, excellent cocktails and the coolest clientele are all trademarks of the inimitiable Fez, 38 Hout Street (website: www.fez.co.za), while Rythem Divine, 156 Long Street, goes crazy until the wee hours with house and garage beats. Rhodes House, 60 Queen Victoria Street (website: www.rhodeshouse.com), is packed with beautiful people, and The Purple Turtle, corner of Long Street and Short Market, offers a mixed bag of alternative music, theme nights and live music. Meanwhile 169 on Long, 169 Long Street, has smooth R&B, and the Buena Vista Social Club, 81 Main Road, Green Point, is full of funky Latino sights, sounds and tastes. African fusion is achieved at the trendy Dharma Club, 68 Kloof Street. The Jet Lounge, 74 Long Street, is a classic, comfy club with top DJs and a friendly crowd. More hardcore is The Shack, 41 De Villiers Street, District Six (Zonnebloem), with a goth-grunge atmosphere and clientele. Located in Cape Town’s ‘gay village’ of De Waterkant/Green Point, Bronx Action Bar, 35 Somerset Road; Rosies, 125a Waterkant Street; and Club 55, 22 Somerset Road, are Cape Town’s most popular gay clubs. Purgatory, 8b Dixon Street (website: www.purgatory.co.za), Green Point, a former theatre, is a new Art Deco-style clubbing venue. Chilli 'n Lime, 23 Somerset Road, combines garage, R&B, drum and base, progressive house and live bands with a designer fashion shop and photographic studio. The Dockside complex, Century City Boulevard, Century City, is the largest club in the southern hemisphere and hosts regular dance parties.

Comedy: Laughter is the best medicine and has helped South Africa over the apartheid years, both politically and emotionally. The Cape Comedy Collective Circuit provides the laughs at a variety of venues, including the Baxter Theatre Centre, Main Road, Rondebosch (website: www.baxter.co.za), which also hosts regular shows of South Africa’s finest comic talent, such as Pieter Dirk Uys. The ever-popular Theatresports, Cape Town’s longest running show, takes place every Tuesday and Thursday at the Artscape Theatre Centre, 1-10 DF Malan Street; tickets are available through Artscape Dial-A-Seat (tel: (021) 421 7695). A rowdy crowd and often quite silly comedy can be enjoyed at The Grouse, Main Road, Rondebosch, every Wednesday. On Broadway (website: www.onbroadway.co.za), 21 Somerset Road, Green Point, is an extremely popular dinner and cabaret venue.

Live Music: Live music fans would do well to check the local press and listings magazines for details of live music events, as many take place in obscure venues and on an irregular basis. A popular spot for hectic rock, goth noise, local stars and alternative sounds is Mercury, 43 De Villiers Street, District Six (Zonnebloem). Marco’s African Place, 15 Rose Lane, Bo-Kaap (website: www.marcosafricanplace.co.za), is one of the first of a growing number of authentic urban African venues and is a popular spot for Cape Town’s rich and famous, who come to enjoy the indigenous cuisine, stylish bar and nightly live music from the best of the local jazz bands. Mama Afrika, 178 Long Street, also provides great local food and live music in a rowdy atmosphere. The Drum Caf, 32 Glynn Street, Gardens (website: www.drumcafe.co.za), provides African sounds with interactive Djembe drumming. Cape Town excels at jazz and for regular live performances, The Green Dolphin, Shop 2a, Alfred Mall, at the V&A Waterfront (website: www.greendolpbin.co.za), is Cape Town’s premier jazz venue. Other swinging venues include Dizzy Jazz Caf, The Drive, Camps Bay; Hanover Street Nightclub, GrandWest Casino, Goodwood (website: www.suninternational.co.za) and Kennedy’s Cigar Bar, 251 Long Street (website: www.kennedys.co.za). For a good live-band line-up and studenty atmosphere, The Independent Armchair Theatre, 135 Lower Main Road, Observatory, is another good option for live local talent.

Big-name concerts featuring international artists are usually held at the Bellville Velodrome, Carl Cronj Drive, Bellville (tel: (021) 949 7450), or the Greenpoint Stadium, Fritz Sonnenberg Road, off the Western Boulevard (M6), Green Point (tel: (021) 434 4510). Local stars often shine at the Baxter Theatre Centre, Main Road, Rondebosch (website: www.baxter.co.za), and Dockside complex, Century City.