Cape Town, South Africa
Night shapes: the bars and clubs redefining Cape Town after dark
The best bars and clubs in Cape Town
Cape Town after sunset is a city with a different pulse. The city’s edges get sharper, the basslines heavier and the drinks stronger. The same creativity that fuels Cape Town’s art and design scene spills into its nightlife, turning bars into playgrounds for mixologists and clubs into laboratories for music. It’s less about sticking to the familiar and more about chasing energy. Whether that’s a hidden speakeasy pouring innovative new infusions or a three-level club that only starts buzzing after midnight. After dark, Cape Town rewrites its own rules, giving you a city that feels raw, restless and alive.
Top photography courtesy of The Gin Bar
01
The Gin Bar
Hidden behind Honest Chocolate Café and set in an unassuming courtyard, The Gin Bar is known to the well-informed as the “secret” Gin Bar. Inside, more than 70 local gins line the shelves. Sip on one of their innovative house cocktails, cheekily named Head, Heart, Soul and Ambition. Our favourite is the Heart cocktail – a rosemary-tinged blend with Inverroche gin. The old-world decor – chapel rooms and dim lighting – makes you feel like you’ve barged into someone’s wild dream. And there is the backstory – this was once a mortuary. This gin spot’s healing your soul or haunting it, depending on your vibe. This is the spot you go to when you’re over predictable nights and want a place that remembers you, even if you don’t remember the last call.
The Gin Bar
64A Wale St, Cape Town City Centre
Cape Town
South Africa
Photography courtesy of The Gin Bar
02
Talking To Strangers
Talking To Strangers is Loop Street’s best-kept wild child – raw, edgy and urban. Co-founded by Nicholas Crouse and Alessandro Galassi, it’s a gritty-meets-creative space peppered with graffiti, memorable art and red-hued lighting that sets the mood. Galassi is the mastermind behind the music and aesthetics, while Nicholas Crouse oversees the drink menu that is bursting with seasonal originals, well-executed classics, shots, mocktails and the works. In the kitchen, Chef MG Mzoneli elevates global street food into refined, shareable dishes. Serving up dishes into the early hours of the morning, complementing the late-night energy. It’s one of those places where strangers really do turn into friends by the end of the night. We love that it’s in-your-face – adventurous drinks, boundary-pushing flavours and an electric energy.
Talking To Strangers
61 Loop St
Cape Town City Centre
Cape Town
South Africa
Photography courtesy of Talking To Strangers
03
The Drinkery
Located on Heritage Square in Shortmarket Street, The Drinkery is a contemporary speakeasy housed in a former slave prison. Since opening in 2020, they’ve leaned into vintage charm with an art-filled, lounge-like setting. Inside, you’ll find comfortable nooks, exposed brick and even a chessboard to enjoy while sipping your drink. Outside, the balcony overlooking the courtyard adds to the allure, offering you a relaxing vantage point of the buzzing city. The menu spans experiential cocktails like the Purp Royale (Courvoisier VSOP, Cape Vintage port, absinthe, cranberry and muscovado), highballs and classic cocktails, alongside a curated South African wine list. They also offer a minimal but effective snack menu that is designed to complement the drinks. Because let’s be real, you’re here for the drinks, not dinner.
The Drinkery
100 Shortmarket Street
Cape Town City Centre
Cape Town
South Africa
Photography courtesy of The Drinkery
04
Aperitif
Aperitif is the type of spot where you start with sundowners and stay for dinner, after-dark drinks and a vibe that is hard to match. Aperitif, founded by James Williams and Emma Jane Fuller, brings a slice of European aperitivo culture to Cape Town. Its concept is inspired by Italian and French traditions of pre-dinner drinks and small bites. The cocktail list embraces spritzers, sours, Bellinis, Negronis and inventive creations like the Cacao Nib Negroni, complete with candied orange dipped in chocolate. On the food side, you’ll find tapas-style bites like bruschetta (on homemade focaccia) and charcuterie boards with local cheeses and house-baked ciabatta. Aperitif’s hours stretch long into the night, with a welcoming open-to-late vibe. We love that you can start with a snack and a spritz at sunset and then let the night unravel with friends and cocktails that don’t let go.
Aperitif
227 Bree St
Cape Town City Centre
Cape Town
South Africa
Photography courtesy of Aperitif
05
The Athletic Club & Social
The Athletic Club & Social takes over a Victorian townhouse in Cape Town’s CBD, layering it with nostalgia and mischief. Built in 1900 by a sports-mad pharmacist who ran a speakeasy in the basement, the building now houses lavishly styled spaces. Walk in and you’re hit with velvet chairs, Persian rugs, penny-farthing murals by David Brits and sports memorabilia galore. Each floor has a different pulse. The ground level is all about Mediterranean plates and easygoing dinners. Upstairs, the mood shifts to cocktails served in cosy corners. Then there’s the basement, which flips into live jazz and late-night DJs from Wednesday to Saturday. Cocktails land somewhere between classics and experiments – think barrel-aged Negronis, smoky mezcal twists and drinks laced with house-made syrups. Food pulls from Greek family-style cooking like mezze, grilled meats and comfort food done right.
The Athletic Club & Social
35 Buitengracht St
Cape Town City Centre
Cape Town
South Africa
Photography courtesy of The Athletic Club & Social
Share this
Book your stay
Stay in the know
Sign up for the latest hotspot news from Southern Africa.
