Unwinding
SUNDOWNERS: it’s a word synonymous with summer holidays, evoking images of evening sunlight glinting off your cold cocktail, with sand between your toes and salt on your skin. With the festive season under way, Luane Lavery, brand communications manager for kulula.com, suggests some cool spots to enjoy sundowners in South Africa.
Shimmy Beach Club Shimmy Beach Club is a great spot to socialise and have fun. Near the V&A Waterfront, it has a pool, a restaurant, a faux beach and a superb view of Table Bay.
Try its Kinky Afro: cream liqueur, brandy, gourmet chocolate, caramel syrup, peanut butter and fresh cream. It’s a milkshake for grown-ups.
Like most joints offering sundowners, Shimmy Beach Club offers alcohol-free ones, like its Safe Sex on the Beach, which is made with cranberry juice, grapefruit juice, peach nectar and a maraschino cherry. For further information, visit www.shimmybeachclub. com
Leopard Bar Leopard Bar at the 12 Apostles Hotel. If you fancy something a little different from the usual sundowners with umbrellas, rum and fresh fruit and nudge-nudge-winkwink names, try the Craft Beer and Canapé Experience at the Leopard Bar, at the 12 Apostles Hotel.
The hosts have combined the popularity of craft beer with that of food pairings: five good, locally produced brews are matched with canapés, with a focus on local produce. For more information, visit www.12apostleshotel.com/foodand-drink/the-leopard-bar
Ons Huisie Ons Huisie in Blouberg sounds like a beach cottage owned by a farmer from Ficksburg, but it’s long been a favourite with locals and visitors for wines and its views over Table Bay, towards Robben Island.
If you happen to be visiting with children and pets, both are welcome, and there is a secure play area. For further information, visit www.onshuisie.co.za
Bel Punto in Umdloti Beach A little further afield, Bel Punto in Umdloti Beach serves a variety of cocktails and has a good wine list. If you choose to stay for a meal, the emphasis is firmly on seafood and Mediterranean flavours.
Lighthouse Bar: Oyster Box Hotel in uMhlanga Rocks
Enjoy the stunning view of the Indian Ocean and surrounding beaches as you sip on some of the Oyster Box signature cocktails. Lavery suggests trying the Umhlanga Schling, made with cane-sugar and cane-spirit.
Moyo World
Moyo at uShaka Marine World is a great place to end a busy Durban day.
Moyo has an enviable position on South Beach, a good selection of cocktails, such as the African Sunset, made with Spiced Gold rum and peach schnapps muddled with fresh strawberries, mixed berry purée and fresh limes, and served tall, capped with crushed ice and
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Marine finished with a fresh orange float and a proudly South African wine list. In line with the Moyo franchise, the fare is African-inspired and includes platters to share.
The Something Good Roadhouse
The Something Good Roadhouse in Port Elizabeth has had a reboot while retaining its surfer-hang hasout hasidentity. It’s the sort of place you can go to straight from the beach with your family, with Sailor’s Lemonade, made with double Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum with home-made lemonade for the grown-ups and lemon meringue milkshake for the youngsters.
Its menu includes wraps, burgers, pizzas and waffles, and it overlooks the city’s Blue Flag beaches. The White Tiger Bar + Café The White Tiger Bar + Café on the Humewood Promenade is mostly a restaurant by day and a nightclub after dark, when the emphasis shifts from tapas to youngsters dancing to house music and classic vinyl. Cocktails include the Cosmopolitan and Long Island Iced Teas.
The Tabú Bar & Lounge The Tabú Bar & Lounge, at the Radisson Blu Hotel, eschews the beachfront-bohemian vibe for something more sophisticated and mature, with live jazz and a good wine list.