Other entertainment in Africa
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House on Fire
People visit this especially for the ever mutating cultural-site-cum-living-gallery and experimental-performance space. This mosaic- and sculpture-filled site is the hot place for cool locals and is popular among travellers as well. Part of the Malandela’s complex, the well-known venue hosts everything from African theatre, music and films, raves and other forms of entertainment. Since 2007, it has hosted the annual Bush Fire Festival, featuring poetry, theatre and music among other performances.
reviewed
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A
Taros Café
One of the most atmospheric terraces in Essaouira, and the only real bar, is at the Taros Café, where you can sip your drinks under giant lamps and huddle round your table to fend off the wind whipping up from the sea. The restaurant (mains Dh70 to Dh120) is a bit hit-and-miss for food, but it has live music and belly dancing most nights.
reviewed
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So
The hippest club in Agadir and one of the most expensive. So is laid out on several levels and includes a champagne bar, vodka bar, live-music stage, restaurant, dance floor and chill-out area. Guest DJs appear on Thursdays. Agadir swingers save this one for the climax of the evening’s entertainment.
reviewed
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Harvey Wallbanger’s
A smart, trendy spot on the top floor, above its very own restaurant.
reviewed
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Out in Africa: SA International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
Focusing on gay-themed films, both drama and documentary. Held in September in 2008 but dates change so check website.
reviewed
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El Tugareya
Although it may not look like much to the uninitiated (it doesn’t even sport a sign), this 90-year-old institution is one of the most important ahwa s in town. It’s an informal centre of business and trade (the name roughly translates to ‘commerce’), where deals are brokered in the time-honoured tradition – over a glass of tea. The cafe is separated into multiple rooms, covering a whole block. The southern side is a male-dominated area dedicated to games and informal socialising, while along the Corniche you’re likely to be part of a rambunctious mix of writers, film-makers, students, expats, and courting couples filling the hall with a cacophony of animated conversatio…
reviewed
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Centro de Portugal
This hard-to-find expat haven is fully equipped for fun: a garden bar in a leafy patio, an inside bar with darts, foosball and pool, plus a tiny disco complete with mirrored ball. Best of all, the beverages are very cold. Drinks are purchased via an unusual card system: E£70 gets you five credits; beers are one credit, while cocktails are two. The food menu (dishes E£40 to E£55) sports Western standards, from noodles to pasta to fish, along with the house speciality – pepper steak. It’s a great place to unwind, hidden away from the hubbub of the city, and meet local expats while sucking down an icy gin and tonic. The entrance is unmarked; look for the gate on the south si…
reviewed
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B
Arous el Zilzila
This fantastic ahwa across from the Bibliotheca Alexandrina is practically unique in Alexandria – you can sip tea and sheesha to the sound of waves rolling in, smelling sea air instead of petrol fumes. Directly on the water, it has rustic open-air tables and palm trees with cheerful coloured lights, set around a small curving beach where you can hardly hear the traffic. It’s a great place to relax in the sultry breeze, enjoying the Mediterranean vibe. To find it, look for the modern sculpture with three white needles, directly across the Corniche from the library. Walk past the sculpture towards the sea; the entrance is down the steps to the right.
reviewed
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El Rehany
This expansive and breezy Alexandrian classic is reputed to have the best sheesha in town, served with a flourish by attentive boys in smart two-toned waistcoats while waiters in black-and-white bring tea in silver urns. The decor is eclectically elegant, with lofty ceilings etched with elaborate floral patterns, tables and chairs in Islamic designs, and burgundy tablecloths. Check out the bizarre assortment of knick-knacks in the glass displays in the back.
reviewed
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Ster Kinekor
There’s no shortage of cinemas showing all the latest international releases, as well as a decent selection of art-house movies. Big multiplexes – run by Ster Kinekor and Nu Metro – can be found around town. For the multiplexes the best night to go is Tuesday when the usual R35 entry price drops by half to R18. See the local press for listings of films and where they are showing.
reviewed
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Gin
A very young crowd inhabits this bar, which is part shabby Caribbean shack, part gallery, with ramshackle whitewashed furniture and pop art plastered on the walls. There’s a tiny upstairs balcony overlooking the street, tables out on the pavement, and a rather psychotic-looking wooden moose-head watches the action from above the bar. Cocktails are the pièce de résistance here, and house and hip hop keep the crowd happy.
reviewed
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Stones
A popular college hang-out with funky Japanese pop art on bright-red walls, throbbing music and lots of pool tables. If the noise is making your head pound, step onto the 2nd-floor deck, play a game of table tennis or just check out the action below on Second Ave. Live bands rock the place on weekends, and there are special students’ and ladies’ nights – check out its Facebook page for the entire scoop.
reviewed
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C
Hotel Batha
There are a couple of options for drinks in this handily located medina hotel. Inside the hotel proper, the bar by the pool catches the overspill from the Churchill Bar, and in winter even features a log fire to warm yourself by. At the back of the hotel (side entrance), the outside Consul Bar is a more relaxed place for late-night drinks, and has its own disco until midnight (closed Monday).
reviewed
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Mama's Shebeen
This faux shebeen has the air of a Jamaican beach bar about it, decked out in bright red, yellow and green rasta colours. The zebra-print walls, wire animal sculptures, and huge pic of Mandela let you know what it’s all about though, as do the (top-notch) cocktails with names like Bo-Kaap Blues and Cape Flats Colada. There is a small food menu too. Chicken stew and pap costs R45.
reviewed
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D
Beach Club 555
You pass through airport-like security run by SWAT team guards, and find yourself on a faux tropical lagoon, replete with bridge and tiki huts. Inside, waiters dressed in white satin and fake afros serve visiting mafiosi. Unlike most anywhere in Tangier, the place is crawling with young women, known locally as geishas, who work freelance for the house.
reviewed
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E
Sofianopoulos Coffee Store
Head over to the Sofianopoulos Coffee Store, a gorgeous coffee retailer that would be in a museum anywhere else in the world. Dominated by huge silver coffee grinders, stacks of glossy beans and the wonderful, faintly herbal aroma of roasted java, end your tour here with a flourish, sipping a thick Turkish coffee fit for a king.
reviewed
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Wanderers Stadium
The most important cricket venue is the impressive Wanderers Stadium, just off the M1 freeway to Pretoria. Either watch from the stands or head to the grassy banks near the Western Pavilion and braai yourself a steak while you watch a local limited-overs match or see South Africa’s best take on an international team.
reviewed
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F
Crown Palace Fes
When it comes to glam nightlife, Fez is no Marrakesh. Cashed-up locals usually end up partying in the downstairs piano bar or upstairs cigar and cocktail bar at the Crown Palace. When these bars close around 1am, the crowd sometimes relocates to the basement nightclub – the ‘VIP’ – that has a DJ between midnight and 3am each night.
reviewed
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G
Café Maure
Sit back, relax and just gaze out over the estuary to Salé from this chilled open-air café spread over several terraces in the Andalusian Gardens. Mint tea is the thing here, accompanied by little almond biscuits delivered on silver trays. It’s an easy place to pass time writing postcards, and a relaxed venue for women.
reviewed
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H
Farouk Cafe
This venerable sheesha joint doesn’t look like it’s changed an iota since it opened in 1928. It’s a charmingly ramshackle old place, with dusty bronze lanterns outside, and charmingly fusty old men arguing and playing board games at the tables. Women may not feel comfortable here.
reviewed
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I
Ahwa Sayed Darwish
Named for the composer of Egypt’s national anthem, this tiny and highly enjoyable local, near Sharia al-Nabi Daniel, is set on a quiet and leafy side street around the corner from the Cafavy Museum. The chairs are comfortably padded, and the sheesha is clean. The clientele is exclusively men.
reviewed
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Loft
Easily Tangier’s premier nightspot, this world class, state-of-the-art club holds 2000 people and feels like an enormous silver cruise ship, with upper-storey balconies, sparkling metal railings, billowing sail-like curtains, spot lights cutting through the artificial fog – and no cover. Go after midnight.
reviewed
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J
Americain’s Pub
Don’t be fooled by the name: this pub is outfitted as an authentic part of the London underground, with white tiled walls, ubiquitous red trim and signage far more authentic than the Bobbies would appreciate. It’s the perfect place to hide: there’s no street number, and the phone is out of order.
reviewed
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K
Pilo
A party atmosphere pervades these two floors of local colour, underscored by some high-energy music (‘mo-rockin’?) and festive lighting. Women can feel comfortable here, as the management has figured the rest of us out: ask them to show you the Freudian poster entitled ‘What’s On a Man’s Mind’.
reviewed
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Centre for Jazz
University of KwaZulu-Natal has contemporary music and jazz performances every Wednesday afternoon at 5pm during university term. Performers vary from township jazz players and professional performers (the likes of Jimmy Dludlu and Sipho ‘Hotstix’ Mabuse) to student performers.
reviewed
