Dinner and a movie, the Cape Town way

The Labia

Life in Cape Town always marches along to the beat of its own drum, but there are a few more tra­di­tional social insti­tu­tions that we too sub­scribe to. One of these is that age-old night out: din­ner and a movie.

Now one of the things I’ve always envied about NYC and London, is the pro­lif­er­a­tion in those cit­ies of inde­pend­ent cinemas - those small, intim­ate theatres, not part of any cor­por­ate chain, that offer you a more cosy cine­matic exper­i­ence, away from block­buster trail­ers and exor­bit­antly priced pop­corn. Luckily, Cape Town’s City Bowl offers just such a little niche of movie magic - The Labia on Orange (68 Orange Street, Gardens, Telephone +27 (0)21 424‑5927), the old­est art cinema in South Africa ...

The theatre gets it some­what unusual name from Princess Labia, who, in 1949, con­ver­ted the then ball­room of the Italian Embassy into a theatre for the sta­ging of live per­form­ances, and it’s been in oper­a­tion as a cinema for the past thirty years.

The Labia

Whatever its ori­gins, the Labia (as well as its sis­ter theatre, The Labia on Kloof, loc­ated in Lifestyles Centre just around the corner in Kloof Street) is a real gem; a slice of oldy-worldy ambi­ence, with red, vel­vet cur­tains swathed across the cinema entrances, a cof­fee bar trad­ing in homemade munchies, and a weekly-changing bill of both com­mer­cial and altern­at­ive cinema. Admission prices are reas­on­able, which means you can indulge in a trip to the dinky but well-stocked bar, drinks from which can be con­sumed in the theatre. Glass of wine, warm pop­corn, cosy old theatre… you can see why The Labia is my favour­ite place for view­ing pleasure.

Of course, emer­ging into the now rather chilly night air, it’s an equally reward­ing din­ner exper­i­ence everyone’s think­ing about. Deciding where to go seems an impossible choice, what with great res­taur­ants and eat­er­ies extend­ing up Kloof Street on one side and down Long on another.

Royale Eatery

Hunger makes a snap decision - Royale Eatery, 279 on Long Street (Telephone +27 (0)21 422‑4536). This place has been sat­ing raven­ous Capetonians since it opened. The art­fully styled menu offers some great salads, pas­tas and piz­zas, but it’s the bur­gers that has won over half of Cape Town as reg­u­lars - that and the sweet potato fries. ‘A Royale with cheese’ is prob­ably the most often-uttered phrase in the estab­lish­ment. Vegetarians are equally looked after, with gour­met veg­gie options sub­sti­tut­ing the tra­di­tional beef bur­ger. Either way, the bur­gers are gour­met and incred­ibly filling.

The down­stairs level is packed with retro-cool, diner-style booths, while upstairs (my per­son­ally pre­ferred level, which is open for reser­va­tions) offers a more whim­sical, Breakfast at Tiffany’s sur­round­ing, com­plete with bird­cages and sheet music wall­pa­per. Try to save a little space for one of Royale’s fam­ously deli­cious milk­shakes, but hon­estly I’d have to say they’re a meal in and of themselves.

Of course, we’re in Cape Town, so why call it a night when the bill arrives? Just up a third flight of stairs is The Waiting Room, a trendy lounge bar over­look­ing Long Street, which by this time would be bust­ling with, shall we say, mer­ry­makers. Chill out on the couches or hit the small impromptu dance­floor when the mood takes you. And when it’s fully blown rev­elry you decide you’re in the mood for, just hop across the street to Fiction, a Cape Town club that’s man­aged to stand the test of time. A round of jager­meisters at the out­door bar, a quick tour of the bal­cony to see what - and who - we can see, and then it’s time to head back on in to the dance­floor till the wee hours.

Hey, I didn’t say we didn’t put a twist on the ol’ din­ner ‘n’ movie thing ...

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