Observatory Cape Town (Obz!)

Those vis­it­ors hanker­ing for the more eclectic / hec­tic night-time buzz, should make their way to Observatory in Cape Town, or 'Obz', home to the first Royal Observatory and a dazzling array of bars and clubs and res­taur­ants. Unlike Long Street, there’s ‘some­thing of the night’ about Obz, its battered eleg­ance cast into per­man­ent shadow, those past pre­ten­sions brought to earth with a bang, decrepit bal­us­trades over­hanging walls and door­ways smothered with graf­fiti and fly­ers. If ever a place was scream­ing out for gentrification ...

Obz is def­in­itely not for the faint hearted, it’s bold and brash and excit­ing, a unique cul­tural melt­ing pot — one of the few de facto ‘grey’ sub­urbs under the Apartheid regime where all races lived together. Today all the action hap­pens in or around one short strip — the Lower Main Road, where everything is a short walk away, includ­ing the main car park on Nuttal road.

Perhaps no other place in Obz, or Cape Town for that mat­ter, exem­pli­fies the hope of a new South Africa chilling out with itself, than Café Ganesh, a con­ver­ted stables just off the Lower Main Road. Overflowing with ‘urban shabby chic’, Ganesh offers deli­cious tra­di­tional African dishes of Babotie, Umnqusho, and pap ‘n’ Veg, in warm and evoc­at­ive sur­round­ings, with live Afro-Latin grooves thrown in on Saturday nights. While two doors down, Tagore’s sump­tu­ous bohemian / beat­nik atmo­sphere plays host to live Jazz ses­sions on Friday nights.

A par­tic­u­lar favour­ite haunt of mine is A Touch of Madness on Nuttal Road, a ‘Victorian Quaffery’ offer­ing a highly dis­tressed colo­nial vibe — all chipped plaster, candelabra’s and faded pics of Queen Alexandra. An excel­lent res­taur­ant, smoking lounge, and lively bar with Live! Traditional Irish music on Thursday nights.

For the best Chilli pop­pers and frozen margarita’s in town go to Pancho’s on Lower main Road, one of Cape Town’s finest Mexican res­taur­ants, but, as with all of Cape Town’s res­taur­ants, book early to avoid disappointment.

Though should you ever find your­self with a few minutes to spare, wait­ing for a table or friends, take a nose about in Obz Books with its eclectic mix of the old and new and down­right curi­ous, where, until 10pm, you can take a leis­urely flick through pro­voc­at­ive titles such as Sihle Khumalo’s ‘Dark Continent My Black Arse’ to the strains of Charlie Mingus.

Next to Pancho’s, you will find the Obz Café Theatre, where you can tuck into a fine meal and catch a great show at the same time. As well as show­cas­ing everything from local bands to music­als and com­ics, this lively venue reg­u­larly fea­tures art­works by renowned and undis­covered local artists, all of which can be bought.

There’s so much more that could be said, so many other excel­lent bars and clubs and res­taur­ants to men­tion. But suf­fice it to say that an Obz night is an edu­ca­tion in itself, a mys­ter­i­ous excit­ing jour­ney with some­thing for every­one — ‘lek­ker’ sounds and lively con­ver­sa­tion fit­ted as stand­ard. Go and explore ...

Useful Links:
Find more des­tin­a­tion info at:
South African Astronomical Observatory
Observatory Accommodation, Cape Town
Observatory Cape Town Information
Obz Festival