Thirty-two years behind the same bar. No foam, no tweezers, no eight-minute build while your table waits. Just properly made classics from R75, and a 2-for-1 happy hour from four until six every day.
The cocktail list runs to more than forty builds. These are the ones the bar makes most, and the ones we would put in front of you first if you asked us to choose.
Beyond the classics there is a house list built on rye, sweet vermouth and whatever the bar is currently obsessed with, plus the full spirits range, wine by the glass and bottle, and cold beer. The complete drinks menu is here.
Order the Negroni. It is the honest test of any bar — three ingredients, nowhere to hide, and ours is stirred rather than shaken and served with a proper orange peel rather than a sad wedge. At R89 it is also cheaper than most of Bree Street.
Order the Long Island. It is on the 2-for-1 list between 4pm and 6pm, which makes two of them R107 total. There is no better value in De Waterkant and we are entirely comfortable saying so. See the full happy hour list.
Order the Espresso Martini. Freshly drawn espresso, not a pre-mix, which is why it takes a minute longer and tastes like it should. It is the drink that turns a Tuesday dinner into a Wednesday morning.
Gold Margarita or Strawberry Daiquiri. Both are built with fresh citrus rather than a sour mix, which in Cape Town summer is the entire difference.
Thursday. R20 Olmeca Gold and Jägermeister shots, all night, with a house DJ from eight. This is not a cocktail recommendation and we will not be defending it.
We are called Cafe Manhattan and we have been on this corner since 1994, so yes — the bar takes a Manhattan seriously. Rye, sweet vermouth, bitters, stirred down, no ice in the glass. Ask for it and you will get the version the bar has been arguing about for three decades.
Read how the place started.
De Waterkant sits on the slope of Signal Hill between the Bo-Kaap and the harbour, which makes it one of the few parts of Cape Town where you can genuinely walk between venues. We are on the corner at 74 Waterkant Street, roughly three minutes from Bree Street and a short downhill walk from the Bo-Kaap.
The bar runs 11am to 11pm, seven days a week. The kitchen runs until 10pm, so you can eat properly at half past nine, which is not true of most bars in the area. Burgers, grills, salads and starters all come out of the same kitchen the whole time — there is no reduced late menu.
Bookings are not required for drinks. For a table on a Friday or Saturday evening, or for a group of six or more, message us on WhatsApp or call 021 002 8867.
Cocktails start at R75 for a Cosmopolitan. The Negroni and Gold Margarita are R89, the Espresso Martini R97, the Strawberry Daiquiri R107 and the Long Island R107. Long Islands are 2-for-1 during happy hour, 4pm to 6pm daily.
The bar is open 11am to 11pm every day of the week. The kitchen runs until 10pm, so you can order food right up to an hour before the bar closes.
You do not need a booking for drinks — walk in any time. For a table on a Friday or Saturday night, or a group of six or more, message us on WhatsApp so we can seat you together.
Long Island cocktails and tequila shots are on the 2-for-1 list, along with house spirits, house wine and Castle Lite and Black Label dumpies. The wider cocktail menu is at standard price.
We would be in trouble if we did not. Rye, sweet vermouth and bitters, stirred and served up. Ask at the bar.
Walk in for a drink, or book a table if you want the good corner. Happy hour lands at four.