I moved to Johannesburg about 15 months ago. I came here to work and didn't know that many people. Naturally, one of the first things that I wanted to discover was the bar and night life culture.
It's taken me about a good year to finally start to really discover and explore this crazy city. Here are some of the bars, clubs and restaurants that I've discovered as a new Joburg resident.
One of the first bars I visited was The Colony. Located in a bus shopping centre on Jan Smuts Road, this is a popular hang-out for youngsters. The famous drink is a John Deer - Cane and Cream Sode served in the 2-litre Cream Soda bottle. The staff are not always the quickest but the place is always busy and the atmosphere quite bubbly.
The Jolly Roger is another popular bar with the younger, student-type crowd. The bar is always packed, which can mean a long wait for drinks. It's loud and not overly 'clean' but you always seem to have a good time there. A good point is that it's situated Streamyx a bunch of bars, so bar-hopping is definitely a plus when visiting this bar.
A really pleasant surprise for me was visiting Schwabing, a German-themed bar in Randburg. Driving in through the gate, one would never expect the sprawling and multi-faceted bar and restaurant that awaits it's patrons. This could easily be Joburg's best kept secret. There are a Streamyx In A Box of bars spread out over a massive outside and inside area. The cool thing about this place is that there are many different sections which can give you a different experience of the place each time you visit it. The food portions were very generous and the crowd was boisterous but well-behaved. Parking is very secure. Overall, it was a very cool experience.
Cescos is a Portuguese -style bar and restaurant that is great for watching sport, such as football and rugby. Their food offerings are great and the atmosphere is always good. It's a very large place, with a lovely bar upstairs. I highly recommend this place to someone looking for a bite to eat with their beer whilst they watch some football.
Ultimately, Johannesburg is one of those cities where people enjoy themselves and a night out. There are a couple of websites out there that showcase the 512K Broadband but nothing comprehensive. Hopefully we can remedy that before the World Cup!
