Its easy mix of retail, accommodation, eating and drinking or relaxation options gives the CBD's East City precinct a reputation as one of Cape Town’s coolest neighbourhoods.
It’s loosely referred to as downtown Cape Town’s East City precinct, and the buzz can start with breakfast, or pick up only at night. Vibrant, with ever-evolving retail and small businesses, much of the action is in the vicinity of Buitenkant and Harrington streets.
In the Corporation/Plein streets direction, is one of Neighbourgood CEO Murray Clark’s 2021 projects. Named Neighbourgood East City, this R80-million redevelopment reimagined the former Townhouse Hotel, an inner-city stalwart, into neighbourhood-centric living and working spaces with fully furnished, flexible rental units designed to offer “exceptional amenities and a connected community”.
The precinct also incorporates Home Affairs, before stretching down to the national treasure that is the City Hall. Unlike Bree Street’s visible restaurant and retail strip, many East City recreations are hidden treasures, where being tipped off from regulars is part of the charm. This mix of retail, accommodation, eating or relaxation options gives the area its reputation as one of Cape Town's coolest 'hoods.
The colourful bicycle racks outside East City stalwart, New York Bagels.
ECLECTIC MIX
“The East City is amazing: what makes it amazing is the retailers, from cafés to casual eateries to destination restaurants such as Belly of the Beast. It’s eclectic, a different mix compared to anywhere else,” says property developer Jeff Kleu. “There’s a strong coffee culture, too. I can think of about 12 places. From cafés that sell coffee like New York Bagels to standalone coffee spots like Truth. One new venue is Simple Bru.”
Adding to that list, even Woodheads leather merchant in Caledon Street – trading since 1867 – has a coffee hatch, cheekily called Hide & Coffee. Unlike some purist coffee neighbours, its chalkboard menu includes “moer koffie met kondensed melk”.
Kleu is involved in The Harri, a stylish R80 million aparthotel in Harrington Street completed in September 2021. Already 38 of the 48 units are sold, comprising six loft apartments and 42 studios. “We’ve got a 24-hour concierge, parking, Zoom rooms, a conference room, lounge, a sports TV room and outside braai. All common areas have a mountain view. We’ve also got room service from neighbourhood eateries SOUQ and The Electric,” he explains.
Many units are managed as short-term rentals. “The Harri is the number one Cape Town Airbnb listing for German clients,” says Kleu. “It’s a short-term rental building and investors get a very good yield. It’s not like a traditional residential building.”
The view of Table Mountain from one of the loft apartments at The Harri.
EAST CITY SWAG
SOUQ opened downstairs in The Harri in June 2022. Owner Amara Rajie was sold on the exposed brick and black metal aesthetic when she first stepped inside. Aside from a café serving a wide menu from breakfast to fresh bakes, you’ll find beautiful homeware, flowers and plants for sale. “The East city has swag and I believe it will only become more popular, hip and cool as new developments are completed,” says Rajie.
At 84 Harrington, cranes are busy with a Cape Town first: the world’s tallest building, and the city’s first commercial project, to be constructed from hempcrete blocks and hemp building materials. The hempcrete blocks are made of hemp shiv – the chopped, woody core of the cannabis plant – and a formulated lime mix.
The site was bought by Hemporium co-founder Duncan Parker in 2016. Hemporium offers a local range of hemp fabric, clothing, accessories and cosmetics. The 12-storey development is earmarked to open in early 2023, and will include an aparthotel, a flagship Hemporium store and a farm-to-table restaurant.
A customer enjoys what's on offer at the vegan food truck in grocer Nude Foods' courtyard.
NUDE IS COOL
Off Harrington, spreading into Constitution St, Paul Rubin trades in plastic-free sustainable products at Nude Foods. Hemporium is a supplier of the store’s hemp tote shoppers.
“We opened in December 2017. I spent six months looking all over and saw the potential of this area,” says Rubin. A cheerful Nude Foods courtyard is painted with floral murals near a vegan food truck. “About 40 % of our customers are expats. When we launched, we quickly developed a stable pool of regulars, who continue to support us,” says Rubin.
RETAIL THERAPY
Nearby, concept store Just Like Papa offers retail therapy of the deluxe outdoor kind. You’ll find a hip selection, from Primus gas stoves, extreme weather gear, and artisan knives to tree-felling axes, or a leather saddle. Plus a few exclusive spirits.
“The idea is that a guy buys the best of the best, and then hands it down, because it lasts forever,” says manager Rick Traviss. “We opened in May 2017. There was us, New York Bagels and Charly’s Bakery.” The same owner, Thomas Ferreira, has opened a unisex lifestyle store of Swedish outdoor brand, Fjällräven.
Saturday mornings see New York Bagels pumping out The Bart or other filled bagels, and baked cheesecake. Charly’s attracts regulars for its “mucking afazing” personalised cakes, cupcakes and biscuits.
“It’s a little different here,” says Traviss. “Things are calmer, more relaxed. People come to have a coffee and hang out. It’s slower than Bree Street. There are a lot of up-and-coming developments.”
CULTURE HUB
One of them is a recently reopened cultural hub. “The Fugard Theatre closed in 2021. But it’s now re-integrated into the District Six Museum’s Homecoming Centre, taking that name,” says Chrischené Julius, Acting Director of the District Six Museum Foundation. The new centre is designed as rented space for art and cultural productions.
Julius says Murray Clark's Neighbourgood was brought in by the museum for its property management experience, to help identify tenants, events and productions for the Homecoming Centre. In the theatre lobby, Societi Café provides food and snacks. Inside, spaces have been rebranded with names reminiscent of District Six. The old District Six bioscopes inspired the renamed Star Theatre and Avalon Auditorium, while the studio and gallery are called Bits and Pieces, after a District Six klopse group.
Also offering live shows is The Electric, a gem accessed via a winding alley from Harrington, or directly via Canterbury. Manager Vikki Sampson says it was one of the Canterbury originals in 2017. “It was literally a shell, a burnt-down car shop,” she gestures towards the double-volume café and juice bar, where yellow accents brighten wooden tables. “This is what owner Janette de Villiers did. It was meant as a side-line,” says Sampson. “We do juices, coffee, great sandwiches; we run bingo nights in the evening. We have comedy shows, burlesque, events, parties ... it’s a little bit off-centre, this area. People come to this part of town because there’s great energy.”
Swan Café owner Jessica Rushmere, right, with barista Patou Nimi and server Norah Muangi.
EAST CITY CLASSICS
Just ask Dias Tavern. They’ve been attracting sports fans, bar flies and families for decades. “We opened on 1 May 1988, 500 years after Bartolomeu Diaz arrived at the Cape of Good Hope,” says manager Miguel Rodrigues. Customers return for the peri-peri chicken, steak espetada or beef trinchado. The secret? “Give them what they want: good food, a good vibe, value for money and consistency,” he says.
Another neighbourhood gem is Swan Café, which opened in its Buitenkant corner spot in May 2018. French owner Jessica Rushmere says Swan’s savoury galettes, crepes with lemon curd, have made it a destination for locals even from Stellenbosch. “I moved into the apartment opposite for six months and saw the opportunity to open the café,” she explains. “I believed in this area without knowing anything.”
“David Donde of Truth is a good neighbour. I’m using his sourdough for my croque monsieur, and soon I’ll have his croissants. I mean, I have a French café, so everybody asks for croissants,” Rushmere grins.
“We attract all generations at Swan, from the fashionista to the granny, to families. It’s what I really like about this area.”
DON'T MISS ...
- The fine food at award-winning, FYN Restaurant
- Drinking in rodeo-style saloon, Dust and Dynamite
- The perfumerie or penthouse at Labotessa Hotel & Café
- A concert at the historic Goote Kerk or the Cape Town City Hall
- The cocktails at Harrington’s Cocktail Lounge
- SurfaRosa’s off-beat vibe
- Browsing at Indie bookshop The Book Lounge
- Catching up with culture at the District Six Museum
IMAGES: Kim Maxwell, Carmen Lorraine, Ed Suter
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