Durban bars, pubs & nightlife
Posted on 25. Mar, 2010 by admin in Durban
Nightlife in Durban is varied and fun with all kinds of places to let down your hair in the evening. There are laid-back bars in Durban for serious drinkers in the city plus great live music venues, clubs and chic pubs. Where you head out in the city to boogle your socks off, find intelligent conversation or just be seen, the clubs, pubs and bars in Durban will never let you down. And there are many sports bars where one can watch the latest football, rugby or cricket matches and sink a few beers with likeminded fans. So there’s no need to sit around moping whilst in town, get out there and enjoy the best of Durban nightlife with Johnny Foreigner. Check out JF’s guide to the best Durban nights out.
Pubs and laid-back bars: While a lot of Durban nightlife is trendy and super chic, there’s still lots of places to go and catch a drink if you haven’t the energy to get your glad rags on. In fact, many Durban pubs boast an even more lively scene than many of the clubs when they get going, with live music venues in Durban plentiful.
E²
161 Gordon Road, Corner Florida and Gordon Road, Durban, Tel: +27 (0)82 717 3802, Email: eran.eyal@mobileqanda.com
E² is an early evening venue, only open until 9pm on weekdays and midnight on weekends. They specialise in cappuccinos rather than cocktails and every visitor gets one free. It’s a nice place to go and recharge after a big dinner.
Beanbag Bohemia
18 Windermere Rd, Morningside, Tel: +27 (0)31 309 6019
Beanbag Bohemia is a hip cigar and cocktail lounge with mixed music and a mixed crowd. It’s down-to-earth and not too pretentious.
The Lounge
226 Mathews Meyiwa, Stamford Hill Road, Durban, Email: info@thelounge.za.org
The Lounge is one of the best places for alternative music in Durban. The crowd is young, trendy and fun and there are five bars and pool tables.
Blue Bottles
Point Waterfront, Durban, Tel: +27 (0)31 368-4030
This bar boasts an amazing panoramic view and Durban from the harbour. The restaurant is huge and there are four bars, all pumping out classic 70s pop
Joe Kools
North Beach, Durban, Tel: +27 (0)31 332 9697
Joe Kools is a popular spot, right on North Beach. They serve good food and cocktails here and the party carries on until the early hours of the morning. It’s a great place to meet both locals and travellers.
News Cafe
Silver Oaks Centre, Silverton Road, Musgrave, Durban, Tel: +27 (0)31 201-5241
The News Cafe is a coffee bar during the day and a rowdy cocktail and cigar lounge at night. There is also a fairly decent kitchen here.
Waxy O Connors Irish Pub
124 Jan Hofmeyer Road, Westville, Durban, Tel: +27 (0)31 266 2565
This local pub with an Irish theme is a great place to start your weekend. The do great pies and five-litre beer kegs. What more could you want?
Studio 54
Old Main Road, Pinetown, Durban
Pinetown is around a 20 minute drive from Durban beachfront, but it’s worth it for Studio 54. There is a large bar with pool tables and a lively dancefloor to let your hair down on upstairs. It’s a trendy but unpretentious crowd playing a wide variety of funky music.
Yossis Cafe
127 Davenport Road, Durban
This chilled cafe/bar is a good place for a quiet drink in the winter but it also hots up a bit in the summer. The local crowd are fun and always up for getting drunk with the tourists.
BAT Centre
45 Maritime Place, BAT Centre, Durban 4001, Tel: +27 (0)31 332 0451, Email: events@batcentre.co.za
This chilled venue combines art, music, performance and poetry, with drum circles, jazz and theatre productions. It’s a huge venue but sometimes you have to be in an open minded mood in order to enjoy it. There are also plenty of mainstream concerts and DJ nights here, however.
Scallywags
118 Sea View Road, Durban 4001, Tel: +27 31 368 1157
Scallywags is a friendly bar with a largely older crowd. There is serious live music here on the weekends and the pool tables are always busy.
Pot and Kettle
168 Old Main Road, Durban 3610, Tel: +27 (0)31 777 1312
Pot and Kettle is a nice family-orientated pub around 30kms outside of Durban. From the balcony you have a great view of the Thousand Hills Valley and it’s a nice place to go on the weekend with the family as it has a children’s playground outside. It’s also a good place to escape the cool people on the weekends.
Upmarket bars in Durban: Many Durban bars cater for the super-trendy and it is almost impossible to resist having at least one night out amongst the city’s elite while you’re in town. Whether you are in the mood to sip a cocktail and watch the sundown or down champagne on a dance floor packed with beautiful people, upmarket bars in Durban have it covered.
Tilt
Walnut Rd, Durban, Tel: +27 (0)31 306 9356, misscandyn@gmail.com
Tilt is an upmarket bar and lounge with chic clientele to match. Occasionally it will host out-of-character trance or hard house parties but the mood here is generally very defined.
Panama Room
178 Stamford Hill Road, Durban, Tel:+27 (0)31 312 5630
The sophisticated bar is a good place to hang out and look cool. The cocktails are expensive but strong and the elite clientele aren’t afraid to let their hair down on the dance floor after one or two. There is a small entry fee after 10pm and a strict no under-25s policy.
Billy the BUM’s
504 Windermere Road, Morningside, Durban, Tel: +27 (0)31 303 1988
Billy the BUM’s is a small South African chain bar, with the BUM standing for Basic Upmarket Socialites. It serves good food and cocktails and Tuesdays are especially rowdy on Ladies’ Night.
Bar Langoustine by the Sea
131 Waterkant Street , Langoustine, Durban 4051, Tel: +27 (0)31 83 7324
Bar Langoustine by the Sea is set in beautiful gardens by the sea. The complex has a cabaret theatre, two restaurants and a well-stocked bar.
Cafe Vacca Matta
Shop U4, Suncoast Casino and Entertainment World, Durban, Tel: +27 (0)31 368 6535
Cafe Vacca Matta is one of the most exclusive places to look cool in Durban and it operates a very strict dress code. With its ocean-side setting it’s a great place to enjoy a sundowner cocktail on the Terrace or an Italian meal in the restaurant. Men must wear shirts, smart trousers and shoes and women must look smart. Sandals and T-shirts will not be tolerated!
Jubes
Princess Alice Avenue, Jubilee Hall, University of Natal, Glenmore, Durban 4001
The funky jazz club was inspired by saxophonist Mfana Mlabo. The laid-back jazz bar is popular with chilled out students during the week due to being on the university campus, but you also get a mature crowd here who enjoy the good live music. Check out the jam on Saturday nights.
Rivets Bar
12 Walnut Road, Hilton Hotel, Durban 4001, Tel: +27 31 336 8100
The Hilton Hotel can be seen from almost anywhere in Durban and it’s here that you will find the Rivets Bar. The modern bar has one of Durban’s best jazz nights on a Thursday and is just a few minutes from the beachfront.
New Cafe Fish
31 Yacht Mole, Victoria Embankment, Durban 4001, Tel: +27 (0)31 305 5062, Email: cafefish@isscat.co.za
The New Cafe Fish is in a picturesque setting by the yacht harbour with inside and outside dining and an upper deck for sundowners. The restaurant does good food but closes at 10pm, at which point the discerning crowd head to the bar upstairs.
Clubs: for those that really want to party while in town, you’ll find a host of clubs in Durban to accommodate your every sweaty dancing desire. The tunes played in Durban clubs range from trance to R&B and everything inbetween and there are plenty of places to boogie on until the sun comes up.
Dusk Till Dawn
Corner Umbilo and Clarke Road, Durban, Tel: +27 (0)31 205 7038
Dusk Till Dawn is super cool and super laid-back. The music is varied, with everything from 90s electronica to drum and bass. Trance parties are also held some weekends.
De La Sol
Florida Road, Morningside, Durban, Tel: +27 (0)31 312 9436
De La Sol is a laid-back club with great decor and a trendy crowd. Funky DJs spin everything from 80s to hip-hop, and cocktails can be downed alongside light but nicely done bar food. This is a sexy place to be seen.
Tiger Tiger
Greyville Race Course, Durban
Tiger Tiger is a fun place to go for a dance on the weekend. There is a steamy indoor dance floor as well as a beer garden to cool down in and the music is mainstream through all the eras.
Angelo’s Cantina
24 West Street, Durban 4001, Tel: +27 (0)31 332 3967
Angelo’s Cantina has a beer garden with pool tables on the roof and a dancelfoor playing house, hip-hop and R&B downstairs. Wednesdays and Saturdays are the best nights here.
80s Nightclub
Walter Gilbery Road , King’s Park, Durban 4001
80s Nightclub lies in the shadow of the King’s Park Rugby ground, just north of Durban city centre. The bar has a large veranda, pool tables and a busy dancefloor. It’s popular with locals and normally a really fun night out.
Burn
16 Walls Avenue , Second Floor Fidelity House, Durban 4001, Tel: +27 (0)82 325 9746, email: burn@wbs.co.za
Burn is a nightclub with a large dance floor, DJs and live music. It also serves good food and the drinks are fairly cheap. It’s a great place to go with a large group as they can always accommodate you.
China White
226 Stamford Hill Road, Durban 4000
China White is for beautiful people who want to be seen in the right place. The music is the typical R&B and hip-hop and there’s plenty of seats to sit and look cool in if you don’t feel the groove.
Casablanca
170 Florida Road, Durban 4001
Once upon a time Casablanca was known as Bonkers, but now it is one of the most exclusive places to party in the city. There is a marble dance floor, chandeliers and a trendy dress code. The venue and music mainly caters for 20-somethings.
Origin
9 Clark Road, Durban 3244
Origin is run by the owner of the former 33 club which was famous for good nightlife in Durban. Stylish types come here to dance to the funky soul music pumped out by local DJs.
