Air Afriqiyah with Afriqiyah Airways
Call Now
0203 372 4420
Wed, 08 Feb 2012
Call Now
0203 372 4420
Resturants and bars in Johannesburg
So, is the quality of the food not important to Johannesburg diners? Oh, it certainly is, but locals also demand the full, theatrical production. As a local magazine editor said, "local is not only lekker (nice, tasty, enjoyable), but also intelligent, witty and sophisticated."
Like it's big brother, Johannesburg has become the city of the eatery. Whether you're hanging out with friends, having an extended Saturday lunch at Cornutti in Illovo or you have to impress a prospective business partner at The Courier in leafy Parkview, Manhattan-in-the-veld has it all.
From ethnic to international to fusion, there's a range of places exactly for you here, just waiting to tantalise your tastebuds.
Even the "impressing" level offers a range. Do you want an expensive, formal place like Le Canard? Or go for Vilamoura, where the seafood receives top marks, as do the prices. The place is carefully designed to be seriously slick, buzzy and a must on the itinerary of many international celebs visiting sunny South Africa.
One of the most popular pastimes in Jaytown is doing coffee or lunch at a sidewalk cafe in one of the pretty, leafy suburbs, like Cafe Flo in Greenside or Sam's Cafe in trendy Melville, where foreign journalists in the know, eat at least once.
One of the quirks of this place is that, in a city that sees more sun than most in the world, we also have the most extensive shopping centres. This allows us, not unlike moles, to burrow for hours on end, shopping, dining and promenading down make-believe streets as if in some subterranean city.
So you could even choose an ersatz sidewalk in the middle of what is probably the southern hemisphere's largest shopping centres, Sandton City, where you'll find Ciao Baby Cucina. There's also Steffanie's in the swish shopping centre of Hyde Park. Steffanie's is one of the classic eateries to which one regularly returns, to people-watch and do the quick business lunch or brunch thing with buddies on the weekend.
"I know Johannesburg diners are demanding and that's why my restaurants are about people," says Naldo Goncalves. He'd know. His Vilamoura success story is legendary. From the original small suburban venue (where queues immediately went out the door), to Sandton, Rosebank, Pretoria and Camps Bay in Cape Town, the joint is jumping.
Seafood is big in Jo'Burg and it is often linked with Portuguese cuisine (as is Vilamoura). From the humble suburban eatery to Beira Alta in the Colony shopping centre in Rivonia, there is a good range of truly excellent places to go to.
But, there are also plenty of other specialities to be found. The lemon-herb chicken at The Butcher Shop and Grill in Sandton Square is one of the best in town, but sublime chicken can be found at the Italian restaurant, Mastrantonio, also in Sandton Square, and of course, it helps that the owners and waiters are all gorgeous and charming. The Mastrantonio guys seem to have discovered the secrets of creating theatre for their diners. And they're definitely doing something right: from their small beginnings in Illovo, they now have three restaurants across Johannesburg.
People from Jo'Burg are also big on meat. The steakhouse of the 60s, 70s and 80s is now out of fashion, but takeaway hamburger joints abound. But if your preference is real, good meat (from freshly ground top-range beef for your hamburgers to a personally chosen piece of fillet for a melt-in-the-mouth taste experience) a number of good restaurants offer this. For first prize choose Carnivore.
The Singing Fig in Norwood (one of the older suburbs, now with its shopping street further up the road from The Singing Fig lined with Italian coffee shops and eateries) does what is reputed to be the best oxtail in town. But the local editor of the international Marie Claire magazine says she goes to the Singing Fig for the duck: "It's the way I like it - very rich, tangy and served in huge portions. Even though the place gets noisy, I'm always excited about going there."
If your prefered cuisine is French, the sadly few (pricey) restaurants on offer range from the award-winning Ile de France Randburg to the stuffy but excellent Le Canard in Sandton.
Gauteng's multi-cultural population has also produced a wide range of traditional foods found nowhere else in the world. Local food specialities can be both innovative and unusual from African phutu (maize meal porridge) at Wandi's in Soweto to Afrikaner potjiekos (stew cooked in a three-legged iron pot on an open fire) at Gramadoelas in the Market Theatre precinct.
It's a pity that weekend brunches aren't as big as they could be, but there are a number of places that are good, like the News Cafe in Rivonia. Many hotels, like The Grace in Rosebank or the Balalaika next to Village Walk shopping centre, also offer scrumptious fare.
However, if you're a motor biker, the breakfast run (leap out of bed at dawn, ride like hell for an hour or so, stop for brunch, come home) is really big. There are almost countless places within an hour's drive that serve anything from eggs and slap chips (French fries) to a really good feast.
Gianni Mariano, one of the founders of Mastrantonio says, "the key issue about Johannesburgers is that they are keen diners - and they demand high-quality food."
Johannesburg City Centre is a vibrant juxtaposition of the first world and the third world. The central part of Jo'burg (as it is known), whose tall skyscrapers are today a grimy reminder of a previous era of commerce, has been returned to Africa. Most businesses have migrated to the northern suburbs, transforming downtown into a cacophony of African hawkers and traders who line the grids of streets in colourful profusion. Vendors display shiny fruit and vegetables, young women scoop out pap (maize) and sauce, and Indian merchants sell gaudy clothing. The crime rate in this area is high, so visitors are encouraged to take sensible precautions: walk in a group; do not carry valuables; and don't walk around at night or over weekends when the crowds dissipate.
The Standard Bank Collection of African Art provides some cultural relief in the City Centre with its display of art from across the continent. To gain perspective of the city, visit the observation deck at the top of the Carlton Centre on Commissioner Street. At 50 storeys high this is Africa's tallest office building, giving visitors an excellent view over the city and its idiosyncratic yellow mountains (mine-dump hills). If you have wheels, don't miss the Top Star Drive-In cinema dramatically located on top of one of these hills.
Lying just west of the CBD is Newtown, an area dominated by the revamped Victorian-era Market Theatre Precinct. Originally a market for Indian traders, this is today a fascinating collection of alternative shops, theatres, galleries, bars and coffee houses. Highlights include Museum Africa, an excellent showcase of black people's contribution to Johannesburg's development, and Gramadoela's African Restaurant which cooks up authentic South African cuisine. The French Institute of South Africa is also located here.
Continue along Bree Street to Fordsburg and find Jo'burg's Little India - the Oriental Plaza. This enormous bazaar consists of 275 stalls selling fabric, clothes, household goods, Indian spices and food. Next door is the Fordsburg Artists' Studios where you can watch artists at work.
East of the City Centre is the multi-racial Yeoville neighbourhood. This area is dominated by Rockey Street, a laid-back assortment of shops, cafes, restaurants and bars. Rock clubs and tattoo parlours lie side by side, while bead shops and second hand book stores rub shoulders in this cosmopolitan quarter.
Continue east through Orangegrove along Louis Botha Avenue, and be sure to stop by 206 Live, an establishment in the Jo'burg clubbing scene. Further along the road is the Victory Theatre, a playhouse whose history extends to 1933 when this was a farming area. Continue travelling along Louis Botha Avenue and arrive in Norwood. This district is well-known for its buzzing restaurants and cafes - try the Singing Fig (The) restaurant, an institution in its own right offering up French provencal dishes. This area is equally famous for communities who have cordoned off entire blocks in the face of escalating crime.
South Africa's most famous township lies south-west of the city. Soweto is a vast sprawl of houses, shacks, huts, and dorms whose standards range from plush to woeful. Like other townships that exist on the fringes of South African cities, security is poor, but it is possible to visit with a tour group or a dependable black friend. Tours usually include stops at Nelson Mandela's former home, now a museum, and the Hector Petersen Memorial, dedicated to the young boy who was the first fatality of the June 1976 student uprising. Stop by at the reputable Wandie's Place restaurant for an authentic taste of Africa.
Leaving behind the CBD and venturing in a northerly direction one travels towards Johannesburg's more affluent neighbourhoods. The leafy suburb of Parktown is a perfect way to introduce oneself with the colonial history of early Johannesburg. Many of the city's mining magnates of the late 19th century lived in ornate mansions designed by the renowned architect, Sir Herbert Baker. These homes are now national monuments, which can be visited through the Parktown-Westcliff Heritage Trust. Artists Under the Sun is a monthly open-air art exhibition at Zoo Lake, a perfect outing for the whole family.
Close to Parktown is the trendy suburb of Melville, which lies in the shadow of the South African Broadcasting Corporation, just north of the City Centre. Browse antique shops, boutiques and second hand books stores, or enjoy one of the many restaurants, cafes and bars. Journalists and actors hang out at Sam's Cafe, one of the more established restaurants in Jo'burg's corner of bohemianism.
While the suburbs just north of the city are older and more established, those further north are modern and dynamic, but a little soulless. Rosebank, Sandton and Houghton are some of the neighbourhoods replete with ultra-modern shopping malls and business districts - nirvana for shoppers and diners, and a hive of commercial activity.
Amongst the many fine restaurants is Vilamoura Sandton, offering award winning Portuguese-style seafood. Drop by Nino's in the Rosebank shopping mall for a coffee and some people-watching, or the Agfa Theatre on the Square in Sandton for cultural inspiration. In the northern - burbs, tall, mirrored, futuristic office blocks reflect white and black faces peering from Mercedes Benzes - the beggars at traffic lights the only reminder of Johannesburg's distinct first and third world elements.
Top»The history of Gauteng has been moulded for centuries, by the very location of the province on the highland plateau of South Africa.
The Sterkfontein Valley, situated just 30km northwest of Johannesburg has yielded some of the most startling archaeological treasures of our time. Scientists working the limestone caves in 1998 discovered a lime-encrusted skeleton, which dates the presence of early humand-kind in the valley to 3,5 million years. This discovery places Gauteng at the forefront of international, palaeontological research.
Evidence of iron age smelters on the mid-Johannesburg Melville Koppies and at Lone Hill just north of Sandton, point to more recent occupation, while San rock engravings in the Magaliesberg mark the passage of these hunter gatherers 25,000 years ago.
It is not without reason that the province in which Johannesburg sits is called Gauteng - Sotho for "Place of Gold."
The city was named after Johan Rissik, who was the Surveyor General sent to select a site for the village, and Johannes Joubert, the mining commissioner sent to investigate the claims.
With the discovery of gold in 1886 (an event which led to the discovery of the planet's most significant source of this precious mineral) gold diggers, speculators and fortune hunters arrived in their droves, and soon a tented town sprawled across the dusty reef. The conglomerate of disparate people and motives was to become what is today South Africa's main commercial centre.
At the beginning of the 19th century the Witwatersrand gold mines attracted large numbers of black labourers who were housed in compounds on the mines. Company, and municipal hostels, housed migrant workers for other industries while some, such as domestic workers, resided at their places of work.
But there were also many people who were uitlanders or foreigners. Their limited voting rights, was one of the reasons for the outbreak of the Anglo Boer War (an earth-shattering clash between British imperialism and Afrikaaner nationalism).
It was not just the war of the white person; many black people were employed by the British. The Boers, too, employed blacks.
The Johannesburg Fort, a prison for a good part of the late 1900s, was surrendered to the English during the Anglo Boer War. The Fort was the only major, military structure built in Johannesburg by the Transvaal Republic. It was designed to control, not protect, the rebellious mining town and it was surrendered without a shot being fired. The battlements offer commanding views of the city and its gold mines, which caused the War.
As social and political tensions increased in the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s, a new breed of leader emerged, and it was at this time that people like Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela equipped themselves with academic qualifications.
In 1955, at a conference in Kliptown near Johannesburg, the ANC's Freedom Charter was signed and ratified by the Congress of the People.
Milestones during this period of history are numerous; the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Albert Luthuli brought international recognition and sympathy for the struggle against apartheid.
The Rivonia Trial, the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela and finally, the student uprising in Soweto in 1976, marked the beginning of the end of apartheid. After all, Gauteng - both Johannesburg and Soweto - was at the very cutting edge of the revolution against apartheid.
Soweto (originally an acronym for South Western Townships adjacent to Johannesburg) which comprises a number of townships, developed into a city as a result of a policy of territorial and political segregation. It has now developed from a mere geographical concept into an equally vibrant city and an experiential feast for the visitor.
Johannesburg today reflects the new South African order, and a society of which the people are justly proud.
Top»
Johannesburg, the city of great diversity, is a place that is celebrating and rejoicing in its different cultures. New genres are being created and cross-cultural projects are tearing down Old South Africa boundaries. These are exciting times to visit, as the vibrant Arts scene sets off on a new course.
The city, which was built on gold and then industry, offers cultural escapism for every taste. This is South Africa's entertainment centre - where would-be actors get their first break; where singers are launched on to the international stage and artists are invited to exhibit at institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Look out for listings of mainstream entertainment as well as film festivals, unusual art exhibitions and the like. The daily Star newspaper's Tonight section is a good source of information, but the weekly Mail & Guardian's Friday section is probably the most comprehensive entertainment guide available.
There is a plethora of galleries and museums in and around Johannesburg and a week could easily be filled just doing the art routes. The Johannesburg Art Gallery houses the definitive collection of South African art. ABSA Gallery in the centre of the city (always phone to book parking) holds an excellent art collection. The Witwatersrand (Wits) University houses the Gertrude Posel Gallery, where exhibitions include collaborations with the Rock Art Research Institute. The Karen McKerron Fine Art Gallery, the Goodman Gallery in Parkwood and The Everard Read Gallery, not far down the road in Rosebank, are among the oldest and most established galleries, always showing the creme de la creme of local talent.
Enjoy a range from serious feminists in Madonna brassieres to Jargonelle's in Brixton (behind the South African Broadcasting Corporation near Melville). Local talent, whether living in the country or abroad, is showcased at this venue. Catch hip Afrikaans rockers like Wouter van de Venter there. The Randburg Waterfront often offers comedy and sing-along favourites in a Vaudeville style. But, be warned, as anything goes.
There are cinema complexes all over the city in shopping centres. On offer are mainstream films from all over the world, albeit predominantly from the US. - Art films' are shown in the Rosebank Mall cinema complex Cinema Nouveau, and also at embassies and the French Institute of South Africa, in Parkview. They do say it's always better on the big screen, and they don't come any bigger than the IMAX cinema, found in the Hyde Park shopping centre.
Music is everywhere, and everything from the sublimely operatic to the sassy and silly is easily found. There's get-down blues and jazz at The Blues Room in Village Walk and jazz at the Market Theatre Complex. For classical music lovers the Witwatersrand (Wits) University offers regular recitals. The Civic Theatre (in Braamfontein, not far from Wits University) and Linder Auditorium (about 20 minutes from there) both also offer the classics. Larger arenas like the Johannesburg Stadium showcase big-name national and international artists. These visiting greats can also be found at some of the big casino complexes like Carnival City.
The Wits Theatre at the Witwatersrand (Wits) University in Braamfontein often shows contemporary drama. The Alhambra Theatre presents mostly humorous and comedic performances.
Although the city offers a treasure house of museums, first stop should be Museum Africa founded in 1935 as the Africana Museum. Since then it has built up a collection of geological specimens, paintings, prints and photographs - life in southern Africa from the stone-age to the nuclear age, and beyond. The Bensusan Museum in Newtown (near the Market theatre complex) has, in addition to the fascinating photographic collection, a good historic art collection. If your taste tends towards the sybaritic, try the Breweries Museum (corner of Bezuidenhout and President Streets, Newtown), which depicts the history of brewing, going back to 1895. This is the date that South African Breweries (SAB) were officially registered on the London Stock Exchange. Come and sample some excellent South African beer. CLUBBING
Clubs in Jo'burg cater to every taste - from hip hop and drum - n bass to hard house and happy house. If trance is your dance, there's Horror Cafe opposite Electric Workshop near the Market Theatre Complex.
Tanz Cafe, in Bryanston, combines the essence of a European and Argentinean dance cafe where the music is passionate, the dance floor is large, the menu unique and the atmosphere reminiscent of continental cafes.
Although Johannesburg pales in comparison to the world's - gay capitals' such as San Francisco, Sydney, and indeed, Cape Town, numerous bars and clubs catering to gays and lesbians have sprung up in post-apartheid South Africa. Ravers should head out to Champions which offers the latest house grooves.
Top»Country: South Africa
Johannesburg by the Numbers:
Population: 3.2 million
Elevation: 623 feet
Average Annual Rainfall: 23.6 inches
Average Annual Snowfall: 18 inches
Average January Temperature: 26 degrees C
Average July Temperature: 17 degrees C
Top»Major Industries: machine building, metalworking, oil refining, publishing, brewing
Ethnic Mix: 73% black Africans, 16% white, 6% coloureds, 4% Asians.
Electricity: 220 V, 50 Hz, three round prongs
Time Zone: GMT +2
Country Dialing Code: 27
Area Code: 11
A cave in Johannesburg is the site where the discovery of the three and a half million year old Australopithecus africanus was found. It was among the oldest human skeletons ever uncovered.
Top»Johannesburg is located in the northeast-central part of South Africa.
Top»
Rate Air Afriqiyah
[ 35 votes]
|
Privacy Policy | Terms and Conditions | About Us | FaQs
Air Afriqiyah
Cheap flights by Air Afriqiyah
0203 372 4420
Monday to Friday 7:30- 20:00 Saturday 8:00-19:00 Sunday 9:00-18:00 (Calls may be recorded for quality control)
All the contents of this Website are protected by Copyright Laws and International Trade Agreements. Copyright 2008-2020 Air Afriqiyah All rights reserved.
