Julep Bar – old friends and first times

Where is a homely hole in the wall also a stylish watering hole? At Julep, the jewel in the night.

Lisa and I spent a night getting to know the lovely little bar that doubles as a stylish watering hole. I'm a familiar, Lisa is a newcomer and this is a great reason to compare experiences.

Julep Bar is one of the city's lesser known gems. This is part of its charm. Before you raise your glass to good times at the bar, raise your eyebrows and ask us why we're snitching on a well kept secret?  It's not like there aren't a hundred other places to live your nightlife in Cape Town, after all. Have we been drinking (again)?

Well, yes, we have; drinking, talking, dancing, and listening.  We can't help it; the spirit of celebration is erupting in Cape Town and after a few sips of Julep's select cocktails, most go from lip service to loose lips like us. Besides, Julep will only benefit from having more friends; it never loses its sense of intimacy, even when it's packed. It often is.  Often is daily from 17:00 – 02:00 except Sundays, with a happy hour 17:00-19:00 daily on select Cocktails, and all night Monday night. 

It's hip, ek sê. Whether you're a new friend or a familiar face, Julep invites you to light the night, your style. Everybody else is, after all. Well, almost everybody. Here's our chit chat about it, after the fact.

Jess : Oh my. So many cocktails.  It's good I met you outside; it's not so easy to find. It's been open for three years, but never really actively advertised. Even its Facebook fan page gives its location as "Down the alley between Long Street Cafe and Mojitos in Long Street". It's actually in Vredenburg Lane. Remind me how it all started?

Lisa: It's the cocktails' fault. I started off with a Moonshine. Remember our waitress, Melanie? Her recommendation. It had basil, watermelon and vodka shaken with honey and passion fruit. It was fruity and I loved the touch of fragrant basil on the top. You opted for the Lynch Mob didn't you? It's a spin on the Lynchburg Lemonade. How was that?

Jess : The Lynch Mob took no prisoners. It was well named.  I think I'm more of a pink drink kind of girl - the 'Watermelon' um...

Lisa: The 'Watermelon Ling', complimented with gin, fresh root ginger and ginger beer – a fresh Julep favourite. I tried it somewhere in the course of my cocktail experiments - a lovely girly drink and you could really taste the root ginger. Having travelled Brazil, I'm particularly partial to the odd Caipirinha and Julep served up a great twist of this, by adding a dollop of fresh mango. Gorgeous.

Jess : You remember the names; I remember the faces. Like that sweet patron from PE who stood up and danced when the musos played a Port Elizabeth tribute song. Do you think live, acoustic music works in that small space?

Lisa : Absolutely.  I loved the fact that it's such a small space, but people still feel comfortable enough to get up and dance. It was very relaxed; with the musos literally arranging themselves on the chairs in front of us. It seems to be a bar where people come to converse with each other, so acoustic music provides quite an ambient background. It's great that you can get snacks from neighbouring restaurants. Our sushi from next door was delicious, and you can also order Cuban  finger food , it comes on a tray from around the corner at Mojitos Cafe. Adds to the village feel.

Jess : It's great to see it through your eyes. My mental picture of Julep is low lighting, designer fragrance, happy nights with people spilling into the side street to smoke, and getting to know each other as they try to get to the bar.  I've spent whole evenings chatting to complete strangers there, or getting closer to good friends.

Lisa : The performing duo weren't too bad either, they really bounced off each other. What were their names again?

Jess: Dave van der Linden from the bopping Bed On Bricks and Nick Turner from world-hopping folksters, Mikanik. The bar has a history of funky swing sets from excellent local DJs, but they've swung to  live sets more recently, with regulars like the uber-cool Dave Ferguson (alternate Wednesdays) and the Jack Mantis Band(alternate Thursdays). They're open to guest performers, too. On nights without live music, they play cult rock and folk music with a few classics thrown in for good measure. And they're screening the World Cup matches.

Lisa : I was chatting to one of my mates, John, in there - it turns out he used to work there and is still a regular - he reckons it's quite a hidden secret that only the cool, creative types know about.

Jess :  A former employee is a regular?  That's a pretty good conversion factor. The co-owner, Jay  Haupt is a swell guy. Seems they take care in who they hire. He said they want people they like, and who are part of the family. I reckon it's another reason the place draws a clientele of professionals who enjoy its personal space.

Lisa :  Yes, Jay was telling me that he gets quite a mix of customers: students and lawyers also. I got the impression that it was open to anyone who wants to come and have fun, appreciate some music and be prepared to chat to the random person next to them. That's thanks to the seating arrangement  - the ‘speak easy’ concept - sitting next to a stranger.

Jess :  That's key. An urban planner I know says it's a place you come to with friends, and then make more friends;  Jay said that he and Alexander George created the kind of place they want to come and drink at.  Those are usually the best bars; ones built on passion and personal conviction. I guess that's why it draws such an array of people, and also puts them together very comfortably. I mean, we're a village; not a megalopolis - we're inclined to be insular; we have a small number of people mixing in our public spaces. This place encourages integration and communication - that's testimony to its uniqueness.

Lisa : And I loved the décor. The black and white photos of the Big Lebowsky and William Burrows proved a talking point between my partner and I. Jay was telling me that he painted one of the walls black because he doesn't want the bar to appear any bigger, in other words to seem to be something it isn't. I like the honesty there.

Jess: Honesty keeps the clichés at bay. I guess if you want to pose, you'd better go elsewhere. You'll just fall off the stylish couch if you do that at Julep, anyway. And nobody will think anything of it!

See if you agree that Julep “assumes a certain sophistication that isn't revealed by the cut of your cloth, but which hole in the wall you choose to booze in.”

Address :  Vredenburg Lane, Off Long Street, Cape Town CBD
Tel. 021 423 4276