Cape Town drinks culture divides roughly between the Long Street cluster in the city centre, the Camps Bay strip on the Atlantic coast, and a smattering of neighbourhood bars in Sea Point, De Waterkant, Woodstock and Observatory. There is good wine everywhere — this is Winelands country — and cocktail bars have improved dramatically in the last decade.
The city centre has the most variety: Long Street and its cross-streets carry everything from loud backpacker bars to craft-beer spots to relatively quiet wine bars. De Waterkant is the centre of the city's LGBT nightlife. The Camps Bay strip is more expensive and more tourist-facing, but the sunset views over the Atlantic justify the markup on at least one evening. Observatory (Obs) has the best indie-music scene and the cheapest drinks; the Independent Armchair Theatre on Lower Main Road is the anchor venue.
Cape Town is also a serious coffee city. Truth Coffee in Buitenkant Street (in a steampunk-decorated factory building) was repeatedly voted among the world's best coffee bars; Rosetta Roastery in Woodstock, and Origin Coffee in the De Waterkant area, are serious roasters with their own cafés. Most neighbourhood coffee shops in Sea Point and the City Bowl are above average.
Browse individual bars and cafés below.