The Waiting Room

Rooftop bar above a Long Street record shop, with views over the city centre

Address 273 Long Street, City Bowl (rooftop, above Clarke's Bookshop)

The Waiting Room sits on the roof of a Long Street building above a record shop, with an open terrace looking out over the Long Street rooftops toward Table Mountain. It functions as a bar and occasional music venue, leaning toward the indie and electronica end of the spectrum, and is one of the better places in the City Bowl for a late-evening drink that doesn't tip into full nightclub territory.

The rooftop gets cold on winter evenings; in summer it is one of the more pleasant outdoor drinking spots in the city centre. The door off Long Street is easy to miss — look for the staircase between the bookshop and the record store.

bars and cafes bar city bowl