After Joburg’s usual quiet Christmas and New Year period, come mid-January Joburg’s dining scene is getting back into the swing of things. As ever in this busy town there are plenty of new venues that have cropped up during the past few months to keep your eye on, while sadly some of Joburg’s much-loved older venues have closed their doors for the last time.
To keep you up to speed on what’s new in Joburg this month, here’s our round-up of the latest Joburg restaurant news.
New in Melville: Spilt Milk, Ba Pita, La Petite Maison
Melville’s famous 7th Street continues to change and in early January, a new development on the corner of 1st Avenue finally opened its doors with three new restaurants: Middle Eastern restaurant Ba Pita (owned by the same team who ran the first Ba Pita in the 1990s in Yeoville), stylish ‘social cafe’ Spilt Milk (pictured top) and bistro and wine bar La Petite Maison. Also rumoured to be moving into Melville in the coming months is a branch of Linden’s famous coffee shop The Whippet, which should be moving in on the corner of 7th Street and 3rd Avenue.
Iconic Joburg jazz club The Orbit closes
Starting the year off on a blue note, the iconic Braamfontein jazz club The Orbit announced that it had closed its doors for the final time. In a statement released on January 3rd the much-loved club said that “it is with great sadness that we announce the closure of The Orbit Live Music and Bistro. We have unfortunately not been able to overcome the financial constraints that we have found with running a live music venue like The Orbit”.
Sandton’s new luxurious dining club Alice & Fifth
Sandton’s dining revival continues with some new interesting concepts having opened at the end of last year. Garnering much excitement on Instagram after a glamorous opening in late November is Alice and Fifth, which describes itself as a ‘luxurious dining and underground avant garde venue’. Entrance to the club is by booking only and the venue hosts regular supper club nights with live burlesque entertainment. Named for its address at the Sandton Sun hotel, the opulent decor was designed by the much awarded StudioA/Tristan Plessis Studio team who also worked on the gorgeous Mesh Club in Keyes Art Mile.
A new look for Just Teddy’s delicious patisserie at 1 Fox
Master patissier and baker Ted Zaki (known to many as a runner-up on the Great South African Bake Off) is expanding his delicious baking business Just Teddy at the 1 Fox Precinct. With the closure of the 1 Fox Market Shed in December, new plans are afoot for a new look bakery and patisserie with a garden area that should be ready for business by early February. The Just Teddy empire is also expanding with their first Sandton branch set to open in Hyde Park Corner in mid-Autumn.
Craft cocktails at The Little Fox
The latest new venture at the distinctive 1 Fox Precinct development in the heritage rich downtown Ferreirasdorp district is The Little Fox, a craft cocktail bar that adjoins The Ginologist craft gin distillery. Headed by star mixologist Gareth Wainwright (whose proteges include Julian Short of Rosebank’s Sin + Tax) the enticing bar serves an innovative and constantly changing menu of memorable craft cocktails, many of them based around the Ginologist’s excellent range of craft gins. Other craft spirits are also showcased – including some excellent local craft rums and mezcal – and throughout January the bar is selling their latest experimental drinks for just R50 a pop.