Aces 'n' Spades

Aces 'n' Spades has called itself a neighbourhood rock 'n roll bar since 2012, and Cape Town Magazine's profile confirms the city took it at its word. The room hides pinched between two buildings on Hout Street, three blocks from Bree Street's cocktail polish and proudly unrelated to it.

The walls carry the canon: Ramones, Mike Ness, Dylan. The Firm, the hospitality group behind it, keeps the formula untouched because it works.

One TripAdvisor reviewer titled their writeup self described dive bar, and that self description is accurate marketing. Come for volume, stay because the room means it.

The space is a long narrow shotgun room: bar down one wall, stage wedged at the back, band photos and stickers covering everything else. Smoke machine haze and red light do the decorating after 10pm. When a band plays, the whole room is the front row.

The list is beer, bourbon, and shots, with local lagers from about R35 and doubles that respect a working crowd. Nobody publishes a cocktail menu and nobody asks for one. TripAdvisor regulars praise exactly this: a great rock bar that knows what it is.

Cape Town Magazine calls it a second home for the city's coolest kids and chicest cliques, but the base crowd is musicians, tattoos, and long serving regulars. Friday Night Live gigs are free and pack the room weekly. Wednesday karaoke hands the mic to amateurs and air guitarists, also free.

What regulars say:

• Cape Town Magazine: the leading neighbourhood rock and roll bar in Cape Town since 2012.
• TripAdvisor reviewers call it quite simply the best bar in town for atmosphere and music.
• The Firm's own listing keeps the promise plain: live bands, karaoke, late nights, no cover.

Who it is for:

• Live rock and punk without a ticket price
• The late late round after Bree Street closes its tabs
• Avoid if you want table service or a quiet word; Fable is three blocks away for that

The dive bar Cape Town's city center needs, kept loud and honest since 2012. Free bands on Fridays and karaoke on Wednesdays settle the value argument before the first round lands.

Getting there: Hout Street between Bree and Loop, City Centre. Look for the doorway between two buildings and follow the noise.

Timing: Evenings Wednesday through Saturday until very late. Friday Night Live starts around 9pm; karaoke Wednesdays.

Cost: Beers R35 to R55, doubles under R70, gigs and karaoke free. Cash speeds up the bar queue.