On a Test weekend in Newlands, the streets fill with green and gold and everyone seems to be walking toward the same low white pub under the oaks. They are walking to Forries.
Published June 11, 2026 · By Daniel Okafor
Forester's Arms sits at 52 Newlands Avenue in the leafy southern suburb of Newlands, at the foot of the mountains, and by its own account it has poured here since 1852. Fondly called Forries by everyone who knows it, the pub counts itself among the oldest in the country, and few rooms in Cape Town wear their years so lightly.
The setting is the draw. A garden shaded by old trees, a long pub interior of dark wood and worn comfort, and a position close enough to the Newlands rugby and cricket grounds that match-day crowds spill straight from the stands to the bar. Time Out lists it among the suburb's defining venues, and on a big sporting weekend the place runs as the unofficial clubhouse of the southern suburbs.
For sport, Forries keeps it simple and serious. By the venue's own account it carries many TV screens for the fans who would rather watch the match in comfort than from a cold seat, which makes it a natural before-and-after stop on a Newlands match day. It earns a firm place in the Cape Town sports bar scene, and our guide to the best sports bars in Cape Town sets out the rest of the contenders.
Eat the pub classics it has refined over decades. The kitchen leans on grills, generous baskets and proper pub plates built for a long afternoon, with prices that sit in honest mid-range territory for the leafy address. It is a $$ room where the garden and the history are the upgrade. For more of the city, our roundup of the best bars in Cape Town covers the rooms beyond the suburbs.
The crowd is pure Newlands. Rugby and cricket supporters in club colours, families settled in the garden, and old regulars who have measured out seasons at the same table. On a Stormers or Proteas day the energy is warm and unhurried, the kind of generous Cape gathering that treats a stranger like a regular by the second round.
Go on a match day for the full Newlands ritual, arriving early to claim a garden table before the stands empty. A weekday lunch under the oaks is the quiet pleasure, slow and shaded and close to the mountains. Sunday afternoons settle into an easy, family-friendly rhythm.
Forries pairs naturally with the wider Cape circuit. Down the line at Kalk Bay, the Brass Bell pours on the rocks, while in town The Fireman's Arms and Perseverance Tavern carry the same old-pub soul into the city centre.
Getting there fits the southern-suburbs rhythm. Newlands sits a short drive from the city centre along the M3, with the train station close by and the rugby and cricket grounds a few minutes on foot. Newlands Avenue runs green and shaded under the mountains, and on a non-match day the pub is an easy detour off a walk through the leafy streets. Few sports pubs anywhere come wrapped in this much old oak and quiet.
What keeps Forester's Arms on every southern-suburbs list is the rare blend of age and ease. A pub that has watched Newlands cricket and rugby for more than 170 years, and still feels like the friendliest room on the street, is the kind of place a city quietly builds its weekends around. Judged on its own terms, it is one of the great match-day pubs in South Africa.
Sources: Forester's Arms official site (forries.co.za); Time Out Cape Town, Foresters Arms Newlands; Foodyas, Foresters Arms, 52 Newlands Avenue, 2026.