On a Test-match weekend, the walk from The Troyeville to Ellis Park takes only a few minutes, and the bar fills with the kind of supporter who can recount the result of a 1995 fixture without checking.
Published Feb 4, 2026 · By Daniel Okafor
Last reviewed Feb 21, 2026 · How we pick bars
The Troyeville opened in 1939 at 1403 Albertina Sisulu Road, and it remains one of Johannesburg's enduring east-side institutions. The hotel sits about 0.9km from Emirates Airline Park, the rugby ground most of the city still calls Ellis Park. In Your Pocket describes it as the place where hardcore rugby fans gather for pre- and post-match beers when there is a big match on at the stadium.
The sports offering is built around a full-length bar with TV screens and a big screen, plus rooftop views of the stadium and the Joburg skyline. This is a room for the serious watcher, the supporter with encyclopaedic knowledge who props up the bar through every minute of the game. It rewards anyone who treats sport as a shared ritual rather than background noise.
The kitchen is the second reason to come. The Troyeville is a legendary institution for good Portuguese food, drawing a convivial cross-section of the east-side communities who eat in the restaurant or the bar. The prego roll and the peri-peri plates are the obvious orders, paired with a cold beer for the second half.
What sets the place apart is its honesty. There is no franchise gloss here, just a historic hotel that has fed and watered three generations of Joburg sports fans and a crowd that crosses every line the city usually draws. For the wider field of where to watch, see our guide to the best sports bars in Johannesburg.
Time your visit around the fixture list. The restaurant, sports bar, and the pizza, gin, and wine garden run daily from 11am to 10pm, and busy game weekends call for a booking. Rugby Tests and big football nights are when the room comes alive, so plan to arrive before kickoff and stay for the post-match debrief. For the run of major fixtures, our roundup of where to watch the 2026 World Cup in Johannesburg is the companion read.
The building carries its history lightly. Pressed ceilings and a long wooden bar root it in 1939, while the rooftop opens onto the stadium floodlights on a match night. It is the rare Joburg sports venue where the setting is part of the draw.
Regulars come for the combination of food and football. The Portuguese kitchen has a following well beyond match days, the bar pours an honest beer, and the east-side crowd brings a depth of sporting knowledge that turns small talk into real debate. The only knock is that big Ellis Park nights fill it fast.
The crowd is gloriously mixed, a cross-section of the communities east of the city centre who share tables without ceremony. On a Test weekend the energy outpaces anything in the northern suburbs, and the post-match debrief can run long. The walk back from Emirates Airline Park funnels supporters straight past the door, so the bar catches the crowd coming and going on every big fixture.
The Troyeville offers a different register from the northern-suburbs circuit. For a louder, screen-heavy night uptown, Benchwarmers in Rosebank is the contrast, while Pirates Club in Greenside matches it for old-school value. All three sit inside the broader Johannesburg sports bar scene.
Sources: The Troyeville official site, thetroyeville.co.za (2026); In Your Pocket Johannesburg; Tripadvisor reviews; The Troyeville official Instagram.