Zebra Lounge & Ottomans
Zebra-print banquettes run the full length of the wall, punctuated by mottled grey crushed-velvet ottomans. Mirror-top tables carry hammered black frames, and industrial ceiling fans move the air above it all.
Crew
Crew
Some addresses carry a particular quality of light. At Cobern Street, it arrives as amber warmth through carved timber, the low register of a room already composed — an atmosphere assembled over years, not nights.
Six distinct spaces unfold across two adjoining addresses, each with its own character and reason to linger. Take a single room, flow between them, or commission the full building for up to 500 guests. Crew Bar — De Waterkant's longstanding LGBTQ+-welcoming address — runs alongside Opium under one roof, without a seam between them.
OpiumThe main room commands without demanding — floor-to-ceiling LED panels cast shifting light across an open floor engineered to move between seated dinner and full celebration without pause.
A professional DJ booth, Funktion-One sound and a complete production rig make this the room where Cape Town's most anticipated evenings take place. Stage-ready for live performance, fire shows and brand reveals.
OpiumA room composed entirely in texture — zebra-print banquettes run its length, interrupted by crushed-velvet ottomans and the long reflection of mirror-top tables. The warmth of the main room drifts through, close but unhurried.
Reserved for those who prefer to inhabit a room rather than simply occupy it. The Saloon suits VIP evenings, artist hospitality, intimate seated dinners and gatherings where conversation takes precedence.
MixologyPressed-metal walls, a dark wood back bar lined with premium spirits and warm lantern light — The Alligator Bar is a room built around the craft of the pour. Each cocktail is measured, considered and served with the same attention as the space that holds it.
This is also the heartbeat of Crew Bar — a decade of De Waterkant heritage in a room that has always welcomed everyone. Welcome receptions, bachelor evenings and mixed gatherings find their natural address here.
OutdoorLiving green walls, a circular mirror catching lantern light, linen drapes and candlelit bistro tables — an enclosed garden that feels discovered rather than designed, removed from the city even as it sits at its edge.
Arrivals, sundown ceremonies, welcome pours and golden-hour photography. The Garden holds the evening quietly — one of the venue's most instinctively photographed spaces, on event nights and film days alike.
The VaultAn ornate triptych mirror, geometric black walls and warm pendant light — The Vault is quieter than the rooms around it, appointed for hospitality that unfolds without spectacle. Premium whisky, champagne on ice and cocktails poured with unhurried precision.
PrivateGold damask walls, tufted velvet banquettes and a checkered floor — a room composed for private celebration, where floral cushions and warm light hold a gathering of twelve without ever feeling crowded.
For proposals, seated dinners and milestone evenings. The Powder Room flows through to pop-art VIP booths and yellow velvet nooks — a sequence of private moments within a single address.
| Space | Seated | Standing | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Opium Lounge | 150 | 250 | Brand launches, headline celebrations, live performance |
| The Saloon | 50 | 90 | VIP hosting, artist dinners, intimate seated functions |
| The Alligator Bar | 30 | 70 | Welcome receptions, cocktail evenings, mixed gatherings |
| The Champagne Garden | 40 | 80 | Arrivals, ceremonies, sundown activations |
| The Powder Room | 12–15 | — | Private dinners, proposals, seated gatherings of twelve |
| The Vault | 20 | 35 | Whisky tastings, cigar rituals, corporate hosting |
| Full Venue — Exclusive Use | — | 500 | Large-scale celebrations, wrap parties, full production days |
Figures are indicative event-styling guidance and are fully configurable to your format. Final layouts are confirmed on a site visit.
Take the venue complete — food, drink, entertainment and production managed end to end — or arrive with your own team and build from our infrastructure.
One contact, one brief, one quote. Every detail handled.
A fully-equipped building — bring your own production and make it yours.
Each dish is a considered composition — modern Asian technique applied to the finest local produce, calibrated for the moment between the first drink and the last.
Prawn tempura arrives crisp and light. Beef potstickers carry quiet depth. Golden calamari and silky edamame complete a menu designed as a progression — graceful, vibrant and built for sharing. Catering spans canapés through to full seated dinners, shaped around your event format.
Seated dinners, sharing plates, canapé programmes and late bites — all configured to your occasion.
Asian FusionMixologyThe cocktail list moves in concert with the space — each drink drawn from premium spirits and fresh ingredients, with a sensibility that treats the glass as the final detail of the evening.
Served across The Alligator Bar, private booths and full-venue celebrations. Bespoke bottle service and champagne programmes are available on request — designed to arrive at the right moment.
The infrastructure most venues ask you to source and build — installed, maintained and ready.
Funktion-One audio, Pioneer DJ systems, full PA with subwoofers — a rig that performs across every room without compromise.
Floor-to-ceiling LED walls carry brand content, atmospheric sequences and live visuals with equal fluency.
Moving heads, lasers, effect lighting and haze — the tools of a serious production, without the separate hire cost.
A commercial kitchen in service for plated dinners, sharing menus and canapé programmes of any scale.
Multiple service bars across the venue, stocked for champagne programmes, cocktail lists and full bottle service.
A curated roster of resident DJs, dancers, fire performers and specialty acts — available on request, rehearsed for your event.
The materials speak first — hand-carved timber, sculpted bar fronts, original art, collected textiles. The result sits between an Asian sensibility and New York-era urban confidence, with enough intimacy to make each room feel like a private discovery.
Zebra-print banquettes run the full length of the wall, punctuated by mottled grey crushed-velvet ottomans. Mirror-top tables carry hammered black frames, and industrial ceiling fans move the air above it all.
Gold-on-black floral wallpaper climbs the walls behind teal velvet armchairs and tufted brown banquettes. Cowhide ottoman coffee tables and harlequin checkered tile complete a room where pattern is not decoration — it is the point.
A carved wingback dressed in yellow velvet anchors this nook, lit by a circular Edison-bulb chandelier with a disco ball turning at its centre. The star-shaped mirror catches everything the eye misses first time.
Cascading faux wisteria, a circular disco-ball chandelier, purple and leopard-print ottomans — this room refuses restraint and is better for it. Ornate carved door frames and layered rugs draw every composition inward.
Vivid pop-art murals frame this booth beneath circular yellow Edison chandeliers and a warm red ambient ceiling glow. A silver ornate mirror multiplies the detail. Designed for private groups who prefer to be seen.
Yellow and royal-blue velvet wingbacks face antique carved double doors across a geometric triangle rug. Still, deliberate and unhurried — the preferred setting for corporate hosting and editorial commissions.
Chained weathered double doors, bird-carved lintels, distressed turquoise reclaimed panels — each entrance is a distinct threshold. Gold-trimmed black cobblestone-texture hallways connect them without announcement.
Black geometric scale walls recede behind matte black spherical pendants and champagne flute displays. Antique mirror back bars and honeycomb tile frontage — surfaces that reward a second look.
Wisteria falls from above. Classical pillars carry linen drapes on either side. A wooden plank boardwalk leads through vertical green walls and wrought-iron lantern light toward the open courtyard beyond.
A hand-carved Moai-style figure stands among tropical planting near the entrance. Golden figurine wall sculptures occupy hammered black frames overhead. Collage mural walls fill what remains — a collection, not a decoration.
Blue LED light rises beneath the bar counter and meets the orange glow of the back bar. Patterned bar stools, a star-pattern floor tile and a high collage mural seating area mark the bar that shaped De Waterkant's after-dark identity.
Sage-green tiled vanities with gold sinks in the women's room; a primate mural anchoring the men's. Floral wallpaper in the stalls. At Opium, every corner is worth a photograph — and these are no exception.
Cobern Street occupies an unhurried pocket of De Waterkant — 800 metres from the V&A Waterfront, set among some of Cape Town's most considered restaurants and creative addresses.
A single location that resolves equally well for corporate occasions, private celebrations, international guests and production crews on location. One address; the city arrives on your terms.
10–14 Cobern Street, De Waterkant, Cape Town
De WaterkantSix visually distinct rooms within a single address — each with its own light, texture and atmosphere — available for production hire without the logistics of multiple locations.
Existing LED walls, calibrated mood lighting, haze and full-venue sound reduce build time to a minimum. Dry hire for production crews; combine the shoot day with a wrap party in the main room. Central De Waterkant, minutes from the V&A Waterfront.
On Location66 images across event nights, live production, brand activations, curated interiors, antique doors, lounges, bars, the garden and production details — Crew Bar & Opium Lounge, De Waterkant.
