Cape Town, are you ready to level up your cocktail game as we head into December? The AJABU Festival is back in the Mother City, running until 30 November, and they’re giving away 1,500 free festival passes to anyone who registers this month.
Yes, really.
African bars going global
The continent’s cocktail scene is more than heating up, following a standout pop-up at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans, where African bars received 15 international nominations in the 2025 awards. This marks the first time Africa has outperformed the Middle East. And now some of them are gearing up to bring their leading cocktail flavours to the streets of Cape Town.
AJABU, meaning “miracle” in Swahili, wants to be more than a cocktail festival, according to the organisers Colin Asare-Appiah (Bar World 100 Most Influential Figures 2023, and Co-Author Black Mixcellence) and Mark Talbot Holmes (founder of multiple award-winning U’Luvka Vodka).
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They're on a mission to make the bi-annual festival the continent’s leading hospitality community gathering, calling it a full celebration of "African ingredients, stories and style."
Highlights festival-goers in Cape Town can look forward to include collaborations between top local and international bars, featuring one-night-only pop-ups, exclusive seminars, and a wealth of unique mixology storytelling to shake things up.
AJABU Mashups to plan around:
More than 30 bars across Cape Town will serve signature cocktails - including a festival-exclusive R86 serve for registered guests. The following international bars will be joining AJABU to celebrate Africa and the growing AJABU community:
- Front/Back — Accra, Ghana: Discovery Bar, The World’s 50 Best Bars.
- No.19 — Accra, Ghana: Discovery Bar, The World’s 50 Best Bars.
- Hero — Nairobi, Kenya: Ranked No.70 on The World’s 50 Best Bars and awarded Best Bar in Africa.
- Funky Monkey — Diani, Kenya: Discovery Bar, The World’s 50 Best Bars.
- Atwater Cocktail Club — Montreal, Canada: Ranked No.39 on North America’s 50 Best Bars 2025.
- Bissa — Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
- Trailer Happiness — London, UK: BIH Spotlight Awards 2025.
- LAB Bar Revival — London and Cape Town: Originally founded in 2002.
- Fire Station — Brussels, Belgium.
- Muthaiga Country Club — Nairobi, Kenya: Procera Gin Best Bartender 2025.
Pop-ups at the hottest venues across town until Sunday:
- Kloof Street / Gardens
Unclaimed – 55 Kloof Street, Gardens, Cape Town
Batanga – 70a Kloof Street, Gardens, Cape Town
Asoka – 68 Kloof Street, Gardens, Cape Town
Kloof Street House – 30 Kloof Street, Gardens, Cape Town
CBD – Bree / Loop / Shortmarket / Longmarket
Talking To Strangers – 61 Loop Street, Cape Town CBD
Anthm Cocktail Bar – 63 Loop Street, Cape Town CBD
The Drinkery – 100 Shortmarket Street, Cape Town City Centre
HiBall – 61 Shortmarket Street, Cape Town CBD
The House of Machines – 84 Shortmarket Street, Cape Town CBD
Tjing Tjing House / Rooftop Bar – 165 Longmarket Street, Cape Town CBD
Hacienda Coastal Mexican – 92 Bree Street, Cape Town CBD
- V&A Waterfront
Cause Effect Cocktail Kitchen & Cape Brandy Bar - The Rocket Shed, 280 Dock Road, V&A Waterfront
Bascule Bar (Cape Grace) – Marina-side whisky & cocktail bar at Cape Grace Hotel, Waterfront
- Sea Point
Bokeh Karaoke Bar & Lounge – 84 Regent Road, Sea Point, Cape Town
- Salt River
Hope Distillery – 7 Hopkins Street, Salt River, Cape Town (distillery but used as an AJABU venue)
A Festival With Purpose
They've also launched an industry-changing Scholarship Programme, which this year awarded 49 scholarships across WSET, Professional Bar Training, and the Edinburgh Whisky Academy. A record 70% of the awards went to women from across the continent, shaping what they believe is a new era for African hospitality.
Asare-Appiah states, "This year’s scholars represent the future... each ready to lead Africa’s bar movement into a new era.”
And with initiatives like Celebrate Her, created by global bar leader Anna Sebastian, AJABU is doubling down on community, safety, career development and women’s leadership in the hospitality industry.
Your Free Festival Pass
Register online in November for some of the following benefits: https://ajabufestival.com
- A free AJABU Festival Pass
- Entry to all AJABU participating venues and mashups
- R86 cocktail option at participating bars
- Access to Celebrate Africa Night on 27 November
Ready to let the cocktail party begin? Register and collect your festival bracelet from an AJABU Welcome Desk, running until 29 November from 3 pm to 7 pm daily, located in Sea Point, Waterfront, Kloof Street, and Bree Street. Participants need to be 18 years or older.
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