Thumbs Up/ Thumbs Down: Thumbs Up
Price Range: Avg. Price R65
Type: Street Bar/ Light food Restaurant
Crowd: More young  than old, city bowl crowd
Service: 7 /10
Day Of the Week: Friday
Time: 6pm
Address:  100 Kloof Street, Tamboerskloof
Unique Aspects:

Cocoa Oola has slowly crept in to my life more and more over the last 6 or so months, perhaps because it feels to me as though it is still one of Cape Town’s untouched little secrets, one which I personally feel is worth sharing with you.

For its semi-prime location, what it offers on the menu in terms of selection, quality and price and what it offers in the “taps”, I cannot for the life of me understand why it is still so quiet given any Friday afternoon. I will confess that my knowledge of its popularity during the week and at other times during the weekend is fairly limited, so I am not making a very educated assumption, but for the vast selection (15+) of local craft beers, along with its positively mad ” R12.50 a pint” happy hour special on these beers between 6pm and 7pm everyday – it perplexes me as to why it is not Cape Towns most popular drinking hole.

Perhaps this above mentioned issue is due to one of the other facets which make any restaurant popular, but which one? To be honest, I cannot think of any apart maybe from its location, being on the upper portion of Kloof street, past the imaginary “last outpost” which is “The Slug and Lettuce”. I say this because in all my visits I have not been able to fault it on service or food which are often the culprit factors. My one other assumption is perhaps that its slightly desolate nature is due to a bit of a  lack of “vibe”. I would say the ownership could do themselves a favour to “de-sterilize” the location a little, bring in some warmth and drop a backing track with a beat to help people warm in to the evening.

This said, I know I shall keep the tills of Cocoa Oola well stocked with my Rands, as it is honestly one of my favourite spots on Kloof street and if you have not yet been there, I recommend you make your way there soon and sit down to enjoy a Johnny Gold or a Honey Blonde on tap!

Website: http://www.cocoa.co.za/index.html