TRE Steampunk Club, Restaurant & Bar opened its doors on 16 September. Situated on Leeuwen Street, the gourmet eatery serves up a range of house-made goodies – from pestos to pastas. Paleo, banting, vegetarian and vegan options abound on a menu of “boozy burgers” and European dishes. Owner Justin Whittaker has also unveiled a 24-hour takeaway hatch, on the block between Bree Street and Buitengracht.
Food aside, TRE is attracting attention for its Steampunk look, an aesthetic it shares with Truth Coffee Roasting's HQ. American illustrator Joshua Werner created the venue’s artworks, including a five-metre tall portrait of Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty. Vintage decor, and a live swing and jazz band complete the picture.
TRE Steampunk Club, Restaurant & Bar: Unit 3 142 Bree St (entrance on Leeuwen) | www.facebook.com/TRERestaurantAndBar | 084 327 1111
Steampunk is an artistic movement sometimes described as “neo-Victorian”. Its works are often set in an alternative history of the 19th century and may include technology of the era and elements of the American Wild West.
Bast Mechanicae by Adam Cooley
SteampunkProp by Molly Porkshanks Friedrich
(Examples of steampunk-style contraptions used as decor. Images via Wikimedia Commons)
(Image via Facebook)
Truth Coffee Roasting’s hip Buitenkant Street HQ pioneered this aesthetic in the CBD. Its retro-futuristic decor includes cast-iron pillars, exposed steel and brass, and a variety of creepy contraptions. A 1940s cast-iron roaster is the centrepiece of Haldane Martin’s interior design.
Truth Coffee Roasting HQ: 36 Buitenkant St | www.truthcoffee.com | 021 200 0440
Industrial chic
The Central City is filling up with venues embracing a rawer look and feel. Check out these venues too.
Arcade: 152 Bree St | http://arcadecafe.co.za | 060 861 0511
Beerhouse: 223 Long St | www.beerhouse.co.za | 021 424 3370
Los Muertos Motorcycles: 31 Loop St | www.facebook.com/LosMuertosMC | 082 357 5097
The House of Machines: 84 Shortmarket St | https://thehouseofmachines.com | 021 426 1400
The House of Machines at 84 Shortmarket St