Start Living on the Loop Side of Life

Long Street's ugly sister has blossomed into a cherry of a Cape Town destination

What’s the first place you think of when you think of Cape Town? Nobody ever says: ‘Let’s go to Loop Street!’ do they? For too long, the Loopy side of Cape Town has been stampeded over by vibrant Long Street paw prints and suffocated by stylish Kloof Street perfume. When we took a morning stroll down this forgotten street, we discovered collectors NIKE garments, authentic Italian food and clothing, the only vegetarian Café in the area and the only firearms dealership in Cape Town, to name but a few. We at Cape Town Magazine, think that this alone should prompt Cape Town to rekindle their romance with Loop Street.

Spaghetti Mafia
Spaghetti Mafia, opened by Sara and Giovanni in 2005, is for the cosmopolitan male who already has an identity of his own and wishes to accentuate this identity, rather than to plaster himself in obvious brand names. The store stocks Italian designers such as, Danielle Alessanotini and Cycle, as well as a number of other European designers. This chic Italian boutique has some authentic touches such as, Italian fashion books and records.

199 Loop Street | Cape Town

Shelflife
Shelflife, opened in 2006, is a cult for sneaker collectors and graffiti artists. The store carries the widest and most sought after range of sneakers nationwide from brands such as Puma, Nike Addidas and New Balance. We are talking collector's items here – the store recently released the Kanye West shoe and experienced three-hour queues of Capetonian followers, hoping for a slice of sneaker action. The store is Cape Town’s only distributor of Montana, highly specialized graffiti spray-paints. The prices are surprisingly affordable too.

119 Loop Street | Cape Town

Mezzaluna Trattoria Italiana
Mezzaluna, opened in 2009, is characterized by authentic Italian cuisine and offers a changeable menu of fresh seasonal ingredients, whipped up into homemade pastas, veal and seafood. This friendly restaurant is popular with high-end clients such as consulates, bankers and law firms. Patrons will usually visit Loop Street specifically to visit Mezzaluna.

16 Loop Street | Cape Town

A Rosenthal
The gun industry is part of South African heritage and the hunting industry is particularly booming. A Rosenthal, who specialize in hunting and sport firearms, have been catering to this market for the past 35 years. This well-stocked store includes hunting rifles by Steyr Mannlicher and Titan and pistols from Heckler Koch.

13 Loop Street | Cape Town

Mohammed’s Taylor Alterations
Don’t overlook the smaller tailors, in favour of larger designers. Mohammed will tailor everything from African dresses, to evening dresses, to men’s suits. Mohammed’s prices are very competitive, for example, it costs just R30 for a hem and R130 to transform a garment into a shirt.

93 Loop Street | Cape Town

Lutge Architectural & Cape Antiques
Attention to all antiques-lovers: Lutge Gallery specializes in 19th Century Cape Antiques, such as bespoke dining and coffee tables or cupboards. The Owner of the shop, Allan Lutge, constructs and makes tables from old timber (mainly yellow wood), for example, an 8-12 seater table costs somewhere in the region of R20 000. Are you looking for unique furniture? Go to Lutge Architectural & Cape Antiques on Loop Street.

Corner of Loop and Church Street | Cape Town

The Cape Flower Shop
Mothers day, anniversary or a wedding –There are many special occasions to buy flowers. Owner Johan Nortier has a staff of 3 who do all the beautiful flower arranging. They mainly do corporate sales in the business area but are unique because they don’t follow fashion but instead have their own style. Ask for Johan’s favourite flower. He can tell you a lot about roses.

99 Loop Street | Cape Town

iArt Gallery
Definitely one of the hotspots on Loop Street! This gallery exhibits Contemporary South African Art, mainly painting and sculpture. The current artist – Zwelethu Mthethwa – is an influential photographer on the SA art scene. The funds generated by the sale of four of the ten works on exhibition will contribute to the formation of a scholarship, co-supervised by Zwelethu Mthethwa and a leading South African University.

71 Loop Street | Cape Town

Voom Voom
This cosmopolitan club offers a platform for everyone to celebrate their passion for music, art and dance. The visual and accoustic venue, stocking beer, wine, cocktails and non-alcoholic drinks, creates an opportunity to mingle and interact with entertainment. Expect acts including French DJ Fred Spider and German Latin jazz funk band Mo'Horizons.

70 Loop Street | Cape Town

L’Aperitivo
Literally this term means a light drink before dinner. L’Aperitivo specializes in robust coffees and fresh cocktails. A L’Aperitivo Martini for example contains: Absolut Vodka, strawberry, basil and strawberry liquor. And they offer a big range of delicious coffees as well: machiatto’s. espresso, moccacino and gourmet coffee. Referring to owner Andrea Gagiulo this isn’t a place for the general crowd, it is only for those who understand the concept of L’Aperitivo – it’s cosmopolitan.

70 Loop Street | Cape Town

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By Susanne Klatt and Lisa Nevitt.

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