art of duplicity, cape town, south africa.
the alleyway after the initial entry point.
april 2024
the art of duplicity is a hidden speakeasy that was a little bit of an adventure. you’re forbidden from revealing the address or geo-location (amongst many other rules). when we made our reservation we were given some clues in the form of a riddle as to it’s location, but not much else! after a few hours of internet sleuthing, i did figure out where we needed to go (but they also send you the location the day of).
the bar.
as you can tell, there’s a bit of theatrics to this place, starting with convincing a doorman at the unmarked location you have a reservation (and you’re dressed to impress - one of the rules!). then you’re funneled down an underwear-and-laundry-hung alleyway behind some other businesses to a door where someone will ask you for a password and probably still angrily tell you to leave. if you are persistent, you are granted entry into an old-timey industrial space with a gorgeous bar.
cozy corners.
the vibes are really cozy and it’s amusing to be on the other side of the “performance” while others work to gain entry to the space throughout the evening. we were seated at the bar, which gave us front row seats to the impressive cocktail-making skills of the bartenders.
their menu is really whimsical and fun, but at the end of the day, we just had conversations with our bartender about what we like and were in the mood for and they made us some beautiful and delicious cocktails. we had an absolutely wonderful time and fell in love with cape town even more.
