Wannabee Culinary King

planet bar mount nelson

the mount nelson is a five star hotel in cape town, and the planet bar is no exception to this five star accomplishment.

it is a small bar to the left of the main entrance, and although i didn't go outside, it appears that the outside area of the planet bar overlooks the mount nelson gardens.

what was my first impression of the planet bar - small, it looks much bigger in photo's. why is that? well, it's a small rectangular bar with the bottles at the far end, and behind the barmen is a huge mirror, so when you take photo's of the plant bar, it looks much bigger than it is because of the mirror.

the second impression is classy - the chairs, couches and general theme of the planet bar is victorian (well, not modern - some sort of 17 or 18th century theme), and the ceilings are pressed (as NB pointed out to me). the couches are comfortable, and their are scatter cushions lieing around to help you relax as much as possible.

the clientele are interesting. when we first walked in to the planet bar, there were about 3 people in the bar, but people walked in and out the entire hour we were there, many of them with foreign accents - it could be the people staying in the mount nelson from international destinations, or simply that foreign tourists to cape town are told to take a visit to the planet bar.

near the end a large group of tourists, seemingly from germany, walked through the bar to the outside section - there must have been about 15 of them, and in the small planet bar it was funny to watch them walk through, as it seemed like a queue had formed! :)

we didn't feel like more alchohol, so opted for cuppuccino's, and this is my only problem with the dear planet bar at mount nelson. yes - the mount nelson is five star and one of the top hotels in cape town. yes - the planet bar is luxurious, and a great place to have a drink or coffee. but R18 per cuppuccino! that's the most expensive cup of coffee i have had in south africa. and the cuppuchino definately wasn't the best cup of coffee i have had - it was mediocre, and NB remarked that she found it too strong. i had heard rumours that the mount nelson charges in dollars for eating there, and now i can understand that these might not just be rumours.

nevertheless, i guess paying an extra R10 per cup of coffee is worth it, as the planet bar really makes you feel you are in victorian space (enjoy the pun - lol) for awhile!

an interesting tip is that there are 2 entrances to the mount nelson, and the smaller one (i think it's in kloof street - the mount nelson's official address is in orange street in gardens) is much closer to the parking lot, so it's easier to drive in and out of that entrance.

i'll definately be back to the planet bar - but next time for a drink!

posted by JimMark31 @ 8:23 AM