By Gugulethu Tshabalala
By 5pm in September, the jackets have already lost the argument. Outdoor tables fill up faster than usual, a quick after-work drink starts stretching toward sunset, and South Africa quietly slides into its favourite season for eating, drinking and staying out a little longer.
Spring is the unofficial start of sun, fun and sundowners, and the country's restaurants, rooftops and wine farms know it. Terraces are being dusted off. Firepits are being lit earlier.
The Season of Sundowners
A sundowner is more than a drink, it's an occasion. It's the moment the day's pace drops, the light turns gold, and nobody's in a rush to check their phone.
In Johannesburg, that means climbing 234 metres up to Alto234 at The Leonardo in Sandton, Africa's highest urban bar, for a 360-degree view that makes the whole city look like it's on fire at 6pm. It means firepits and local ciders on the terrace at San Deck, or a quieter, more unhurried sunset at The Living Room in Maboneng, where weekday evenings are for lingering and weekends are for showing up with everyone you know.
Whichever direction you're facing, the rule stays the same: find the view, order the drink, and let the evening take its time.
Food Tastes Better Outside
Spring gives us permission to move dinner outdoors. There's nothing complicated about it: good food, good people, and a sun that refuses to set before 7pm.
Think grilled seafood with real char marks, salads built around whatever citrus is in season, wood-fired pizzas, sharing platters, and the South African non-negotiable: a proper braai. At Flames, the open-flame restaurant at Four Seasons Westcliff, that philosophy is the whole menu, grilled steaks and seafood served on a terrace overlooking the greenery, sundowners running from 3pm.
Pack a picnic basket.
Head for a garden or riverbank table, not a restaurant booth
Fire up the braai.
Let everyone bring one thing, nobody needs to cook the whole spread.
Book a long lunch at a wine farm.
Babylonstoren's farm-to-table restaurant, Babel, looks out over the gardens the food actually came from.
The point isn't a perfect table setting. It's staying at the table long after the plates are cleared.
Something Cold in the Glass
Spring also changes what's in the glass. Heavier winter pours give way to citrus, berries and herbs, and estates like Boschendal, one of the oldest Cape Dutch farms in the country, start pulling their crisp whites and Cap Classiques out for terrace pouring instead of cellar tastings.
For those going alcohol-free, this is a genuinely good year to experiment. Abstinence Spirits, distilled in Cape Town from Cape Floral Kingdom botanicals rather than the usual juniper base, comes in three distinctly South African directions: Cape Citrus, Cape Spice and Cape Floral, each built to stand in for the real thing in a proper cocktail, not just a fancy soft drink.
And for the traditionalists: an ice-cold beer on a warm afternoon still doesn't need improving.
Make a Day of It
The best thing about September is you don't need an occasion. A Saturday morning coffee becomes brunch. Brunch becomes a long lunch at a wine farm. Long lunch becomes sundowners on a rooftop. And somewhere in between, nobody's checking the time anymore.
Try the restaurant you've been meaning to book. Order the cocktail you've never had. Take the scenic route. Invite everyone over for a braai. This September, the invitation is already open.
