Cape Town's Only Irish Pub That Was Built in Ireland
Most pubs are decorated. This one was collected.
This is not a room decorated to look Irish. The bar was designed in Ireland, manufactured in Ireland, packed into a shipping container and installed here by the crew who built it. It is the only Irish pub in Cape Town that was built in Ireland and shipped out.
Kronendal 1713 sits in a Cape Dutch manor house in Hout Bay, on land granted in 1713 and declared a National Monument in 1960. Thick walls, gabled front, low ceilings, and a series of rooms that have been filled over years with antiques bought at auctions around South Africa. It is a historic pub in the literal sense: the history came with the building, and the rest was hunted down piece by piece.
The rooms
There is no single dining room here, which is the first thing people notice. The house opens into several, and each one has its own character: dark timber, old glass, low light, furniture with a previous life. Snugs for four, long tables for fifteen, corners that feel private on a full Saturday.
Nothing was ordered from a catalogue. The pieces were gathered slowly, at auction, from around the country, which is why the rooms look like they grew rather than like they were installed. It is also why the same room can suit a quiet Tuesday lunch and a year-end function without being rearranged.
An Irish pub, built in Ireland
The bar itself is the one part of the building that is not South African. It was designed and manufactured in Dublin by The Irish Pub Company, shipped to Hout Bay in pieces, and installed inside a house two centuries older than it.
They are not a small operation. Established in 1990, appointed by Guinness as its sole Irish pub concept designer, and responsible for more than 2,000 bars in over 100 countries on every continent bar Antarctica. Kronendal is one of the builds they publish as a case study, describing it as a bustling bar with private snugs and rooms full of atmosphere and history.
So the joinery is Irish, made by the firm that invented the export, and it sits under a Cape Dutch roof surrounded by South African antiques. That combination does not exist anywhere else in the Cape.
Five of the ten taps are Irish: four from Sullivan's of Kilkenny, brewing since 1702, and Guinness. Thirty-two of the thirty-five whiskeys are Irish, poured by the tot.
The beer garden and terrace
Outside, the estate grounds run to a beer garden and terrace, open from midday Tuesday to Sunday. Long tables, open air, and food coming off the fire, with the gables on one side and the mountain on the other. Ten beers on tap, draught and imported. It is a proper Biergarten arrangement rather than a few chairs on a pavement, and on a warm afternoon it is the best seat in the place.
Worth knowing: the road out from the city over Chapman's Peak is one of the best drives in the country. Plenty of people make the road and the terrace into a single afternoon.
What is poured and what comes off the fire
Ten beers on tap, every one imported: four Sullivan's of Kilkenny, Hofbrau Munchen Lager and Weisse, three English ales and Guinness. Behind the draft sit thirty imported bottled selections from six countries, and beer tasting can be arranged for a group.
The kitchen is a braai in the open air. African-inspired dishes, flame-grilled meat built around sharing, fresh Knysna oysters, and a whiskey list that runs to thirty-five bottles.
Live music nights and DJ nights run through the season and are announced on Instagram. See what is on
Book a table See the beer menu
Questions
Is there an authentic Irish pub in Cape Town?
Kronendal 1713 in Hout Bay is an Irish pub in the literal sense. The bar was designed and manufactured in Ireland by The Irish Pub Company of Dublin, shipped to Cape Town in a container and installed by the crew who built it. Five of the ten taps are Irish and thirty-two of the thirty-five whiskeys are Irish.
What makes it an Irish pub and not an Irish-themed bar?
The bar was not bought locally and styled to look Irish. It was built in Ireland and shipped out: the joinery, the snugs and the fittings all arrived in crates. The Irish Pub Company publish the build as a case study.
What makes Kronendal 1713 different from other pubs in Cape Town?
The building and what is in it. Kronendal is a Cape Dutch manor on a land grant dated 1713, declared a National Monument in 1960, and the interior has been furnished room by room with antiques bought at auctions across South Africa. The bar joinery itself was designed and built in Dublin and shipped out in crates.
Is there a beer garden in Hout Bay?
Yes. Kronendal 1713 has a beer garden and terrace on the estate grounds, open from midday Tuesday to Sunday. It is a proper Biergarten setup, long tables outdoors with draught beer and food coming off an open fire, with the manor house and the mountain behind it.
Who built the bar at Kronendal 1713?
The Irish Pub Company of Dublin, established 1990, appointed by Guinness as its sole Irish pub concept designer and responsible for more than 2,000 bars in over 100 countries. They designed and manufactured the Kronendal bar in Ireland and shipped it to Hout Bay for installation, and they publish the build as a case study.
Do you have draught beer and beer tasting?
Ten taps, all of them imported: four Sullivan's of Kilkenny, Hofbrau Munchen Lager and Weisse, three English ales and Guinness. Alongside the draft there are thirty imported bottled selections from six countries. Beer tasting can be arranged, and the full list is on the beer menu.
What food do you serve?
Braai, cooked over open fire in our open-air kitchen. African-inspired dishes, flame-grilled meats built around sharing, and fresh Knysna oysters on the menu. The kitchen runs on flame rather than a plated set menu, which is the point.
Finding us
Kronendal 1713, 140 Hout Bay Main Rd, Hout Bay, Cape Town. Open Tuesday to Sunday from midday, closed Mondays. Parking on the estate.
Room to Settle In
Kronendal is not a formal dining room, and it is not a typical pub. It sits between the two.
There is seating indoors through the rooms and outdoors in the garden and on the terrace. That makes it work for a long lunch, a quiet corner on a weekday, or a table of friends that turns into a full afternoon. Nothing here rushes you out.