You know you’ve struck it lucky when the food side of the menu is as groovy as the drinks side. Just like the early Joburg miners, hoping to find gold, visitors to the newly reopened Good Luck Bar will also strike it lucky, as the food here is way more impressive than standard ‘pub grub’. The drinks are well worth it too.

People enjoying themselves at The Good Luck Bar. Photo courtesy of the restaurant.

The Sheds@1Fox is situated in a historic 1895 location in Newtown, inside a huge, restored warehouse over on what Gerald Garner (one of the brains behind the development) calls the “western-edgy” side of the city. While they were turning this old depot into the hipster hangout it is today, The Good Luck Bar’s serving counter and the early bar licence date (the very first licence for The Good Luck Bar was issued in 1895) were discovered. This noteworthy memorabilia makes an intriguing addition to the décor of the place.

The interior at The Good Luck Bar. Photo courtesy of the restaurant.

The other great minds behind the revamped Good luck Bar are Jan and Jay Roode (the happy.me people who travel around the world trend watching, and who are largely responsible for the re-designed menu), Gareth Wilson (of Southern Gypsey Queen), and Nicol van den Berg (Oppikoppi festival director). The muso-festival backgrounds of the last two are most likely the reasons why creatives already love this place.

According to Jan, the bar’s sweet chilli and lemongrass prawns are immensely popular, and are “nice with a glass of Ken Forrester’s Sauvignon Blanc”. The spicy beef ribs and kimchi do just as well, and go down even better with the Swinging Jack cocktail (Tennessee whiskey, whisky liqueur, cola and lemon). Other noteworthy menu items include the ostrich rosemaried stew with mielie-meal-tomato-basil squares. Beyond the popular big ticket items are also various scrummy snacks, like a load of all the veg crisps you can think of with different sauces to dip them in. Also worth a mention are all the different kinds of lattes served at the bar: almond or gingerbread, whisky-orange, brandy-rose etc.

It’s a fun and funky place to hang out and it’s open 10am to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, and 10am to 6pm Sundays. At least for now. Cheers!

A view of the counter at The Good Luck Bar. Photo courtesy of the restaurant.