Award-winning mixologists Kurt Schlechter, Siavash Marshall and James Phillips have partnered to create a unique experiential cocktail experience at Cause & Effect bar on trendy Park Road, just off Kloof Street in Cape Town. But no brandy-and-coke is served here. The premise is to create amazing drinks with unusual flavours that will entertain and amuse.

Siavash Marshall crafting one of their unique cocktails. Photo by Rupesh Kassen.

A study in creativity, the menu is inspired by local ingredients and flavours like seaweed, sea cucumber, Cape fynbos and award-winning local brandy. These foraged ingredients are transformed into house-made botanical tinctures used in unusual elixirs.

In addition to classics like the Sidecar (circa 1918) and the Legion (circa 1927), the team has created a true ode to Cape Town, called The Table Bay. It’s made with Caperitif, brandy, Wilderer Obstler apple-and-pear schnapps and Van der Hum liqueur. Garnished with a hand-made origami boat and mielie spouts, it makes for a visual and sensory delight.

Another option bound to please the crowds is the Boerie Roll, with braai-boerewors brandy, wild-dagga tomato bitters, onion sugar and coriander bread. The playful Nelly the Elephant will also amuse, served in a ceramic elephant with orange-husk marmalade, Step 5 Gin and pineapple, and garnished with pink rosemary candy floss.

The sleek interior of this new bar. Photo by Rupesh Kassen.

For the less adventurous and those true brandy connoisseurs, there’s a generous list of 40 local brandies broken down by region. A curated list of local wines and craft beers will cater for the unconverted.

Some of the tinctures used to make the cocktails. Photo by Rupesh Kassen.

The bar – which takes the place of The Pasta Factory to join neighbouring crowd favourites like Thali, Rick’s Café Américain and Jerry’s Burger Bar – will also serve some snacks. A selection of boards to share is on offer, paired with cocktails and aperitifs, as well as substantial mains like a pulled beef burger or brandy mushroom pasta. Bar snacks like home-made snoek paté on toasted ciabatta and pickled fynbos olives with feta sound like perfect companions to the locally inspired drinks. The deep-fried brandy shot with custard, or the liquid nitrogen vodka nougat sorbet should ensure a sweet, tipsy ending.

Cause & Effect is still in its first few weeks of operation, but is set to be a sought-after spot for the season. Make a reservation, stat.