Yay Abe’s Little Black Book of Cape Town

Few emerging voices in Cape Town’s art scene carry the same restless creative energy as Russell Abrahams, aka Yay Abe. An established illustrator who’s recently stepped into the world of fine art, his work blends storytelling, colour and a distinctly South African point of view. Based in a studio in the Lemkus Exchange on St George’s Mall, Russell lives and works in the heart of the inner city, where its vibrant street art, galleries, coffee shops and everyday encounters feed his imagination. We chatted to this up-and-coming artist about the innercity gems that inspire him.

Art in the city

I work in the Lemkus Exchange building in St George’s Mall. The sneaker store on the ground floor has been in the Lemkus family for 90 years, and they have turned the other five floors into galleries, workspaces and a great coffee shop called Cedar. On the fourth floor is Thefourth, a gallery where director and curator Jared Leite has been doing some cool stuff. My studio is on the fifth floor and I’m always open to people popping in to say hi and see my work.

Anelisa Mangcu’s gallery called Under the Aegis looks like a really cool space. Then there’s Dada Khanyisa, who has taken over Church Projects on Church Street for a month; he’s a full-on powerhouse. I also love Studio Jana + Koos on Bree Street, next to the Youngblood Gallery… and look out for murals by Bushy Wopp and Motel 7!

I went to the Iziko South African National Gallery recently for the first time in 10 years, and discovered such a cool collection of South African and other art. We got lost there for about three hours, checking out a very interesting, controversial exhibition by Stephen Cohen and an amazing exhibition on motherhood. Entrance is only R50 for South Africans.

Neighbourhood hang-outs

My wife and I recently moved from Milnerton to Orange Street in Gardens. Most mornings, I go to Coffee on Orange, an incredible spot with the friendliest staff and this crazy, midcentury modern interior. There’s a lady there named Happiness (I think she’s the manager) and every morning when I walk past, she’ll shout, “Morning, Russell!”, and I’ll shout back, “Morning, Happiness!” It’s a really awesome vibe.

Around the corner, next to NY Slice, is Unclaimed, a new bar opened by my friend Aidan Powrie. I will die on a hill saying that they serve the best cocktails in Cape Town… their guava margarita is really incredible. I’ve been going there since they opened last October, and there’s such a cool, chill vibe. Aidan will probably bring your drink to you himself, just so he can watch you take your first sip and see that “Ah, this is so good” moment.

We’ve also been enjoying Café Sofi by Tashas, which recently opened up on Park Road. It’s a really nice, aesthetically pleasing little breakfast spot. I love their rosti and beef ragu on a bed of hash browns – I had it three times last month.

I really recommend Vadivelu on Kloof Street because it’s so different from the rest of Cape Town. We went there recently with friends and it was incredible – just a cool Indian aesthetic and amazing food. I had the lamb rogan josh with their little rotis, which were mindblowing, and the onion bhaji fritters were great. One of our friends ordered a vegetarian dish (I can’t remember the name, but it was green) and that was my favourite dish of the night. It’s also a great place to go for your birthday; they bring out sparklers and sing a different version of Happy Birthday, and it’s such a spectacle. There were two or three birthdays that night so we heard that song non-stop… and each time, we were clapping.

Whenever we go out for drinks with friends, it’s a ritual to get a paloma cocktail and short ribs or the prego roll from Blondie. If you’re in a big group, you can order everything on the menu for about R2 500, and there’ll be enough for about 15 people. The place gets quite full so we try to eat there before 4pm. Otherwise, here’s a little hack: you can also order Blondie’s food at AKJP, a clothing store next door with a cocktail bar. So, you can get your drinks there, order Blondie’s food and enjoy it in a less chaotic setting.

Bree Street + Bo-Kaap favourites

Tomson’s is one of our favourite restaurants. I really like places where it doesn’t feel like too much of an establishment… and with owner Andrew Tomson floating around and having a chat with you, it feels like a little piece of home. I recommend the prawn toast and the pork-and-beef dumpling, which comes with this awesome chilli oil and onion crunch sauce. I end up ordering more prawn toast just to dip into the dumpling sauce. So good!

There’s a reason Capetonians always go to Clarke’s. I normally get their negroni and either the baby burger and chips, or their cheese burger. The kimchi and gruyere croissant is also worth having, especially if you’re going for a meeting and don’t have a lot of time.

There’s a little blue house on Wale Street in the Bo-Kaap with a coffee sign outside. It’s called Lekka Coffee Co and they’ve got great coffee… but their little koesisters have become a Sunday ritual for us. We’ll walk through the Company’s Gardens in the early morning, then cut up into Wale Street, get the koesisters, get back home and make coffee. Sometimes you have to fight through tourists having koesisters explained to them: “It’s a syrupy, sugary doughnut with coconut on… but you’ll love it!” I enjoy the experience and it’s fun to see.

I can’t forget Ahmed’s Tikka House in the Bo-Kaap. It’s just a little corner shop where they braai tikka chicken, and you can buy half a chicken or a quarter chicken with a big bowl of chips. I love seeing all the uncles chilling on the stoep… it gives me quite a homey feeling.

Mexican must-visits

We went to Mexico last year, and when we came back we were full-on listening to Bad Bunny and eating only tacos. We’ve tried a lot of Mexican places and we find El Burro authentically Mexican. Try their ceviche and their tacos! Then go to Chingadas for their palomas. They even have paloma floats, with a scoop of vanilla sorbet on top. Whenever people stay with us, we’ll go there… Their food is good as well. We normally have their guac and nachos, and their birria tacos are quite a favourite, too.

Out and about

Every Tuesday, my wife goes to Long Street Baths because it’s women only from 10am to 2pm. She enjoys swimming with all the girls and not having a bunch of men staring or aggressively swimming past her. I think it’s quite cool that they do that with everything that goes on in South Africa, and it’s been quite liberating for her to go there by herself and just have an hour to swim and do her thing.

Every morning at around 7am, I leave home and walk through the Company’s Garden to get to work. It’s just straight down for about a kilometre-and-a-half. And I always see the same people doing their thing. There’s an artist named Wanda in the middle of the gardens, and he and his son put up their artworks every day. He’s this really cool uncle that will chat your ears off, and his son does all their social media – they’ve actually been getting traction on Instagram. If you’re walking through the Company’s Garden, just say hi to anyone. You’ll probably strike up a conversation and have someone to walk with or just yap away to for a little bit.

My father used to work in the banks around St George’s Mall, so I used to come here when I was a kid. A lot of people come to Cape Town and experience Kloof Street, Bree Street and all the trendy places… but they don’t see the need to come down to St George’s Mall. If they did, they would see a side of the real Cape Town… There’s great food – I recommend the fish and chips at Lusitania, up Waterkant Street, and Jack’s Burgers outside the Lemkus Exchange do the best smash burger I’ve had in town. The Mall is full of so many different people travelling to work and back every day. How they live their lives is as much of the Cape Town experience as Bree Street coffee shop-hopping. Just get some coffee in St George’s Mall… you’ll be fine.

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