The Manfood Mix by Clarke's
Since day one, Clarke's Bar and Dining Room has been The Way of Us' preferred bar and dining room. We photographed Lukhanyo Mdingi there when we profiled him, discovered our cartoonist Hugh Upsher via a stack of Bikini Shark zines next to the till, wined and dined (or beer and burgered) potential employees that we then went on to headhunt and have celebrated the majority of our small victories with the beer and shot special. (Check out their Insta @clarkescapetown if you need any further convincing.) And it's not just the good food, cold beers and friendly service that makes Clarke's our best, but the tunes that are playing, too. Which is why we asked Lyndal and Melissa to put together a mixtape for today's milestone edition, Mixtape #50! True to everything else that they do, Clarke's Manfood Mix is MASSIVE at just under four hours of tunes that will keep you going until your next meal. Bon Appétit.
Who decides on what music gets played at Clarke's?
Lyndall always did the music and is a music anorak so there’d be long periods of the same music because everyone knew their playlist would get hated on. Now Melissa is adding stuff and so there’s fresh music more often. This has brought much happiness to all.
What's on high rotation these days?
We’re loving African beats, Reggae, Soul and always the classics.
The Pit Party (RIP) was an amazing Clarke's initiative, now that it's no more what do you have in store?
Watch this space.
Your waitrons range from models to designers to skateboarders, got any muso's or DJs slinging burgers?
Not at the moment. We had our Black Lung, The Future Primitives and Gumbo Ya Ya’s eras. Right now it’s just Melissa who plays drums with Bilderberg Motel.
Who is the most famous person you've served at Clarke's?
Gandalf.
If Clarke's was a music festival what would it be?
A cross between Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Woodstock and Festival au Désert?
What's in your mix?