Opulent African Cuisine

GOLD Restaurant is a vibrant, eclectic Pan-African experience in the heart of Cape Town. We offer a night of opulent feasting with a unique bouquet of live entertainment in a mystical African setting of trees and tents in an inner city courtyard steeped in ancient history and GOLD. A typical evening at GOLD Restaurant starts off with the drumbeat of the djembe drum. An interactive drum circle offers you the opportunity to join in and learn how to play the djembe. Soon you will be pounding your drum to the rhythms and sounds of Africa. After pounding the skins of the drums, we will soothe your hands in a traditional hand washing ceremony as you are led into the ancient courtyards. Cuisine from our Cape Malay and African kitchen which is served by the magnificently adorned staff bearing your banquet in baskets perched on their heads. While you enjoy the vast variety of different dishes, you will be captivated as the live extravaganza takes place around your table. Tall, graceful Mali Puppets will captivate you as they dance with the singer, jump to beat of the drum and swirl with the dancers. They will welcome you to GOLD in a truly unique display of singing, dancing and vibrant drumming.

You will have the opportunity to discover your African heartbeat as you join in the final performance performed with all the staff at GOLD.

Pulse of Mali is an eclectic African performance. Based on and inspired by the traditions of Malian performance, it draws influence with its performers from across Africa. In 2004 the GOLD of Africa Museum hosted an exhibition of Malian puppets, Patrimony made by master puppeteer Yaya Coulibaly. This exhibition planted the seeds for the current performance. Influenced by the non-narrative, symbolic performance style of the Bamana people, Pulse of Mali works with the traditions of Bamana performance in a contemporary South African context. In the animistic Bamana tradition, puppets and masks are intermediaries between the human and spirit world. Performance is an expression and celebration of the interconnectedness of man and nature, the innate balance of human and spirit forces. Puppets are also jesters and entertainers, used in ceremonies celebrating the passing of seasons and coming of age. Pulse of Mali works with the spirit of this performance style. As people gather to celebrate life and community in the GOLD Restaurant, the performance celebrates the energy of Africa. Choreographed by and with South African dancers and singers performance blends Congolese, Xhosa and contemporary dance rhythms. Pulse of Mali is owned and produced by GOLD Restaurant Janni Younge is a director and puppeteer. She researched Malian performance and curated and designed Patrimony. Janni has a BAFA (Sculpture, UCT) an MA in Theatre (UCT) and a DMA from the French national school of Puppetry.

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