Radium Beer Hall

{alt}Bianca Bothma">
All images courtesy Bianca Bothma

Whether it’s open-mic Monday, half-price pizza Tuesday or classic jazz masters on a Friday, the Radium Beer Hall is the perfect place for good music and great food. The oldest surviving bar and grill in Johannesburg, this landmark on Louis Botha Avenue, is a popular hang-out for young and old, from hipsters and kwaito lovers to empty-nesters.

All images courtesy Bianca Bothma

The walls are lined with reminders of the Radium’s past, including photographs, newspaper clippings and classic newspaper posters featuring witty headlines such as, “The situation is vrot [rotten] with danger” that remind patrons to loosen up and see the funny side of life.

The Radium, which opened in 1929, has retained its historic look and feel, complete with a long, curved, antique, wooden bar rescued from the old Ferreirastown Hotel.

The varied menu includes pizza, steak, seafood, and traditional Portuguese fare such as sardines grilled with garlic, onions and olive oil, and peri-peri chicken livers. At least three nights a week the venue presents live music ranging from blues to contemporary rock and jazz, giving the intimate venue a lively atmosphere.

The Radium is renowned for more than its food and music. In its early days, it operated as a tearoom under the Khalil family, offering patrons tea, coffee and soft drinks. The institutionalised racial segregration of apartheid had yet to take effect, but it was still taboo for non-whites to drink openly in bars, so the tearoom sold alcohol to non-white customers in secret.

More than 10 years later, a liquor licence was finally acquired and the Radium Beer Hall was formed. In 1944, Joe Barbarovich took over the running of the Radium, and the beer hall was transformed into a community bar, welcoming its fair share of eccentric customers over the years. In 1986, the Radium had a rebirth under new owner Manny Cabeleira, who is responsible for the restaurant and Portuguese-inspired menu.

Opening hours

Monday to Friday: 10h00am to 11h30pm
Saturdays: 11h00am to 11h30pm
Closed on Sundays

See the website for the Saturday night gig line-up.