In case you’re wondering where to find the most experienced staff of Cape Town bars, then you owe it to yourself to make the drive out to Hout Bay to discover one of the city’s loveliest restaurants, Kitima, which is in turn blessed with its most studiously-run bar. Mixologist Karl Lamar is not only a stickler for detail, but he takes his cocktails very seriously and not only designs his own – many of which have an Asian influence (since Kitima serves Asian food) – but is also working on a book of cocktail recipes. He mixes a mean Thai martini, infused with chilli, and does scintillating concoctions (enquire after the Tiger Milk and Thai Trip). You can watch Karl working up a storm behind the restaurant’s bar counter or take in the slightly decadent look of the Raya Lounge, set a little back from the restaurant proper, and done out with pink velvet-covered antique-style furniture. Partially set in a canopied garden, with soft lighting and service by on-the-ball waiters, this is a romantic spot that become rather fun. In fact, things at the bar have been known to get quite carried away, prompting one rule in the menu to spell out, explicitly: “No bare chests.”