#9: Check out or check into Marshalltown. Tuesday night was dinner at Black in Marshall Street. If Joburg’s inner city has an inner city then Black is where it is at. It’s taken me two days to write about it because it feels like giving up a really good secret.

Black  is the restaurant at the Mapungubwe Hotel and Apartments in what used to be the French Bank. The 4-star hotel and apartments were launched in March and according to an insider  are pretty full during the week with business travellers, mostly international consultants in town to work for banking and mining companies, many of which are still bravely (some would say) headquartered in that part of town.

From the looks of it their decision to ride out the rough times is starting to pay off.

The first reference I found to a search on the French bank yielded a story from the New York Times’ archive titled “Gold Seized by the Boers”. According to the article in October 1899 there were a number of raids carried out on Johannesburg banks by Boer commanders. Little has changed. It goes on to say that “In view of the results of similar visits, great were the consternation and excitement (my italics) at the Standard Bank when three vehicles drew up outside and under the direction of Lieut. Oosthuizen, acting on behalf of the Transvaal Government, a number of ingots of gold and silver were transferred from the bank premises to the vehicles”.

Could this possibly be the most polite bank theft article in history? The Star could take a lesson here.

And then, “The French Bank was also visited“.  Unlike the Standard Bank though, the French refused to hand over their gold and “demanded documents”. And anyone who has ever tried to visit France and had to go through the trial of applying for a Schengen Visa will know how powerful a request for documents can be. Warding off Boer generals would have been child’s play.

Back to Black. Loved the restaurant with it’s black chandeliers, bird-printed fabric lamps and its glass walls that allow you a view of the city streets. The menu is eclectic with a South African twist, mainly in the form of chakalaka sauce as an accompaniment to some of the mains. The food was presented with no pretension and everything we ate was tasty — from steak to roasted vegetable salad, a meze platter to a spinach and feta ravioli. But the best part of the Mapungubwe-themed hotel (after the legendary African kingdom) is the below-ground (although, very smoky) bar that is housed in what used to be the Bank’s vault. The decor is playful, with jewel colours, plush chairs and safety deposit boxes (the originals) lining the walls.

The city has never had it so good.

Related posts:

1. Lolo Veleko’s urban hip
2. Joburg’s Little Ethiopia
3. Black Coffee in Berlin
4. The Joburg book
5. Black Coffee wins