On Sat eve I went to the opening of a new night spot called Nisha. Nisha is in the same spot as the old Karma used to be, so that’s the Penthouse Suite, The Promenade on Victoria Road in Camps Bay.
Before I continue – I just have to state for the record… I think the name is terrible! It sounds like the name of a poppie with false nails and an orange tan who happens to work after hours as a “dancer”. 
The owners consist of 2 JHB business men and a local guy. According to these 3 gentlemen, the name was inspired by the thought of a “Niche Market” – which is the subset on which the club is focused on. Um… OK then…
Hottie Aidan Bennetts (I’m still dreaming of him carving me a chair out of a piece of beach wood, preferably minimally clothed. 
) and his new partner in design, Stephen Lasker, were asked to do the interior for the club.
As you enter you’re welcomed by a striking white theme with lots of neon lights:
And then there are these over sized hexagonal lights hanging from above:
Even the bar is a bit of a showcase – with it’s little pyramid of booze, all lit up Times Square style:
Hmmm... I think I'll work my way from top to bottom.
It was quite hot inside. I was sweating and I was in a little cocktail dress. I felt really bad for the guys in long sleeve shirts. We joked that they probably had a tight budget and in the end it came down to either air conditioning or those hexagon lights. And clearly the lights won. hehe.
To be honest, the atmosphere was quite stuffy. Nisha didn’t have the laid back feel I’ve come to love about most Cape Town spots. They’re trying to sell the idea of ultimate exclusivity blah blah blah… but is that really what true Capetonians give a damn about? The people I usually party with don’t really care whether you’re seen at the right place, wearing the right label, hanging with the right crowd… they just care about being able to relax and to have a great time. No frills, no fuss. In the end we didn’t have too late a night there – my couch sounded like a more intriguing option.
So do I think it will last past the summer season? Not too sure. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
xxx
PS: Pics came out a bit dark – was hard with the neon lights.
Damn i stumbled on this..well i think there is a racial problem going at Nisha check twitter,nevertheless the music is terrible,the management pathetic oh been checking the place out for almost a month and its terribly empty,like a ghost town.they got no class anyway got there and the crowd was the normal cheap capetonians..sorry bout my words but the got this desperate cocktail special on sunday..buy one get one free wonder where the upclass vibe went to.the exclusive VIP talk..then i got introduced to some junky looking guy for a manager..wanted to book a table but mmmm think i’d rather spend my money at Caprice
You know, I haven’t heard one positive thing about that place since it’s opened. It just seems to be getting worse and worse. I think it all boils down to the attitude of the owners really. Capetonians can’t be bullied into some fake “upper class vibe” – it’s not our thing. Even people with lots of cash don’t like to be ripped off, but they thought people would be willing to pay to “be seen”. It’s stupid. The fact that they’ve now resorted to drink specials is quite sad. But I can’t say I didn’t see it coming. Caprice is still a winner.
I’ve been there 3 times now. The last experience there wasn’t too bad but far from an elite experience.
There is nothing worse than walking into a club and there is just no energy. No vibe. OK, correction there is something worse than no vibe……no people. Like last Thursday night my date and I walk in and it’s empty. We are talking about 23:00 and we are like maybe number 14 and 15 of the total number of patrons in the club. Now I know that we Capetonians are more than fasionably late at the best of times but it is because we hate walking into empty clubs and by 23:00 we expect a club pre-heated and good to go. No good being so elite that there is nobody there.
My last visit was this past Saturday night. Much better experience. My only complaint was the DJ but I can’t blame the club for that. He just got the crowd going and then he totally killed the mood again. Now I realize you can’t have “up” music all the time but you must have a sense of your audience. You can see if they react and then at least keep them there for 3 songs or so. More dancing = more fun all round. Not have one good song and get them going and then kill the mood completely. However that was the DJ not the club. So no blame there.
Also what I’ve found is that it’s a flash crowd. The vibe starts around 23:30 and then at 02:00 it’s dead and empty. Don’t know when the closing time is for the club but not willing to stay in an empty club to find out. St Yves is just next door and it was still pumping. So it was a better option to go there. Bigger club, more people, better music and in line with all other clubs in Cape Town with regards to the price of their drinks (25% cheaper on Nisha’s drinks). Not that I’m cheap but we elite are not stupid about our money either. We didn’t get rich by throwing it away. Flip side of the coin would be if it was in line with other clubs’ prices I would have spend 3 times more than I did on Saturday. Which pretty much is in the 4 digit range, taking into consideration that I get generous after a couple of drinks. But when your drink tastes a little bitter because the price makes it so then you tend to nurse that sucker.
Would I make Nisha my local party spot? I doubt it. It’s like a pretty girl with no personality. You might take her home but you’re never going to phone her again. After going there three times already I think I gave it a fair chance.
I’m sure it will do good during season because it’s season. Loads of people with only so much space in each club. But all business men should know their customers. The customer is always right and we want what we want. Not what you think we want.
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Well looks like none of you have tasted or felt Nisha yet.There were lots of Capetonians and yes there were a bunch of Jo burg guys.Well Nisha is not for everyone and from the look on your faces i doubt if any of you can afford the hospitality at Nisha.With or without you guys going back,there’s nothing lost.Maybe you should end up in Sapphire or Caprice where there’s a bunch of pick pockets.Nisha is for high rollers not peasants
Wow John. What a mature response… you don’t know me or any of the other readers, so how can you say we probably can’t afford it? I mean seriously, you’re going to stoop that low? I’m assuming you have some involvement with the club or you know a guy that knows a guy or whatever. But your attitude just reinforced my feelings about the place. I’m sure the other “poor people” will agree. Cape Town isn’t that big – bad press spreads fast – pls do keep that in mind and good luck to you.
The sad thing, John, is that Karisa and her friends are exactly the crowd you want to attract. Unmarried, upwardly mobile, with plenty of disposable income, that go out all the time. Not to mention that their opinions are respected. Their the people that will sustain the club, when the high-rollers that leave when Summer ends.
There aren’t that many high-roller-types on Cape Town. Yes, there are rich people, but most are not nouveau riche and have no need to show off their wealth.
Few clubs in Cape Town survive long, and the Caprice is one of the few “institutions” in Cape Town. They know how to look after their regulars, realizing that the bling-bling crowd are only here for a couple of months in Summer. Be careful who you are calling peasants, as a few of regulars are actual blue bloods from Europe.
Cheers
Its so sad that owners that have so much money and no taste at all….. think that they are gods in a city where they didnt even bother to do a bit of research into how Cape Townanian like to party.
They arrive with arrogance and ego’s hoping to make a quick buck off us and then think it is ok to treat us like that…. well. I am certainly never going back and neither are my friends.
You’re certainly not the first to mention that you were treated badly. Luckily I didn’t experience that, but then again we didn’t stay very long. I guess what places like these don’t get it that Cape Town, although a big city in SA terms, is still a small enough place for the word to spread really quickly. You treat people badly and the ripple effect will be quite damaging to your business.
Went to the invite only opening on saturday 19th evening> my friends were treated with arrogance and disrepect.I love this great city of ours and the chilled groovy night spots with funky music that are supposed to be fun and happy days.Ive never seen a place so white, and the lighting was beyond cheese..quite comical actually.Its supposed to be this place where only the so called “elite” of society go.What a joke !
Yeah, the styling of the club isn’t my thing either. I guess they were trying something different, but it just came off quite sterile. I was quite surprised when I found out who did the design. Leaves me to wonder whether they didn’t maybe have quite a strict brief.
I also attended the opening of Nisha, for a moment, I thought I was clubbing in JHB, horrible, heavy, sterile atmosphere, with an aggressive undertone, the music was the only thing that kept me there, especially since they ran out of Jameson at 11pm, with 2 fights, 1 between two of the so called classy women that were there, – no aircon, 2 ladies toilets – wow what a disappointment for all – not a Cape Town club at all. lets support the local guys not the operators who think they can come here and muscle our family and beautiful city
Someone told me that the JHB owners had flown in a whole bunch of their friends for the opening. Not sure how true that is, but I did feel like I didn’t know anybody in that crowd…
Seems a bit dark in there. Was it really that dark or just the camera?
Yeah, was hard to get a good pic with the neon lighting. Kept messing with the camera settings. It wasn’t as dark as it is in the pics.