Each night at the Marabi Club in Maboneng, the pianist hit the black-and-white keys with gusto, the bass and electric guitar fell in behind the drummer, and the vocalist’s voice swelled, full and rich, as the guests stood up and danced next to their tables. This was until the club closed down in May 2025. Now, one of Johannesburg’s most loved jazz clubs is back, founded by TJ Steyn and Dale de Ruig of Steyn Entertainment, and bringing its unmistakable mix of live music, exceptional food and late-night revelry to a new home at Steyn City.
The Marabi Club: From Maboneng to Steyn City
In the 1920s and 1930s, the rise of the Doornfontein slum yards, created in the wake of one of the world’s richest gold rushes, gave rise to an urban culture known as ‘marabi’. As the foundation of this new culture, the music was energetic and improvisational. It was a lifestyle prompted by the need to escape the hardships of the working week – defined by illegal shebeens, where the fierce talk of politics was accompanied by the equally disruptive soundtrack of jazz.
Soon came the birth of the original Marabi Club, opening in what had once been the flooded, unusable underground parking garage of Hallmark House in New Doornfontein.
For eight years, guests drove in from across Joburg to that inner-city club to make a night of it. But as the neighbourhood emptied after the pandemic, keeping the doors open grew harder.
The move to Steyn City brings it closer to those loyal regulars, while residents of the estate can simply walk there or take a short drive. The club now sits in the basement of the City Centre, beside a piazza with a water feature and large windows that let in the daylight – ideal for long Sunday lunches with live music. By night, it’s the place to drop in after work or a round of golf, settle in for an intimate dinner for two, or gather a group of friends around a long table.
Décor that tells a story
As soon as guests walk into Marabi’s new home at Steyn City, they’ll immediately know that they’re Marabi, even though everything has changed.
For architect Dean Simon, who designed the original club, he approaches a space the way a collector would by settling on the feeling of the room first, then going looking at scrap yards, auctions and private collections, and adjusts the plan around what he finds.
The wall of the private dining area was once the facade of an old shopfront, its door and stained glass reworked into the room, while wood panelling salvaged from the city’s old shoe-shine stands adds another layer of Joburg’s history. With that, a few treasured pieces have travelled up from Maboneng, including waskoms finding new life as pendant lights, and their pierced metal scattering a warm, uneven glow, while vintage radios line the walls and the kitchen sits open at the heart of the space.
Photographs of South African music greats hang throughout, among them Peter Rezant of the Merry Blackbirds, and a large portrait of the band’s pianist, Emily Motsieloa, presides over the bar – a quiet tribute to the musicians who shaped the sound the club is named after.
A room built for sound
With five storeys of apartments overhead, the room had to give the band a full, warm sound while keeping the residents above undisturbed. Getting that balance right delayed the opening, but the wait has been worth it. Inside, the band can play as loud as the night calls for, and when guests step out the back door, they’d think the place was closed.
The Marabi Club provides options for visitors to spend their evening as they see fit.
For instance, they can arrive at 6pm for dinner and be on their way by 8pm, or come in for a nightcap and take in the band. There’s no monthly line-up to check as the Marabi Jazz Band, who playfully refer to themselves as Marabi Radio, and a core group of musicians and vocalists rotate through the week.
Some nights a DJ takes over after midnight, and while doors officially close at 2am, nobody gets chased out. As the music winds down, guests can wander into the cigar lounge, where the night ends the way the best ones do – over one last drink and a deep conversation.
Food made for sharing
As the kitchen is led by chef Patricio Nzinga, who previously ran the kitchen at Mhondoro Safari Lodge, both the music and food carry equal weight. The menu is à la carte: smaller starters are made for sharing, and larger mains cater for meat lovers, vegetarians and vegans.
Nzinga’s cooking draws on Mediterranean flavours, Japanese precision with the knife and classic French technique, with African influences set to come through more strongly as the menu develops. The chef’s recommendation is the sea bass on a mussel velouté with fricassee of leeks, peas and pickled mussels. Dessert is worth saving room for – the Not a Tiramisu, with coffee and liqueur folded through the mascarpone, and a fresh lychee pavlova for summer.
The Marabi kitchen also has a history of backing new talent, with the original club giving chefs Katlego Mlambo and Vusi Ndlovu their first head chef roles, both of whom have gone on to win awards in their own right.
Get in touch
When: Thursday to Saturday from 6pm to 2am. Sunday 12pm to 5pm. Closed on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Dress code is smart casual
Where: The Marabi Club, Basement level, City Centre, Steyn City, Riverglen, Midrand. Steyn City is a gated estate. Bring ID for every person in the car. Follow the signs to the City Centre.
Website: www.marabiclub.com
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 010 591 2879
Instagram: @themarabiclub
Facebook: @TheMarabiClub
Check out our Joburg jazz guide
