South African speakeasies boost calls for end to COVID booze ban

Restaurant and bar workers hold candles outside a closed bar as they protest against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) lockdown regulations prohibiting the sale of alcohol in Cape Town, South Africa, August 6, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - In an Italian bistro in an upmarket Johannesburg neighbourhood, smiling patrons chat at candle-lit tables in a scene reminiscent of less-troubled times before the COVID-19 pandemic.

But there's no alcohol on the menu. Instead, diners order red or white "coffee" served in grey mugs, the tell-tale sign of a modern-day South African speakeasy.