Bar Manager - Premium Mediterranean Restaurant (Pre-Opening)

Radiant Hospitality Company; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 279,000 - 391,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Duty meal provided on shift

30 days annual leave

Bonus and incentive schemes to be确认

Job summary

Radiant Hospitality Company seeks a creative Bar Manager to lead the beverage programme at a premium Mediterranean restaurant at Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront. You will own the bar, lead the bar team and the bar P&L, and you’ll be hands-on behind the bar during peak service.

Requirements include 3–4 years as Bar Manager in a busy SA restaurant, strong cocktail development and mixology background, and solid cost/margin management.

Qualifications

• Minimum 3–4 years’ Bar Manager experience in a busy premium restaurant in South Africa.
• Strong cocktail development and mixology background.
• Demonstrable command of beverage costing and gross margin management.
• Menu engineering and pricing capability.
• Stock control and supplier negotiation experience.
• Team scheduling and productivity management.
• Knowledge of SA liquor licensing and responsible-service requirements.
• Fluent English with a charismatic hosting style.
• Pre-opening or new-concept launch experience is advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Design and evolve cocktail, beer, and non-alcoholic beverage menus.
• Work with wine team for cohesive beverage offering.
• Source and negotiate with suppliers to secure quality and margin.
• Lead bar service during peak periods with speed and presentation.
• Manage stock control, wastage, and inventory disciplines.
• Ensure compliance with liquor licensing and responsible-service rules.
• Own bar revenue, beverage cost, and gross profit targets.
• Analyse sales mix to identify commercial opportunities.
• Recruit, train, and develop bartenders and bar-back staff.
• Build a guest-focused bar culture aligned with group philosophy.
• Monitor beverage cost, GP, and pricing strategies.
• Schedule team and manage productivity.

Skills

Cocktail development

Mixology

Team leadership

Cost management

Guest engagement

Fluent English

Job description

We are looking for a creative and commercially minded Bar Manager to lead the beverage programme at a premium contemporary Mediterranean restaurant at Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront, on behalf of an international multi-brand hospitality group with South African and Australian roots. The restaurant’s positioning is Mediterranean and Italian-influenced with South African soul, and the bar is central to its energy and social occasion. This is a role for someone who can build an on-trend, distinctive drinks offer - cocktails, beer and a serious non-alcoholic list - and then run it as a business. Reporting to the General Manager, you will take full ownership of the bar programme, the bar team and the bar P&L. It combines beverage craft, genuine guest hosting and commercial accountability in equal measure, and it is hands‑on: you will be behind the bar during peak service, not watching from the office.

Responsibilities

Beverage programme

• Design and continually evolve the cocktail, beer and non-alcoholic beverage menus.
• Work alongside the wine team to ensure a cohesive overall beverage offering.
• Source and negotiate with suppliers to secure both quality and margin.

Bar operations

• Lead bar service during peak periods, ensuring speed, consistency and presentation standards.
• Manage stock control, wastage and inventory disciplines.
• Ensure full compliance with liquor licensing and responsible-service regulations.

Commercial performance

• Own bar revenue, beverage cost and gross profit targets.
• Analyse sales mix and beverage penetration to identify commercial opportunities.

Team leadership

• Recruit, train and develop bartenders and bar-back staff.
• Build an energetic, guest-focused bar culture aligned with the group’s people-first philosophy.
• Minimum 3–4 years’ experience as a Bar Manager within a busy, premium restaurant environment in South Africa (proven Senior Bartenders ready to step up will also be considered).
• Strong cocktail development and mixology background.
• Demonstrable command of beverage cost and gross profit management.
• Menu engineering and pricing capability.
• Stock control and supplier negotiation experience.
• Team scheduling and productivity management.
• Working knowledge of South African liquor licensing and responsible-service requirements.
• Fluent English.
• A charismatic host with genuine guest-facing energy; creative and commercially disciplined in equal measure comfortable working a busy bar hands‑on during service.
• Pre-opening or new-concept launch experience is advantageous.
• Salary: ZAR 25,000 – 35,000 gross per month, depending on experience.
• Duty meal provided on shift.
• 30 days annual leave.
• Permanent, full-time position with an expanding international restaurant group.
• Bonus and incentive schemes to be confirmed.
• Further benefits to be confirmed during the recruitment process.

Additional Information

• Working pattern: 6 days per week, including evenings, weekends and public holidays in line with restaurant trade.
• Target start date: 16 September 2026. This is an urgent requirement and applications are being reviewed on receipt.
• Candidates must already hold the unrestricted right to work in South Africa. This role does not offer visa sponsorship or relocation support, and applications requiring either cannot be progressed.
• The role is based in Cape Town; candidates relocating from elsewhere in South Africa are welcome to apply but must be able to relocate at their own arrangement.

Success in this role looks like

• Beverage revenue, cost of sales and gross profit performance against target.
• Positive guest feedback on the bar experience and drinks quality.
• Accurate stock control and controlled wastage.
• Strong bar team retention and development.