Cape Town is a city that in no way lacks good coffee shops, especially with new ones popping up all the time and stalwart favourites standing the test of time.
Found in the beautiful Western Cape, Cape Town is one of South Africa’s most spectacular cities, offering gorgeous experiences, restaurants and places to explore.
Tip: If you’re planning a visit to Cape Town. Check out Afristay’s curated collection of Cape Town accommodation and hotels in Cape Town – packed with daily specials.
Here’s a list of the top coffee shops in Cape Town to order your sit-down morning brew or a cuppa joe to-go from:
#1 Yours Truly
This vibey Loop street café is well-known for its gourmet sandwiches, great homemade pizza, and lovely beverages in what is definitely one of Cape Town’s most buzzing and popular inner city haunts.
Contact: (081) 504 0064
Website: www.yourstrulycafe.co.za
Address: 63 Loop Street and others.
#2 Truth Coffee Roasting
Located in the pulsating CBD, this steampunk coffee shop offers speciality coffee like the ‘Resurrection Blend Flat White’, quirky décor and a mean coffee roasting machine to boot.
Truth has also previously been voted both The World’s Best and Coolest Coffee Shop.
Contact: (021) 200 0440.
Website: truth.capetown
Address: 36 Buitenkant Street.
#3 Haas Coffee
This coffee shop offers a blend of good coffee, antiques and great location in busy Buitenkant Street. Haas sources only the finest coffee blends, from places such as: Brazil and Indonesia.
They even stock the world’s priciest coffee: Kopi Luwak, which is made from beans previously eaten by Asian Palm Chivets – a small, forest-dwelling mammal – that result in milder, less bitter coffee.
Contact: (021) 461 1812
Website: N/A
Address: 19 Buitenkant Street, Cape Town.
#4 Deluxe Coffeeworks
This trendy coffee shop serves Brazilian, Guatemalan and Ethiopian hand-picked coffees, which are blended and roasted on-site daily.
Stay and enjoy a delicious cup with them, or take a bag home to prepare your own.
Contact: (076) 832 6208
Website: www.deluxecoffeeworks.co.za
Address: 25 Church Street, CBD and 6 Roodehek Street, Gardens.
#5 Origin Coffee Roasting
These self-titled “artisan roasters of Africa” take great pride in their hands-on coffee-making methods.
Origin offers a wide variety of beans (roasted and ground on-site) for customers to have in the coffee shop or as a bought, take-home bag. They also have wonderful tea selections.
Contact: (021) 421 1000.
Website: www.originroasting.co.za
Address: 28 Hudson Street, De Waterkant.
#6 Espresso Lab Microroasters
Found in the popular Old Biscuit Mill, Espresso Lab lives up to its name, allowing customers a taste of fresh, new flavours and global coffee trends.
With their international coffee bean producers being equally widespread, they aspire after clean, complex and transparent coffee, which speaks for itself.
Contact: (021) 447 0845.
Website: espressolabmicroroasters.com
Address: The Old Biscuit Mill, 373-375 Albert Road, Woodstock.
#7 Tribe Coffee Roasting
Tribe Coffee Roasting endeavours to provide its customers with a coffee experience second to none.
After an exceptional cup of coffee, guests are invited to take a tour through the roaster and/or search for the perfect coffee beans to take home.
Contact: (021) 448 3362.
Website: www.tribecoffee.co.za
Address: The Woodstock Foundry, 160 Albert Road, Woodstock.
#8 Shift Expresso Bar
Relatively new to the Mother City’s coffee scene, the indie, hipster Shift offers speciality coffee inspired by global travels.
Coffee is their primary focus, but they also offer an array of glorious treats, rumoured to include indulgent ingredients like: condensed milk, hazelnuts and Oreo biscuits.
There are also special charging points to ensure you can work (or play), as you savour your coffee.
Contact: (021) 433 2450.
Website: N/A
Address: 45 Main Road, Green Point.
#9 Jason Bakery
This highly popular Cape Town institution offers good coffee, delicious breads, pastries and more! Their coffee is organic, single-estate coffee imported from Nicaragua.
And, if this chances to strike your fancy, why not pair your coffee with their famous bacon croissant?
Contact: (021) 424 5644.
Website: www.jasonbakery.com
Address: 83 Main Rd, Green Point
#10 The House of Machines
This local coffee shop serves a signature, killer bled known as the Evil Twin, a special, shade-grown Honduran Arabica.
Come night-time, the House of Machines transforms into a cocktail bar; it also doubles as a motorbike workshop and men’s clothing store, making for a very interesting coffee shop.
Contact: (021) 426 1400.
Website: www.thehouseofmachines.com
Address: 84 Shortmarket Street.
#11 Molten Toffee
Coffee and close-knit community are equally important at Molten Toffee, a café that serves Deluxe Coffee Works brews.
They also offer yummy deli goods and crafted wares. Next door, you will find Unframed Ice-Cream, a new ice cream parlour, meaning there’s plenty to enjoy in this section of leafy Kloof Street.
Contact: (021) 422 2885.
Website: N/A
Address: 45B Kloof Street.
#12 Cafe Nood
This European-style café-and-gallery, based in Claremont, offers a wide selection of hot beverages, freshly squeezed Nood juices and lovely artwork too, all situated within a relaxed environment.
Contact: (021) 671 4475.
Website: www.cafenood.co.za
Address: 3 Quadrant Square, Wilderness Road, Claremont.
#13 Bread, Milk and Honey
This popular café – set a stone’s throw from the Company’s Gardens – offers delicious coffee, speciality teas, baked goodies and generous fare.
Their afternoon buffets are especially good, with options like beef stroganoff and chilli con carne.
Contact: (021) 461 8425.
Website: www.breadmilkhoney.co.za
Address: 10 Spin Street, CBD.
#14 Four & Twenty Cafe
Yet another European-inspired café, found in the quaint Chelsea Village, Four & Twenty is also a charming eatery, which serves up the freshest seasonal offerings.
Pair your coffee with a Vanilla Bean scone or try a Raspberry and Thyme cordial after your java fix.
Contact: (021) 762 0975.
Website: www.fourandtwentycafe.co.za
Address: 23 Wolfe Street, Chelsea Village, Wynberg.
#15 mischu: The Coffee Showroom
Named after owner Mikhael Bou Rjiely (or Mischu, to close friends and family), this coffee shop, a Sea Point locals’ favourite, offers quality, espresso-based beverages at affordable prices.
In 2012, mischu won the Best Espresso and Best Cappuccino trophies at the Cape Town Barista Awards and Best Cappuccino in SA, and they even offer their own Coffee Academy, with java-related workshops and courses.
Contact: (072) 563 8090.
Website: www.mischu.co.za
Address: 85A Regent Road, Sea Point.
#16 Bootlegger Coffee Company
Freshly roasted beans, imported from Guatemala and Costa Rica, combined with what they refer to as ‘honest food’ – that is, made from fresh local and free range produce – Bootleggers now have several outlets dotted around the city.
They also serve a special ‘Red-eye’ coffee (just R14) from 6.30-8.30am for early risers.
Contact: (021) 433 2599.
Website: www.bootlegger.co.za
Address: 39 Regent Road, Sea Point and others.
So whether you’re in need of a caffeine fix, some good ol’ fashioned java or just a coffee break with a friend, the Mother City has your kind of coffee…
Book your Cape Town getaway today!
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Four and Twenty is always a winner