Cafeography
Kaapstad

Cafés in Cape Town roasted under Table Mountain

Single-origin espresso on Bree Street, red cappuccinos brewed from rooibos, koesisters on Wale Street and roasteries in the old warehouses along Woodstock's Albert Road.

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Photo: Jay jay Redelinghuys, Pexels License

185Cafés listed
1Open by 6am
3Open past 10pm
7Specialty & roasters

Cape Town's café culture is young. Vida e Caffè opened its first shop on Kloof Street in October 2001, borrowing the look of Portuguese street cafés, and by June 2026 it had about 400 outlets in eight countries.1 On 9 May 2006 Joel Singer opened Origin Coffee Roasting on Hudson Street in De Waterkant; at the time South African cafés chose their beans mostly on price, and formal barista training was rare.2

Roasting spread from there. David Donde, a former co-owner of Origin, started the Specialty Coffee Association of South Africa in 2007 and went on to found Truth, which Britain's Daily Telegraph named the world's best coffee shop in 2015 and again in 2016.3 Cape Town now has more independent roasters than any other South African city, and in 2024 Food & Wine ranked it ninth among the world's cities for coffee.3

One word has two meanings here. In South African English a café has long been a corner shop that sells sweets, cigarettes, newspapers and basic groceries and stays open after normal hours; somewhere to sit over an espresso is usually called a coffee shop.4 Most coffee shops are in the City Bowl, between the harbor and Table Mountain, with a second cluster in Woodstock.

From the City Bowl to the Southern Suburbs

Cape Town by area

The café neighborhoods sit close together. Woodstock starts about 1 km east of the city center, and the Southern Line railway runs on through Salt River, Observatory, Mowbray, Rondebosch and Newlands, although its trains do not normally run on Sundays or public holidays.1819

V&A Waterfront

Coffee in Victoria Wharf and along Dock Road, the Silo District and Zeitz MOCAA, and the Time Out Market.

9 cafés

City Centre & Bo-Kaap

Bree Street roasters, the steampunk Truth on Buitenkant Street and coffee with koesisters on Wale Street.

88 cafés

Gardens & Tamboerskloof

Kloof Street cafés, coffee until 22:00 in Tamboerskloof and the bus up to Kloof Nek and the cableway.

25 cafés

Woodstock & Salt River

Roasteries in old industrial buildings on Albert Road, the Saturday market at the Old Biscuit Mill and 06:00 coffee on Brickfield Road.

22 cafés

Observatory & Mowbray

Lower Main Road cafés in student Obs, open nights at the 1820 observatory and Southern Line stations to Mowbray.

14 cafés

Rondebosch & Newlands

Kildare Road cafés in Newlands, ice cream and coffee until 23:00 on Dean Street and garden tables at Montebello.

12 cafés
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Browse by mood and hour

Specialty coffee

Single-origin roasters on Bree Street and in Woodstock, plus a Salt River roastery that opens at 06:00.

7 cafés

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi on Bree and Long streets, evening tables in Tamboerskloof and Station Road coffee in Observatory.

16 cafés

Outdoor seating

Pavement and garden tables from Bree Street to Woodstock and Sea Point, with the south-easter to plan around.

16 cafés

Bakery cafés

Koesisters, milk tart and Lebanese bread, with most bakery counters in the City Centre.

11 cafés

Brunch

Bree Street brunch, a 06:00 start in Salt River and a garden lodge in Newlands.

7 cafés

V&A Waterfront 9 cafés

More about cafés in V&A Waterfront

Green Point & Mouille Point 7 cafés

City Centre & Bo-Kaap 88 cafés

More about cafés in City Centre & Bo-Kaap

Sea Point 7 cafés

Camps Bay & Clifton 1 cafés

Gardens & Tamboerskloof 25 cafés

More about cafés in Gardens & Tamboerskloof

Ditto – Ice Cream & Waffle House

  • 119 Kloof Street
  • Mon–Thu 09:00–22:00 · Fri–Sat 09:00–23:00 · Sun 09:00–22:00
  • Open late
MapIs this you?Report

Woodstock & Salt River 22 cafés

More about cafés in Woodstock & Salt River

Observatory & Mowbray 14 cafés

More about cafés in Observatory & Mowbray

Rondebosch & Newlands 12 cafés

More about cafés in Rondebosch & Newlands

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Coffee chains in Cape Town

Branches by area

Before you sit down

Ordering, tipping and power cuts in Cape Town

Menus follow the espresso pattern: cappuccino, flat white, americano, latte. The local addition is red espresso, finely ground rooibos pulled through an espresso machine, which Carl Pretorius devised in 2005 as a caffeine-free alternative to coffee; it appears on menus as a red cappuccino or red latte.5 Rooibos, Afrikaans for "red bush", grows in the Cederberg, about 249 km north of the city, and has held EU protected designation of origin status since May 2021.6

Tip for table service, where 10–15% is usual. Employers must pay at least the national minimum wage, R28.79 an hour in 2025, whatever staff earn in tips.7 Card machines increasingly suggest a tip for takeaway coffee as well; in September 2026 the Cape Town chef Judi Studdard told EWN she saw no need to tip for a takeaway you had waited three minutes for.8

For years load-shedding, the rotating power cuts imposed by the national utility Eskom, decided whether a café could pull a shot. In July 2022 Against the Grain in Bo-Kaap said its coffee machine stopped during cuts, leaving tea as the only hot drink, while Bo-Kaap Deli ran a noisy generator to keep its espresso machine and Wi-Fi on.9 As of October 2026, South Africa had not had load-shedding since 16 May 2025.10

Weather decides where to sit. Summers are dry, with average highs around 26 °C, and most rain falls between June and September; June, the wettest month, averages 92.3 mm.11 From spring into late summer the south-easter, the wind Capetonians call the Cape Doctor, can make a pavement table hard work.12 MyCiTi buses run on a myconnect card, which costs R40, and cash is not accepted on board.1314

What coffee costs in Cape Town

DrinkTypical price
Cappuccino
Regular cup; city average R40.55		R30–50
Cape Town cafés, October 2026
Flat white
Espresso with steamed milk		R35–45
Cape Town cafés, 2024
Red cappuccino
Rooibos espresso with milk, by cup size		R42–52
Woolworths Café, 2025
Rooibos tea
Caffeine-free red bush tea		R33
Woolworths Café, 2025

Prices as of 2024–2026. The cappuccino range is Numbeo's crowd-sourced figure for Cape Town, updated 24 October 2026; the flat white range is from a travel writer's 2024 survey of Cape Town cafés, and the rooibos prices are from the 2025 menu of Woolworths Café, the chain inside Woolworths department stores.151617

Sources

  1. Vida e Caffè, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. Origin Coffee Roasters marks 20 years building SA specialty coffee market, Bizcommunity, accessed October 2026
  3. Coffee culture in Cape Town, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  4. café, noun, Dictionary of South African English, accessed October 2026
  5. Red espresso, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  6. Rooibos, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  7. To tip or not to tip, that is the question for South Africans, Daily Maverick, accessed October 2026
  8. Tipping when you've bought a takeaway coffee? No way, says Cape Town chef, EWN, accessed October 2026
  9. Businesses battle impact of blackouts, Atlantic Sun, accessed October 2026
  10. South African energy crisis, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  11. Cape Town, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  12. Cape Doctor, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  13. Annual MyCiTi fare adjustments, 1 July 2026, MyCiTi, City of Cape Town, accessed October 2026
  14. Getting here, Table Mountain Aerial Cableway, accessed October 2026
  15. Cost of living in Cape Town, Numbeo, accessed October 2026
  16. The best cafes to work from in Cape Town (2026), Johnny Africa, accessed October 2026
  17. Discover the latest Woolworths Café menu and prices for 2025, Briefly News, accessed October 2026
  18. Woodstock, Cape Town, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  19. Southern Line (Cape Town), Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
FAQ

Cafés in Cape Town: common questions

How much does a cappuccino cost in Cape Town?

In October 2026 a regular cappuccino in Cape Town cost R40.55 on average, with most cafés charging between R30 and R50. A flat white cost R35–45 in 2024. At Woolworths Café, a national chain, a red cappuccino made with rooibos cost R42–52 in 2025, depending on size, and a rooibos tea R33.

Which Cape Town neighborhood has the most cafés?

City Centre & Bo-Kaap and Gardens & Tamboerskloof have the most cafés, followed by Woodstock & Salt River. City Centre & Bo-Kaap has the densest choice by far, and Bree Street the longest run of cafés on any one street. Gardens & Tamboerskloof and Woodstock & Salt River come next.

What is a red cappuccino in Cape Town?

A red cappuccino is made with red espresso, rooibos tea ground fine enough to brew in an espresso machine, and served like a cappuccino. Carl Pretorius devised red espresso in 2005 as a caffeine-free alternative to coffee. Rooibos, Afrikaans for "red bush", grows in the Cederberg, about 249 km north of Cape Town.

Do you tip at cafés in Cape Town?

For table service, 10–15% is the usual tip in Cape Town. Employers must pay at least the national minimum wage, R28.79 an hour in 2025, regardless of tips. Card machines now often suggest a tip on takeaway coffee too, though the Cape Town chef Judi Studdard told EWN in September 2026 that a quick takeaway does not call for one.

What does "café" mean in South Africa and Cape Town?

In South African English a café traditionally means a corner shop that sells sweets, cigarettes, newspapers and basic groceries and stays open after normal hours. A place in Cape Town where you sit down over an espresso is usually called a coffee shop.

Is there still load-shedding at cafés in Cape Town?

As of October 2026, South Africa had not had load-shedding since 16 May 2025. During earlier power cuts some Cape Town cafés could not run their espresso machines: in July 2022 Against the Grain in Bo-Kaap served tea instead of coffee, while Bo-Kaap Deli kept its machine and Wi-Fi going on a generator.

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