Cafeography
Cape Town

Outdoor seating cafés in Cape Town

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

Photo: Magda Ehlers, Pexels License

Cape Town has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate, with mild, moderately wet winters, dry summers and about 3,100 hours of sunshine a year.1 Wind matters as much as sun for an outdoor table, because the strong south-easter blows through much of the warm season.2

Outdoor tables are spread across the city. The City Centre has the most, just ahead of Woodstock & Salt River, while Gardens, Green Point, Sea Point, Newlands, Observatory, Clifton and the Waterfront each add one or two.

Local tip: From September to March, check the wind forecast before you pick a pavement table: the south-easter is often persistent, and a calm morning is the safer bet.

Where these cafés are: City Centre & Bo-Kaap (4), Woodstock & Salt River (3), Gardens & Tamboerskloof (2), Green Point & Mouille Point (2), Rondebosch & Newlands (1), Observatory & Mowbray (1), Sea Point (1), V&A Waterfront (1), Camps Bay & Clifton (1).

At a glance

16Cafés listed
5With opening hours
07:00Earliest opening
23:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: The Blue Cafe, from 07:00 (Mon–Fri 07:00–22:00 · Sat–Sun 08:00–22:00).
  • Closes latest: The Creamery Café Newlands, until 23:00 (Daily 09:00–23:00).
  • Most common features: bakery café (31%), wi-fi (13%), open late (13%).

Nothing matches those filters here. See all cafés in Cape Town.

The Cape Doctor and other winds

The Cape Doctor is a strong, often persistent, dry south-easterly that blows from spring to late summer, roughly September to March.2 It usually brings fair weather and pulls the cloud known as the tablecloth over Table Mountain; its name comes from the local belief that it clears the city of pollution and disease.2

Winter brings the north-westerly, which has been recorded blowing harder than the south-easter.2 In summer the berg wind from the Karoo can make an afternoon uncomfortably hot.1

Rain by season and by suburb

Most rain falls from June to September, when Atlantic cold fronts come through; June averages 92.3 mm and July 84.8 mm.1 Summer, December to March, averages highs of 26 °C and lows of 16 °C.1

Which side of the mountain you sit on changes the odds. Camps Bay, on the western side, gets less than 600 mm of rain a year, while the eastern slopes around Newlands can get up to 2,000 mm.3

Pavement tables in the city

Pavement space for café tables is rented from the City of Cape Town. In December 2021, to help eateries recover, the City halved the rent from R80 to R40 per square meter for the rest of the financial year and offered a three-month rental holiday; serving alcohol outside needed a separate extension of the liquor licence.4 The scheme focused on the CBD but accepted applications from other areas too.4

Rosetta's café at the corner of Bree and Shortmarket streets has tables outside, as do Swan Cafe at 29 Buitenkant Street and New York Bagels at 44 Harrington Street. Further out, Park Café on Bill Peters Drive and Mano's at 39 Main Road in Green Point, Ground Culture Cafe and Deli on Lower Main Road in Observatory and Vovo Telo at the Waterfront have outdoor tables.

Late terraces and garden tables

Four of the outdoor cafés stay open into the evening: The Creamery Café Newlands on Dean Street until 23:00 every day, The Blue Cafe on Brownlow Road in Tamboerskloof until 22:00, Village Café at 40 Napier Street in the city center until 21:00 from Monday to Thursday, and Will's on Upper Orange Street in Oranjezicht until 20:00, or 19:00 on Sunday.

In Woodstock, Salisburys at 79 Roodebloem Road, Stellski at 34 Salisbury Street and D'Vine Hub at 8 Aubrey Street all seat people outside. On the Atlantic side, Pauline's at 277 Main Road in Sea Point has indoor and outdoor tables and welcomes pets, and Eatery Clifton is at 51 Victoria Road.

Sources

  1. Cape Town, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. Cape Doctor, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  3. The Cape of Storms: why Newlands is the wettest suburb in South Africa, Table Mountain Fund, accessed October 2026
  4. Eateries can now lease sidewalks, CapeTowner, accessed October 2026
Keep exploring

Other ways to browse Cape Town

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7 cafés

Wi-Fi

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Bakery cafés

11 cafés

Brunch

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By area: V&A Waterfront City Centre & Bo-Kaap Gardens & Tamboerskloof Woodstock & Salt River Observatory & Mowbray Rondebosch & Newlands

FAQ

Outdoor seating in Cape Town: questions

What is the Cape Doctor wind in Cape Town?

The Cape Doctor is the strong, dry south-easterly wind that blows in Cape Town from spring to late summer, roughly September to March. It usually brings fair weather and pulls the tablecloth cloud over Table Mountain. Its name comes from the local belief that it clears the city of pollution and disease.

When is the rainy season for outdoor cafés in Cape Town?

Most rain in Cape Town falls from June to September, when Atlantic cold fronts come through; June averages 92.3 mm and July 84.8 mm. Summers are dry, with average highs of 26 °C. Rainfall varies by suburb: Camps Bay gets less than 600 mm a year, while the slopes around Newlands can get up to 2,000 mm.

Which outdoor cafés in Cape Town stay open late?

The Creamery Café Newlands on Dean Street is open until 23:00 every day. The Blue Cafe on Brownlow Road in Tamboerskloof is open until 22:00, and Will's on Upper Orange Street in Oranjezicht until 20:00, or 19:00 on Sunday. All three have outdoor tables.

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