Cafeography
Cape Town

Specialty coffee cafés in Cape Town

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

Photo: Mizuno K, Pexels License

Specialty coffee in Cape Town grew out of a few roasteries that trained their own staff. Origin's academy taught about 3,500 people over 17 years, from professional baristas to home enthusiasts, and in 2023 it merged with the academies of Truth and Tribe to form the African School of Coffee, a nonprofit.1 Origin counts five South African Barista Champions among its baristas, the first in 2007 and the latest in 2017.1

Most of the specialty bars are in the City Centre: The 777 Coffee Roastery on Keerom Street, Truth on Buitenkant Street, and Rosetta Roastery's café and Pang Specialty Coffee on Bree Street. Woodstock & Salt River has the roasteries with cafés attached, and Native Coffee Roasters has an outpost at the Waterfront.

Local tip: Rosetta roasts no blends, so its espresso is always a single origin: ask which one is in the grinder before you order.

Where these cafés are: City Centre & Bo-Kaap (4), Woodstock & Salt River (2), V&A Waterfront (1).

At a glance

7Cafés listed
2With opening hours
06:00Earliest opening
16:30Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: El Greeyo Roastery, from 06:00 (Mon–Fri 06:00–16:30 · Sat 07:00–14:30).
  • Most common features: brunch (29%), wi-fi (29%), bakery café (29%).

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

Roasting in the room

Several cafés roast where they pour. At Truth, on Buitenkant Street, a vintage three-ton Probat stands at the center of the room inside a ring of steel shelving.2 Rosetta Roastery roasts in Woodstock and pours at the corner of Bree and Shortmarket streets; it buys beans from South and Central America, Africa and Asia and keeps them unblended.3 The Bree Street café opens 08:00–16:00 from Monday to Saturday and 08:00–14:00 on Sunday.

El Greeyo Roastery at 18 Brickfield Road in Salt River and Native Coffee Roasters at 37B Dock Road at the Waterfront carry the roaster's name over the door, and so does The 777 Coffee Roastery on Keerom Street. In 2012 Bean There, at 58 Wale Street, was roasting unblended African single-origin beans from Rwanda, Ethiopia, Burundi and Kenya on a German-made Probat L12.4

What a specialty cup costs

In 2024 a flat white or a cappuccino at a Cape Town café typically cost R35–45 and an espresso R20–25.5

The range of beans is wide. Origin alone has released more than 400 single-origin coffees and about 60 seasonal espresso blends since 2006, and at its peak it supplied close to 150 wholesale venues.1

Espresso bars and an early start

Shift, founded in 2014, runs espresso bars across Cape Town, from Hans Strijdom Avenue in the city center to Kloof Street, Claremont and Three Anchor Bay, plus three in Johannesburg.6

El Greeyo Roastery on Brickfield Road in Salt River starts earliest, opening at 06:00 on weekdays and closing at 16:30; on Saturday it runs 07:00–14:30 and serves brunch.

Lists and awards

Truth's Buitenkant Street café topped the Telegraph's list of the world's best coffee shops two years running, in 2015 and 2016.7 Espressolab, set up in 2009, came 11th on the World's 100 Best Coffee Shops list in 2025, the best placing in Africa.7

Its De Waterkant café made the list for a second year in 2026, in 40th place.8 The same Time Out report pointed coffee drinkers to Truth and to Honest Chocolate, which has a café at 64A Wale Street.8

Sources

  1. Origin Coffee Roasters marks 20 years building SA specialty coffee market, Bizcommunity, accessed October 2026
  2. Truth coffee shop by Haldane Martin, Dezeen, accessed October 2026
  3. Rosetta Roastery, LekkeSlaap, accessed October 2026
  4. Bean there, drank that, Mail & Guardian, accessed October 2026
  5. The best cafes in Cape Town, South Africa (2026), Johnny Africa, accessed October 2026
  6. Shift Espresso Bar, Shift Espresso Bar, accessed October 2026
  7. Coffee culture in Cape Town, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  8. Cape Town ranks amongst world's 100 best coffee shops, Time Out Cape Town, accessed October 2026
Keep exploring

Other ways to browse Cape Town

Wi-Fi

16 cafés

Outdoor seating

16 cafés

Bakery cafés

11 cafés

Brunch

7 cafés

By area: V&A Waterfront City Centre & Bo-Kaap Woodstock & Salt River

FAQ

Specialty coffee in Cape Town: questions

Where are the specialty coffee roasters in Cape Town?

Truth roasts on a vintage three-ton Probat on Buitenkant Street in the city center. Rosetta Roastery roasts in Woodstock and runs a café at the corner of Bree and Shortmarket streets. El Greeyo Roastery is at 18 Brickfield Road in Salt River, Native Coffee Roasters at 37B Dock Road at the V&A Waterfront and The 777 Coffee Roastery on Keerom Street.

What is the African School of Coffee in Cape Town?

The African School of Coffee is a nonprofit formed in 2023, when Origin merged its barista academy with those of Truth and Tribe. Origin's academy had trained about 3,500 people over 17 years, from professional baristas to home enthusiasts, and Origin counts five South African Barista Champions among its baristas, from 2007 to 2017.

Which specialty coffee roastery in Cape Town opens at 06:00?

El Greeyo Roastery at 18 Brickfield Road in Salt River opens at 06:00 on weekdays and 07:00 on Saturday, and closes at 16:30 on weekdays. In 2024 a flat white at a Cape Town café typically cost R35–45.

For café owners

Your café deserves better than a pin someone else dropped

Free listings are free for good. A featured page gives you photos, a menu and your own URL, in your café's own design, for less than a coffee a day.

Get listed, free See a page in its own design