Cafeography
Johannesburg

Specialty coffee cafés in Johannesburg

Roasteries with a counter, from Kramerville and Milpark to Wendywood, Greenside and Parkhurst's 4th Avenue.

Photo: Thirdman, Pexels License

Johannesburg's specialty cafés grew up against cheap coffee. In 2018 Lovejoy Chirambasukwa, the 2013 South African barista champion, then managing the Craft Coffee roastery in Newtown, told the Sunday Times that not many people could afford more than R20 for a cup.1 Bean There's Cuth Bland was at the time one of only four certified Q graders (professional coffee tasters) in South Africa.1

Most specialty bars are in the northern suburbs, led by Parkhurst & Greenside, Randburg & Ferndale and Sandton, with Rosebank and the Bryanston-Rivonia corridor close behind. Several roast on the premises, so a bag of beans to take home is part of the visit.

Local tip: Buy beans where they are roasted: Fingers Crossed sells its own for collection at 2 Levubu Road or for delivery on Tuesdays.8

Where these cafés are: Sandton (4), Parkhurst & Greenside (4), Rosebank & Parktown North (3), Bryanston, Rivonia & Morningside (3), Randburg & Ferndale (3), Braamfontein (2), Melville & Auckland Park (1), Eastern Suburbs (1).

At a glance

21Cafés listed
4With opening hours
06:30Earliest opening
21:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Roast Republic, from 06:30 (Daily 06:30–16:00).
  • Closes latest: Father Coffee, until 21:00 (Mon–Wed 07:30–17:00 · Thu–Fri 07:30–21:00 · Sat 08:00–21:00 · Sun 08:00–17:00).
  • Most common features: outdoor seating (33%), card payment (19%), indoor seating (14%).

Nothing matches those filters here. See all cafés in Johannesburg.

Roasters with a counter

Bean There sells only African coffee, bagged by country of origin; in 2018 that meant Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Burundi, roasted in two Johannesburg roasteries and one in Cape Town.1 Its cafés are at 44 Stanley Avenue in Milpark and at 111 Smit Street in Braamfontein, and In Your Pocket's pick at the Milpark bar is a Tanzanian single origin with notes of hazelnut and lime.2

Other names carry the roastery on the sign: Africa Black Coffee Roastery in Randburg, Roasties88 Coffee Roastery at 83 Bram Fischer Drive, The Green Bean Coffee Roastery at 46 Island Cove Crescent and Foakes Coffee Roastery and Bakery in the eastern suburbs. A 2023 guide to the Bryanston Organic & Natural Market sent coffee drinkers to The Green Bean African Coffee Roastery.3

Father, Yaawk and Asmara

Father Coffee releases around 60 different coffees a year, from Ethiopia, Guatemala and other origins, under its head roaster, Chad Goddard.4 Both of its cafés, in Kramerville and at The Zone in Rosebank, stay open until 21:00 from Thursday to Saturday, and the Kramerville branch adds a bakery and a brunch menu.

Yaawk, on Western Service Road in Wendywood, belongs to two former Olympic-level rowers and roasts on a Giesen machine.5 Asmara Coffee, at 51 5th Street, is Nobuhle Magwentshu's company: registered in 2014, roasting commercially since 2018 and now a supplier to hotel groups nationwide.6

What specialty coffee costs

Prices have roughly doubled since that R20 ceiling. In October 2026 a regular cappuccino in Johannesburg averaged R40.91, and most cafés charged between R30 and R54.7

Beans are the bigger outlay. In October 2026 Fingers Crossed, at 2 Levubu Road, priced its Brazil Cerrado at R120 to R390, depending on the bag.8

Hours, terraces and Wi-Fi

Roast Republic starts earliest: its Sloane Street café in Bryanston runs daily from 06:30 to 16:00, and its Rosebank branch from 08:00 to 16:00 on weekdays. Truth Coffee at 71 11th Street in Sandton has outdoor tables and allows dogs, and Fingers Crossed has Wi-Fi and outdoor seating.

In Greenside, State 5 is at 24 Gleneagles Road. 4th Avenue Coffee Roasters trades from Parkhurst's Cobbles Centre, at the corner of 4th Avenue and 11th Street.

Sources

  1. Why Joburg has been slow to wake up & smell the global coffee culture, Sunday Times (September 30, 2018), accessed October 2026
  2. #JoziCoffeeSpots: 5 great Joburg coffee roasteries, In Your Pocket, accessed October 2026
  3. Eat fresh, shop local at the Bryanston Organic & Natural Market (May 17, 2023), Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty, accessed October 2026
  4. Father Coffee, The Way to Coffee, accessed October 2026
  5. New kids on the block: Yaawk Coffee (October 20, 2023), Coffee Magazine, accessed October 2026
  6. Nobuhle Magwentshu brews a bigger future for African coffee (August 11, 2026), Bizcommunity, accessed October 2026
  7. Cost of living in Johannesburg, Numbeo, accessed October 2026
  8. Fingers Crossed hand roasted coffee, Fingers Crossed, accessed October 2026
Keep exploring

Other ways to browse Johannesburg

Outdoor seating

24 cafés

Wi-Fi

15 cafés

Bakery cafés

13 cafés

By area: Braamfontein Melville & Auckland Park Rosebank & Parktown North Parkhurst & Greenside Sandton Bryanston, Rivonia & Morningside

FAQ

Specialty coffee in Johannesburg: questions

How many coffees does Father Coffee roast in Johannesburg each year?

Father Coffee releases around 60 different coffees a year, sourced from Ethiopia, Guatemala and other origins, under its head roaster, Chad Goddard. Its Johannesburg cafés in Kramerville and at The Zone in Rosebank stay open until 21:00 from Thursday to Saturday.

What coffee does Bean There sell in Johannesburg?

Bean There sells only African coffee, bagged by country of origin; in 2018 that meant Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Burundi. Its Johannesburg cafés are at 44 Stanley Avenue in Milpark and 111 Smit Street in Braamfontein. In 2018 its Cuth Bland was one of only four certified Q graders in South Africa.

How much does specialty coffee cost in Johannesburg?

In October 2026 a regular cappuccino in Johannesburg averaged R40.91, with most cafés charging R30 to R54, about double the R20 that a Newtown roastery manager called the limit for most customers in 2018. A bag of Fingers Crossed's Brazil Cerrado cost R120 to R390 in October 2026.

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