The Cape Town coffee scene is massive. The Mother city is home to an unreal amount of unique independent coffee shops with onsite roasteries and well-trained baristas that can expertly prepare your favorite brew. I grew up around Cape Town and I am a huge coffee lover, these are the coffee shops not to miss when visiting the mother city! One of the most beautiful and exciting cities in the world Cape Town has many amazing things to do.
In this post we give you our favorite coffee shops, what makes them special and GPS pins for parking!
Where to Look for Coffee Shops in Cape Town
Coffee shops are spread out through the city, but there are a couple of neighborhoods filled with funky artisan coffee shops. Walking in Buitenkant street in District Six, the Old Biscuit Mill in Woodstock or anywhere in Kloof street you will run into a quality coffee shop every couple of minutes.
Truth Coffee
- Location – 36 Buitenkant Street, Cape Town City Centre
- Nearby Attractions – District 6 Heritage Museum, Castle of Goodhope
- Coffee served in Truth Coffee Cape Town – A variety of distinct blends and single origin coffee beans sourced from around the world, the beans are roasted and blended onsite.
- Best Parking Spot – Parking area on the corner of Buitenkant and Glyn street – Navigate with Google Maps
- Hours – Monday to Thursday 07:00 to 18:00, Friday 07:00 till late, Saturday 08:00 to 18:00, Sunday and public holidays 08:00 – 16:00
Truth Coffee has been awarded the title ‘Best Coffee Shop in the world’ by the UK paper ‘The Telegraph’ more than once. This coffee shop is a must-include in your Cape Town itinerary.
Beautifully styled according to the ‘steam punk’ genre, you enter a semi-fictional world decorated with fictional steam machinery from the Victorian 19th century. The quality of the coffee has nothing to do with fiction, be prepared to taste some of the best coffee in Cape Town, well anywhere in the world for that matter.
The coffee is all hand-roasted in a vintage cast-iron drum. Truth trains its own professional baristas and has a Barista and Coffee Academy teaching a variety of courses from Late Art and Coffee Appreciation to a complete professional course.
Deluxe Coffeeworks
- Location – 171a Buitenkant Street, Cape Town City Centre
- Nearby Attractions – The Dog’s Bollocks take out for awesome burgers or Bitch’s Tits for a great Taco, Gardens Shopping Center
- Coffee served in Deluxe Coffeeworks Cape Town – All coffee and espresso based drinks are made with Deluxe House Blend. A blend of 45% Brazilian, 45% Guatemala and 10% Ethiopian beans. They source, blend and roast the beans. Other single origin beans roasted by Deluxe is for sale in the coffee shops.
- Best Parking Spot – Navigate to Deluxe If you are lucky you can find a parking spot right in front of the shop in Buitenkant street, if not go to the Parking area on the corner of Buitenkant and Glyn street .
- Hours – Monday to Friday 7am to 5pm, Saturday & Sunday 9am to 2pm.
Deluxe is all about good coffee, the coffee is great, cheap and is all they serve. Only espresso-based drinks, no sandwiches, muffins, hot chocolate, or tea here. One of the best-known artisan coffee roasters in the city, Deluxe has 4 outlets around Cape Town, one in Stellenbosch and there is a Deluxe Coffeeworks in Windhoek, a great stop for caffeine reload on a Cape Town – Namibia road trip! They blend and roast their own beans and all coffee sold in Deluxe Cafes is made with their house blend, you can buy some single-origin beans on-site to brew at home.
Origin Coffee Roasting
- Location – 28 Hudson St, De Waterkant, Cape Town City Center
- Nearby Attractions – Located close to the Bo Kaap one of the most popular places to visit in Cape Town.
- Price of a Cappuccino – R34
- Coffee served in Origin Coffee Roasting Cape Town – A huge range of single-origin and coffee blends. The green beans are sourced worldwide (including many African countries) by the Origin team and expertly roasted and blended in-house. Grinding and pouring is done professionally in various means by top graduates from the esteemed Origin Barista school.
- Best Parking Spot – Navigate to Origin If you are lucky you can find a parking spot right in front of the shop on Hudson street.
- Hours – Weekdays 7:30am–4pm, Saturdays 8am–3pm, Sundays 8am–2pm
Origin Coffee in Cape Town’s focus is to serve quality roasted coffee from around the world. This was the only coffee shop in Cape Town that offered me options when I ordered an Americano. The knowledgeable waitress told me a bit about the single-origin and blend they currently recommend and asked me which I would prefer, if you are a bit of a coffee snob (like us :-), you will love this place. You can choose your specific coffee beans and even the method they must use to make your brew; French Press, Aeropress, Hario V60 Pourover, Moka pot, or Siphon.
If you ask the staff you can go and take a look upstairs in the roastery where the magic happens! At Origin they know the coffee beans are not the only important thing, the barista plays a very important role to bring you a great cup of coffee. The Origin Barista Academy has trained more than 4000 professional baristas. Want to learn how to draw cool pictures on your girlfriend’s cappuccino? They offer a variety of courses including an afternoon of late art.
A great place to stop for a coffee or something to eat if you are visiting the Bo Kaap, the bagels were great, and they have an extensive bakery, breakfast and brunch menu.
Yours Truly
- Location – 73 Kloof Street, Gardens
- Nearby Attractions – Bo Kaap, Table Mountain, Lions Head
- Coffee served – All coffee is prepared using Delux Coffee Beans
- Best Parking Spot – Street parking on Kloofstreet.
- Hours – 7am – 10 pm
Yours Truly has three chilled cafés located in Cape Town, our favorite is the Yours Truly coffee shop on the trendy Kloof Street. The other branches are located on 2 cool streets all so famous for their great nightlife, Loop street and Longstreet in the CBD. The gourmet sandwiches and bagels are delicious with a variety of toppings and fresh ingredients, they also make a mean pizza. Shrouded in greenery the coffee hangout has a really nice setting and cool garden vibe. The staff is friendly and the music nice. It is a licensed bar that serves some great craft beers. Yours Truly is located next to a backpacker. It is a cool place with a young hipster clientele, we have stopped here several times for a bagel and coffee after doing a morning hike up Table Mountain.
Bootlegger Coffee Company
Bootlegger Coffee – our favorite beans to use at home!
- Location -112 Kloof St, Oranjezicht
- Nearby Attractions – Table Mountain or Lions Head
- Price of a Cappuccino –
- Coffee served – All coffee drinks are made with the Bootleggers Coffee Bean Blend, this is the coffee that I use at home now! Beans are sourced from Guatemala, Costa Rica and Tanzania. Blended and then roasted in Cape Town by Giessen coffee roasters. Eco friendly all beans are Rain Forest Alliance Certified.
- Best Parking Spot – In Kloof street
- Hours – 7am – 10 pm
Bootleggers got the basics right, they always make an awesome cup of coffee within my opinion the best beans in town! Whenever I see a coffee shop uses Bootlegger’s beans, I know we are going to get a great cup of coffee and I have started buying their beans to make coffee at home. Bootlegger Coffee Company has turned into a chain of multiple coffee shops in the Cape.
We often visit different branches and they all still feel like your friendly neighborhood coffee shop with awesome food, from amazing bagels to deliciously unhealthy flapjacks. The branch in Kloof street is awesome and a great spot to stop for coffee after doing the Lion’s Head hike. For fantastic coffee with the best view of Table Mountain, Bootleggers in Blouberg Strand is the spot. We love getting a takeaway cup here, walk across the road to the beach with our dog Chile. They also make a mean hot chocolate.
The Mother City has some stunning scenic drives, check out our favorite road trips around Cape Town; from stunning coastal drives to mountain passes and vineyards.
Molten Toffee
- Location – 45b Kloof St, Gardens
- Nearby Attractions – Table Mountain and Lions Head
- Price of a Cappuccino – R 28
- Coffee used – Molten Toffee prepares your Cuppa Joe with their own Molten Toffee roast, it’s a Brazil, Tanzania and Columbia blend.
- Best Parking Spot – Kloof street
- Hours – 07:00 to 15:00
Molten Toffee is Cockney slang for ‘coffee’, the shop in Kloof street feels like a small, friendly local neighborhood coffee shop. The food is great, the vibe is friendly and we loved the bagels and the croissants. We were sitting outside at the tables on the sidewalk chatting, drinking coffee and enjoying the lively Kloof street in the morning. The staff were friendly, the coffee shop full and everybody seemed to know each other, a ‘lekker’ vibe.
Espresso Lab Microroasters
- Location – The Old Biscuit Mill, 375 Albert Road, Woodstock
- Nearby Attractions – The Old Biscuit Mill is a little cultural village, a cool shopping venue with plenty of eateries, gourmet food, boutique wines, arts and crafts and the highlight is a large market with a large variety of fresh and organic foods.
- Coffee served – Quality single-origin beans imported from a large variety of topographical and geographical origins, roasted by the local roasters and a variety of their own blends are created.
- Best Parking Spot – Plenty of safe paid parking at the Old Biscuit Mill – Navigate with Google Maps
If you are exploring the Old Biscuit Mill market in Woodstock and want a great cup of coffee, Espresso Lab Microroasters is the place to go. The science theme of the shop clearly indicates their approach to coffee, exact, scientific. Selecting and using the best beans and a variety of brewing methods to create a top quality cup of coffee. The place looks very clinical, like a laboratory, with some bags of beans to brighten things up.
The baristas working here are a friendly bunch and we had a great time joking around with them and taking photos and videos. I enjoy sitting outside on a busy day watching people walking around the lively Old Biscuit Mill. These guys follow coffee from bean to cup aiming to select only coffee where conscious choices were made all the way through the coffee chain. Espresso Lab offers a variety of coffees, coffee-based drinks and interesting coffee cocktails.
Shift Espresso Bar
- Location – 47 Main Road Green Point Cape Town
- Nearby Attractions – Funky street with many coffee shops, not far from the V&A Waterfront, outside the Cape Royale Luxury hotel
- Coffee served in Shift Espresso Bar Cape Town – Two different single origin coffees are used to prepare all espresso based drinks, the Brazilian roast is used for espresso and black coffees and Nicaraguan for Lattes, Cappuccinos and drinks with milk added. Try what they say is the strongest coffee in the world, their own roast, The Almighty.
- Best Parking Spot – There is a lot of parking on the street, I would pull into the first parking spot I find about 200m from Shift Espresso Bar.
- Hours – Monday – Friday 06:30AM – 6:00PM, Saturday 06:30AM – 6:00PM, Sunday 07:00AM –3:00PM
Shift Espresso bar is a trendy Coffee shop located on Green Points Main strip next to the Cape Royal Hotel. This is another area in Cape Town packed with coffee shops with a Bootleggers and a Vida Café just a stones throw away. If you like sweet coffee concoctions, you will love the specialty coffee drinks here mixed with coffee, caramel and ice cream. The bagels were good and packed with fresh ingredients, great spot to stop if you are hungry.
The most important thing at Shift espresso bar is quality coffee and they offer they offer the normal range of barista styled espresso drinks made from their own blended and roasted artisan coffee beans.
Like a strong coffee? try The Almighty, the coffee with the highest amount of caffeine in a single shot of espresso available anywhere today. Their own secret blend made from three different beans, no additives, more caffeine then a Red Bull yielded by some skilled roasting magic. You can ask for your espresso based drink to be prepared with The Almighty for a bit extra.
Coffee BloC at Buitenverwachting
- Location – Buitenverwachting wine farm, Constantia
- Nearby Attractions – wine tasting on Buitenverwachting wine farm and the Constantia wine route.
- Coffee used – The Coffee Bloc uses a blend called the Relationship Blend, prepared from 4 different Colombian beans blended and roasted on site to prepare all their coffees, the beans are sold at the coffee shop.
- Hours – Monday to Saturday – 8h00 to 17h00
Want to go for a great cup of coffee on one of the most beautiful wine farms in Constantia? Coffee BloC is Buitenverwachting’s Coffee shop on the stunning Constantia Wine Route. Artisan coffees made are made from beans freshly roasted on site at the Quaffee roastery by coffee roaster Warren Machanik. It is a nice spot to take a break from wine tasting with a coffee or tea and cake while exploring the Constantia wine route.
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The strong half of Stingy Nomads, a nomadic aquaman that would be happy to spend all his life in the water diving, surfing and spearfishing but often has to compromise with Alya and go hiking instead. Campbell is responsible for all our marine adventures and following them with write-ups. He loves traveling, braai (BBQ in South Africa), red wine and spending the day in a wetsuit.
