The best coffee in Cape Town comes from a small group of roasters and neighbourhood cafés. On the Atlantic Seaboard, go to Pauline's and mischu in Sea Point and Houtbay Coffee in Hout Bay. In the City Bowl, Truth, Origin and Espressolab (formerly Espresso Lab Microroasters) lead: Espressolab's De Waterkant shop is #40 in The World's 100 Best Coffee Shops 2026. In Woodstock, go to Espressolab at The Old Biscuit Mill and Cedar Cafe.
Amaya is designed in Sea Point, so most of our days start with a coffee on Main Road or Regent Road. This is the list we send to friends who visit. We say what we love; we are not affiliated with any of these places. Check hours before you go.
Sea Point and Green Point
Pauline's
Pauline's has three cafés: Adelphi Centre, 277 Main Road, Sea Point; 37A Somerset Road, Green Point; and 4 Park Road, Gardens. Order the speciality coffee with a cardamom bun or the pear and polenta cake. The Sea Point room is small and made for lingering, a short walk from the promenade. In Green Point, the courtyard is quiet, and there is a caffeine-free Mesquite drink if you have had enough coffee.
mischu
mischu is at 85 Regent Road, Sea Point, and opens every day. The house coffee is the Isabella blend, named after the owner's daughter. Come early for sourdough, which often sells out by 11:00, or for canelés and "crookies", a croissant filled with cookie dough. Weekends are busy; it is calmer from about 11:00 to 14:00.
Bootlegger Coffee Company
Bootlegger has several branches on this stretch: 257 Main Road in Three Anchor Bay, 39 Regent Street in Sea Point and The Point Mall at 76 Regent Road. Three Anchor Bay is Cape Town's first fully halaal Bootlegger. Order the "Magic", a three-quarter flat white. The Sea Point branch on Regent Street opens at 06:30 on weekdays.
Ollies
Ollies is at 315 Main Road, Sea Point, and is paired with Pas Normal Studios. Runners and cyclists call it "The Clubhouse". Order the flat white. Check before you go.
Shift Espresso Bar
Shift is a small, coffee-first bar on Main Road, Green Point, with a second branch in the V&A Canal District (Retail 4B, Waterway House South). It uses organic Fair Trade coffee and makes red cappuccinos. Confirm the Green Point street number on Google Maps before you go.
The Strangers Club
The Strangers Club is at 1 Braemar Road, Green Point. It has wooden floors, oversized couches and a fireplace that is lit in winter. Breakfast runs until 11:30, and it has served Rosetta single origins. Check before you go.
For matcha rather than coffee, see our guide to the best matcha in Sea Point.
Camps Bay and Hout Bay
Houtbay Coffee
Houtbay Coffee is a roastery and café in the Mainstream Shopping Centre, on the corner of Main and Princess Streets, Hout Bay. The roasts are small-batch and hand-sorted. Ask for a single origin; they pour them on request. It opens daily, 09:00 to 17:00.
Bootlegger, Bakoven and Hout Bay
The Bakoven branch is at 38 Victoria Road. The Hout Bay branch is at Shop 13, Oakhurst Farm Stall, Hout Bay Main Road. Hout Bay stays open until 21:00 on Fridays.
Platō Coffee, Camps Bay
Platō has a café at The Bay Hotel on Victoria Road, Camps Bay, within walking distance of the beach. It opens at 06:00 on weekdays, so you can get a coffee before a swim. Check before you go.
Morning Mojo
Morning Mojo sits at Maiden's Cove, between Clifton and Camps Bay, with views of the ocean and the mountain. The coffee is roasted at its own roastery in Woodstock. We found one source for it, so check before you go.
If you are making a day of this coast, our Sea Point to Camps Bay day has the route.
City Bowl
Truth Coffee Roasting
Truth is at 36 Buitenkant Street in the CBD, in a steampunk warehouse with copper piping and old machinery. The Daily Telegraph has named it the world's best coffee shop twice. Brunch runs until 16:00. It opens Monday to Saturday, 07:00 to 18:00, and Sunday, 08:00 to 16:00.
Origin Coffee Roasting
Origin is at 28 Hudson Street, De Waterkant. Order one coffee three ways: as an espresso, a drip and a flat white. It runs cupping sessions and serves up to 50 speciality coffees a year. Have a pastel de nata on the side.
Espressolab, De Waterkant
Espressolab, formerly Espresso Lab Microroasters, is at 8 De Smidt Street, Green Point, in The Quarter building on the De Waterkant edge. It is #40 in The World's 100 Best Coffee Shops 2026 and was #11 in 2025. Drinks come in glass beakers: try the Yuzu Sour or the "Lekker Brew" with a cardamom bun. It opens Monday to Saturday, 08:00 to 16:00.
Deluxe Coffeeworks
Deluxe is a no-frills roaster bar with three cafés: 171a Buitenkant Street in Gardens, 82 Kloof Street, and Metal Lane at 8 Kloof Street. All open at 07:00 and close at 13:00 at weekends. Metal Lane is closed on Sundays. Ask what the latest release is.
Rosetta Roastery, Bree Street
Rosetta's Bree Street café is at 97 Bree Street, on the corner of Shortmarket. It roasts single-origin micro-roasts and tests more than 150 coffees a year. Order the almond-milk flat white and a vegan chocolate cookie. Check before you go.
Heaven Coffee
Heaven Coffee is at the entrance of the Central Methodist Mission on Greenmarket Square. You drink your coffee under stained glass, and there is chess. It opens daily, 07:00 to 17:00. Check before you go.
Woodstock
Espressolab, The Old Biscuit Mill
The original Espressolab roastery has been at The Old Biscuit Mill, 375 Albert Road, since 2009. The room is built around the roasting kit, and the single origins are small-batch and traceable. On market Saturdays, arrive at about 08:30.
Cedar Cafe
Cedar Cafe, from Cedar Coffee Roasters, is new in 2026, at 48 Albert Road, inside Side Street Studios. A Barista Champion works the bar. Order one of the three versions of the flat white, or the Swiss Water decaf. Kenya, Ethiopia and Panama coffees rotate, and there are coffee bon bons.
Bootlegger, Woodstock Quarter
The halaal Woodstock Quarter branch is at 193 Sir Lowry Road. It opens weekdays 07:00 to 17:00 and weekends 08:00 to 15:00.
Southern suburbs
I Love Coffee
I Love Coffee is at 103 Garfield Road, Claremont. It is South Africa's first coffee shop run by the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community, who make up about 70% of the staff. There is a sign-language ordering guide online, so learn your order before you go. It opens Monday to Saturday, 08:30 to 16:00.
Siki's Koffee
Siki's Koffee started in the founder's mother's garage in Khayelitsha. The original café is at 7 Ntaba Street, Khayelitsha, and there is a second on the first floor of Cavendish Square, Claremont. Check before you go.
Rosetta Roastery, Claremont
Rosetta's southern suburbs café is on the ground floor at 1 Osborne Road, Claremont. Check before you go.
Bootlegger, Kenilworth
The Kenilworth branch is at Shop G05, Pam Golding on Main, 323 Main Road. It stays open until 21:00 from Thursday to Saturday.
Further south, Olympia Café in Kalk Bay bakes its own pastries next door. It is in our brunch guide.
Which one for what
- For coffee geeks: Origin, for one coffee three ways, or Cedar Cafe, for three flat whites.
- For the award list: Espressolab in De Waterkant.
- Before the promenade: Pauline's on Main Road or Bootlegger on Regent Street.
- On a rainy day: The Strangers Club, by the fire.
- On a market Saturday: Espressolab at The Old Biscuit Mill, at 08:30.
- Before a swim in Camps Bay: Platō at The Bay Hotel, from 06:00 on weekdays.
- For something different: I Love Coffee in Claremont, or chess at Heaven Coffee.
Want a longer stay with a laptop? See our list of cafés to work from in Cape Town. Staying for eggs? See where to brunch in Cape Town.
What to wear
A Cape Town coffee run usually turns into a walk, and the wind always comes along. Linen works best. The Shio Pants (R1 800) with the Nusa Top (R1 199) hold up on the promenade and still look right at a café table. For a warm morning, the Amalfi Dress (R1 850) is linen too. On a cooler day, the knit Wild Lounge Set (R1 650) does the job. Not sure between fabrics? Read linen vs satin in Cape Town.
Amaya delivers across South Africa for R99, free over R1 500. Cape Town takes 1 to 2 working days, Johannesburg and Pretoria 2 to 3, the rest of South Africa 3 to 5. Collect in Sea Point for free. The first exchange is free within 14 days.
WhatsApp Max on +27 83 703 8502.
Updated October 2026. We update this guide every season.
