During my time in Cape Town I enjoyed several nice cups of coffee, though perhaps none better than at my hotel.
Great Coffee In Cape Town
I stayed at the Westin Hotel, which featured a beautiful breakfast spread each morning including barista-made coffee. The espresso was from Lavazza and the cappuccinos were quite tasty, especially with an extra shot of espresso. Unlimited espresso-on-demand is pretty dangerous for me…
The Westin Cape Town
Convention Square
Lower Long Street
Cape Town, 8000, South Africa
I was going to switch hotels (for blog review purposes) but decided to remain at the Westin in part because of the nice coffee.
But I did not stay in my hotel the entire trip. I also ventured out into the city and found a couple nice places.
First, I stopped at a café called Kamili Coffee on Long Street, which was recommended by a friend. My cappuccino was good, but I appreciated the friendly service and atmosphere inside and the cozy garden-like terrace where I sat and slowly sipped my coffee. Kamili means “perfect” in Swahili.
Kamili Coffee on Long
Corner of 29 Shortmarket Street & Long Street
Cape Town, 8000, South Africa
7:00AM – 6:00PM
That evening, I tired another place called InFusion on Long. The coffee was again good (even better than Kamili) and the latte art in the cappuccino beautifully done. Like Kamili, the staff were also extremely friendly. It was about 9pm and I was the only guy in the restaurant, so I was lavished with a lot of attention. I later found out this was a CBD restaurant in which most of the food has cannabis added. To my knowledge, my cappuccino had no CBD in it!
InFusion On Long
57 Long Street
Cape Town, 8000, South Africa
7:00AM – 10:00PM (closed Sundays)
CONCLUSION
I really enjoyed my time in Cape Town and one reason was because of the great coffee. You can’t go wrong with any of the trio of places above, though I thought the Westin had the best coffee of the three.
What is your favorite coffee shop in Cape Town? Please share your recommendations below.
This story is part of my An African Adventure As The World Shut Down trip report.
Assuming they survive the pandemic Bootlegger coffee shops in Cape Town are great.
Good coffee, tasty food and solid evening beverages too
Looks nice Richard!
https://bootlegger.co.za
Had great expresso and breaky at Bootleggers in Green point.
Truth for me. No shame at all. The asthetic definitely played into the overall visit. Add a Sunrise Espresso and it is certainly a unique stop.
Looks great Howie! Next time…
For those interested:
https://truth.coffee
Have you tried I love coffee in Garfield Street in Claremont, they have recently started roasting their own coffee, Really worth a visit, delicious coffee
Cape Town is my favorite place in the whole world (apart from Tehran, where my family lives)
My trip this year got cancelled. I know that’s not a big deal given everything that’s going on, but reading this trip report (from the good old days of travel) is the next best thing.
Thanks, Matthew.
Hi Pirooz, I hope you will be able to get back to Cape Town next year! Thanks for reading.
We stopped at Kamili last December, as it was main stop for the Hop-on/off bus and just down the street from Autograph collections 15 on Orange hotel.
Kamili also uses/sells Canna Coffee if you see the sign on the wall – I took a snap – Oregon has THC & CBD infused coffees so nothing new – but thought the AmeriCanna / Cannachino was a cute play on the hybrid infused coffee.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/139637597@N07/shares/LE6if2
We did get reservations for the Shortmarket club – owned by the Chef of the Test Kitchen restaurant. The African contient has no michelin star restaurants – but some Cape Town chefs are in league with them.
If you get back to Cape Town, consider staying at the Taj. Fantastic hotel, rooms, and service – a mini version of the famous one in India and featured in the Hotel Mumbai movie.
Funny you mention that. I’ll address that very hotel tomorrow.
Found My Tribe…at Tribe coffee and roaster in Woodstock.
Super coffee and great people. Jake and his team know there beans.
Great to find a fun and authentic little spot hiding just off the road.
There really are really too many great coffee shops in Cape Town to list. Deluxe Coffeeworks (Wale St, Kloof St, Buitenkan St) have great value for money beans, Espresso Lab microroasters in Woodstock are pretty unique, but my personal favorite when it comes to quality and variety of brewing methods is Origin Coffee in Hudson St.
Thank you for this valuable insight Werner. I look forward to returning to Cape Town and trying these places.
Rosetta Roastery is easily the best coffee in town, if not the country. They’re on Bree Street with satellite branches at the Yard in the Silo District of the Waterfront and in Claremont in the Egg ‘department’ store in Cavendish Connect.
Origin in De Waterkant with branches on Bree Street and at the Waterfront is next best together with Espressolab at the biscuit mill, followed by Deluxe (Buitenkant Street), Quaffee/Long Miles Cafe (Vineyard hotel), and Tribe (Woodstock), in no particular order. hazz in Newlands and flatmountain in salt river both deserve mention too. I’ve not been to their cafe, but if it’s anything as good as their beans, Legado (Stellenbosch) is a must too.
Cape Town is full of fantastic coffee roasters and cafes that the above list doesn’t fully capture, but gives a good starting point.