Editorial roaster guide
Cape Town’s roastery cafés offer plenty to taste and take home, with stops in De Waterkant, the city centre and Woodstock.
Origin combines a brew bar with beans and gear. Rosetta is a central choice for filter, Cedar has a small Woodstock roastery shop, and Truth is known for its theatrical interior.
The cafe's own roasting program is part of what makes it worth visiting.
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De Waterkant, Cape Town
Good first stop
A brew bar, café, retail beans and brewing gear in one stop.
Cape Town specialty-coffee landmark in De Waterkant, with house-roasted beans, hand-brew methods, retail gear, knowledgeable service, and a substantial daytime cafe menu.
Bree Street, Cape Town
Best central roaster bar
Filter coffee and beans at the Bree Street café.
Central Bree Street expression of Rosetta's single-origin roasting, with filter brew bar service, rotating espresso, house pastries, light meals, and beans to take home.
Woodstock / Albert Road, Cape Town
Best Woodstock roastery stop
Visit the small Woodstock roastery shop for house coffee and beans.
Woodstock roastery-store from Winston Thomas and Leigh Wentzel, with house-roasted beans, filter and espresso, compact counter energy, and Cedar Hatch mapped as the central quick-stop sibling.
City Centre / East City, Cape Town
Best theatrical roastery room
Coffee and retail beans in the distinctive Buitenkant Street roastery.
A theatrical Buitenkant Street roastery-cafe in a Victorian warehouse, known for house-roasted coffee, manual brews, brunch, retail beans, and its steampunk room.
De Waterkant, Cape Town
For coffee and pastries
Cape Town-roasted coffee, signature drinks and pastries in De Waterkant.
Ranked De Waterkant coffee atelier for light-roast espresso, signature drinks, pastries, work-friendly design, and the Old Biscuit Mill roastery mapped as the secondary Cape Town location.
Buitenkant / Gardens, Cape Town
Best no-frills roaster counter
A lively, no-frills counter for espresso, flat whites and beans.
No-frills Buitenkant roastery bar for fast espresso, flat whites, loud-room energy, house-roasted beans, and a punky Cape Town counterpoint to polished specialty rooms.
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