The Best Coffee Shops in Johannesburg

This roastery and espresso bar’s main focus is coffee, but the trendy café also serves breakfast, light lunches, scones, and other baked goods. Their classic cappuccino is delicious, made with the Vintage Espresso Blend, and each cup is a combination of amazing flavors. AfricaBlack has a wholesale division as well, and works with Stil.Coffee, based in Zimbabwe (the owner’s homeland).

Bean There Coffee Company is situated within the trendy 44 Stanley space in downtown Johannesburg and was the first roaster of Certified Fairtrade coffee in South Africa. They trade directly with farmers to ensure sustainable and fair environments. Bean There also hosts coffee tasting evenings, which includes a coffee-related quiz as well as wine and cheese.

Doubleshot Coffee & Tea in Braamfontein is a small batch coffee roastery that hand selects all their beans, and origins include Colombia, Brasil, and Guatemala. The roastery also specializes in fresh brewed craft iced tea, tea lattes, and delicious pastries, so you can really lounge around in this comfortable space all day long.

Father Coffee is so popular that they now have two branches in the same city, one in Braamfontein and one in Rosebank. Drink the Cortado—it’s basically a short flat-white packed with loads of flavor. Father Coffee serves delicious treats to accompany your cuppa and the warm décor invites guests to spend hours taking in the bustling atmosphere.

Motherland Coffee Co has three venues in Johannesburg; Dunkeld, Parktown North, and Rosebank. The Dictator is their signature drink and is a mixture of espresso, condensed milk, whipped cream, and chocolate shavings, and the drink’s tagline, “make the day obey you,” couldn’t be more suitable. They serve a range of delicious salads, sandwiches, and other treats, and is the ideal out-of-office work space.

Priest is situated in Jan Smuts Avenue and is a gallery, production office, and coffee house all combined. The intimate coffee shop boasts a quirky interior—including a black and white graffiti mural—and serves premium coffee and snacks. If you’re in the area, make sure to look out for the espresso bar, situated in Rosebank’s gallery strip, only a short walk from the Goodman Gallery.

The Whippet is one of those cafés that you want to sit in all day, day dreaming while staring out the large windows looking onto the busy streets of Linden. The café boasts an impressive bistro-style breakfast and lunch menu and the atmosphere is always bustling and cheerful.