Cafeography
Cape Town

Brunch cafés in Cape Town

Bree Street brunch, a 06:00 start in Salt River and a garden lodge in Newlands.

Photo: ROMAN ODINTSOV, Pexels License

Brunch in Cape Town keeps daytime hours. Café Frank on Bree Street stops serving at 17:00 on weekdays, The Ladder at 16:00, El Greeyo in Salt River at 16:30 and The Gardener's Cottage in Newlands at 16:30.

The City Centre has most of the brunch cafés, with Café Frank, The Ladder and Neighborgood CBD on Bree Street, Truth on Buitenkant Street and New York Bagels on Harrington Street. Salt River and Newlands have one each, El Greeyo and The Gardener's Cottage.

Local tip: For Sunday brunch, book The Gardener's Cottage in Newlands, which opens at 08:30; The Ladder and Café Frank on Bree Street are closed on Sundays.

Where these cafés are: City Centre & Bo-Kaap (5), Woodstock & Salt River (1), Rondebosch & Newlands (1).

At a glance

7Cafés listed
4With opening hours
06:00Earliest opening
17:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: El Greeyo Roastery, from 06:00 (Mon–Fri 06:00–16:30 · Sat 07:00–14:30).
  • Closes latest: Café Frank, until 17:00 (Mon–Fri 07:30–17:00 · Sat 08:30–14:00).
  • Most listed streets: Breë Street (3).
  • Most common features: wi-fi (57%), bakery café (57%), specialty (29%).

Nothing matches those filters here. See all cafés in Cape Town.

Bree Street on a Saturday

The Ladder at 136 Bree Street serves all-day breakfast and light meals and gets busy for Saturday brunch, when it opens 08:00–14:30.1 Café Frank, at 160 Bree, opens 08:30–14:00 on Saturday, and Neighborgood CBD is on Bree Street too.

Truth's café on Buitenkant Street is known for its carrot cake and has bar seating and diner-style couches.1 In 2024 a smoothie bowl or an omelet at a Cape Town brunch café typically cost R80–120, and pancakes or waffles more than R100.1

Brunch from 06:00

El Greeyo Roastery at 18 Brickfield Road in Salt River is the brunch café that opens at 06:00, on weekdays, and at 07:00 on Saturday. On Bree Street the start is later: The Ladder opens at 07:00 on weekdays and Café Frank at 07:30.

Early openings have a local history: the founders of Bootlegger, which opened its first café in Sea Point in 2013 and now has more than 120, started the chain because they could not find good coffee early enough for their morning runs.2 It now runs two formats, a larger All Day Café and a smaller XS Café, and roasts its beans in Woodstock.2

Garden brunch in Newlands

The Gardener's Cottage at the Montebello Design Centre, 31 Newlands Avenue, puts its outdoor tables, chairs and umbrellas under big old shade trees; in winter the inside is divided into small nooks, and a back room holds about five tables.3

It opens 08:00–16:30 from Tuesday to Saturday and 08:30–16:30 on Sunday, and is closed on Monday. A 2017 review singled out its muffins, the feta and herb above all, and its cakes, and advised booking ahead; lunch ran to pies, curries, pasta, burgers, salads and toasted sandwiches.3

Sundays and the bill

Sunday narrows the choice: The Ladder and Café Frank are closed, while The Gardener's Cottage opens, and Rosetta's Bree Street café keeps 08:00–14:00. Neighborgood CBD on Bree Street and New York Bagels on Harrington Street both pair brunch with a bakery counter.

At a brunch table a tip of 10–15% is normal, and in some restaurants tips are pooled across the whole shift, kitchen and bar included.4 A few high-end restaurants have tried service charges or no-tipping policies instead, with higher menu prices.4 Card machines now prompt for a tip even on takeaway coffee, EWN reported in September 2026.5

Sources

  1. The best cafes in Cape Town, South Africa (2026), Johnny Africa, accessed October 2026
  2. Bootlegger Coffee Company, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  3. Gardener's Cottage, Newlands, SA-Venues.com, accessed October 2026
  4. To tip or not to tip, that is the question for South Africans, Daily Maverick, accessed October 2026
  5. Tipping when you've bought a takeaway coffee? No way, says Cape Town chef, EWN, accessed October 2026
Keep exploring

Other ways to browse Cape Town

Specialty coffee

7 cafés

Wi-Fi

16 cafés

Outdoor seating

16 cafés

Bakery cafés

11 cafés

By area: City Centre & Bo-Kaap Woodstock & Salt River Rondebosch & Newlands

FAQ

Brunch in Cape Town: questions

Where can you get brunch on a Sunday in Cape Town?

The Gardener's Cottage at the Montebello Design Centre in Newlands opens 08:30–16:30 on Sunday, and Rosetta Roastery's café on Bree Street 08:00–14:00. The Ladder and Café Frank on Bree Street are closed on Sundays.

How much does brunch cost in Cape Town?

In 2024 a smoothie bowl or an omelet at a Cape Town brunch café typically cost R80–120, and pancakes or waffles more than R100. A flat white or cappuccino cost R35–45. At table service a tip of 10–15% is normal.

Which brunch café in Cape Town opens at 06:00?

El Greeyo Roastery at 18 Brickfield Road in Salt River opens at 06:00 on weekdays and 07:00 on Saturday, and serves brunch until it closes, at 16:30 on weekdays. On Bree Street, The Ladder opens at 07:00 on weekdays.

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