Cafeography
Cape Town · Gardens & Tamboerskloof

Cafés in Gardens & Tamboerskloof

Kloof Street cafés, coffee until 22:00 in Tamboerskloof and the bus up to Kloof Nek and the cableway.

Photo: Magda Ehlers, Pexels License

Gardens is the residential suburb on higher ground just south of the city center, directly beneath Table Mountain and Lion's Head, and Kloof Street is its main road.1 Tamboerskloof lies on the slopes of Lion's Head and Signal Hill; its name means "drum valley", after the drums Dutch lookouts beat in the 1650s to warn farmers that a ship was coming in.2

Vida e Caffè, the chain that now has around 400 shops, opened its first on Kloof Street in October 2001.3 Kloof Street has the longest run of cafés, Oranjezicht and Vredehoek add a few higher up the slope, and several places here stay open into the evening.

Local tip: For coffee after dinner, go to The Blue Cafe on Brownlow Road, open until 22:00 every day, or Ditto on Kloof Street, open until 23:00 on Fridays and Saturdays.

At a glance

25Cafés listed
5With opening hours
07:00Earliest opening
23:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: The Blue Cafe, from 07:00 (Mon–Fri 07:00–22:00 · Sat–Sun 08:00–22:00).
  • Closes latest: Ditto – Ice Cream & Waffle House, until 23:00 (Mon–Thu 09:00–22:00 · Fri–Sat 09:00–23:00 · Sun 09:00–22:00).
  • Most listed streets: Kloof Street (4).
  • Most common features: wi-fi (12%), outdoor seating (8%), open late (8%).

Ditto – Ice Cream & Waffle House

  • 119 Kloof Street
  • Mon–Thu 09:00–22:00 · Fri–Sat 09:00–23:00 · Sun 09:00–22:00
  • Open late
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Coffee chains in Gardens & Tamboerskloof

Kloof Street and Kloof Nek Road

Kloof Street is known for its restaurants, galleries, fashion boutiques and second-hand furniture shops, and its cafés are spread along its whole length.1 The Conscious Kitchen is at 34 Kloof Street, Molten Toffee at 45A and Wellcafé at 50. Ditto, an ice cream and waffle house at 119, and Liquorice and Lime at 162 sit near the top.

Higher up, Arista The Barista is at 16a Kloof Nek Road and The Fix Beans and Bagels further along the same road. Noah cafe is at 6 Tamboerskloof Road, and Tamboers Winkel at 3 De Lorentz Street.

Evening coffee in Tamboerskloof and Oranjezicht

The Blue Cafe at 13 Brownlow Road in Tamboerskloof keeps the longest hours: 07:00–22:00 on weekdays and 08:00–22:00 at weekends, with Wi-Fi and tables outside. Ditto on Kloof Street opens 09:00–22:00 from Sunday to Thursday and stays open until 23:00 on Friday and Saturday.

Up the slope in Oranjezicht, Will's at 22 Upper Orange Street opens at 07:00 every day and closes at 20:00, or 19:00 on Sunday, with outdoor seating. It is one of the Ou Meul stores; Ou Meul's central bakery is a sister company of the Bootlegger coffee chain, and both are based in Ndabeni.4 Cafe Puka at 2 Brunswick Road opens daily 08:00–18:00.

The Company's Garden and the museums

The Company's Garden is the oldest garden in South Africa. The master gardener Hendrik Boom prepared its first beds on 29 April 1652, and the Dutch East India Company used it to grow vegetables for the settlement and for passing ships.5 The City of Cape Town now runs its 3.2 ha, which include the country's oldest cultivated pear tree and a rose garden laid out in 1929.5

The Iziko South African Museum and the Iziko National Gallery stand at the garden, and the Belmond Mount Nelson Hotel in Gardens dates from 1899.51 Coffee At The Museum is at 25 Queen Victoria Street, and The Big Box Café at 18 Roeland Street.

By bus to Kloof Nek and the cableway

MyCiTi routes 106 and 107 run from the Civic Centre on Hertzog Boulevard to the top of Kloof Nek Road and on to Camps Bay.6 Each rider needs a myconnect card; from 1 July 2026 an off-peak trip of 5–10 km costs R19.50, and peak fares apply on weekdays 06:45–08:00 and 16:15–17:30.7

From the Lower Tafelberg Road stop at Kloof Nek, a free shuttle runs to the Lower Cable Station, and there is free parking at the bottom of Tafelberg Road.6 The cableway opened on 4 October 1929; since 1997 its Rotair cars, which carry 65 passengers, have turned through 360 degrees on the way up.8 In late October 2026 the first car went up at 08:30 and the last at 18:00, and the cableway can close in bad weather.6

Sources

  1. Gardens, Cape Town, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. Tamboerskloof, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  3. Vida e Caffè, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  4. Bootlegger Coffee Company, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  5. Company's Garden, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  6. Getting here, Table Mountain Aerial Cableway, accessed October 2026
  7. Annual MyCiTi fare adjustments, 1 July 2026, MyCiTi, City of Cape Town, accessed October 2026
  8. Table Mountain Aerial Cableway, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
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In Gardens & Tamboerskloof, also browse: Wi-Fi Outdoor seating

FAQ

Gardens & Tamboerskloof cafés: questions

Which cafés in Gardens and Tamboerskloof, Cape Town, stay open late?

The Blue Cafe at 13 Brownlow Road in Tamboerskloof is open until 22:00 every day, from 07:00 on weekdays and 08:00 at weekends. Ditto at 119 Kloof Street opens 09:00–22:00 from Sunday to Thursday and until 23:00 on Friday and Saturday. Will's at 22 Upper Orange Street in Oranjezicht closes at 20:00, or 19:00 on Sunday.

How do you get from Gardens to the Table Mountain cableway in Cape Town by bus?

Take MyCiTi route 106 or 107 from the Civic Centre on Hertzog Boulevard to the top of Kloof Nek Road, then the free shuttle from the Lower Tafelberg Road stop to the Lower Cable Station. You need a myconnect card, as MyCiTi buses do not take cash. In late October 2026 the first car went up at 08:30 and the last at 18:00.

What does the name Tamboerskloof mean in Cape Town?

Tamboerskloof means "drum valley" in Dutch and Afrikaans. In the 1650s Dutch settlers set up lookout points on the slopes of Lion's Head and Signal Hill, and watchmen beat drums to warn farmers that a ship was approaching, so they could bring their crops down to the harbor.

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