Cafeography
Cape Town · Rondebosch & Newlands

Cafés in Rondebosch & Newlands

Kildare Road cafés in Newlands, ice cream and coffee until 23:00 on Dean Street and garden tables at Montebello.

Photo: Magda Ehlers, Pexels License

Rondebosch is a mainly residential suburb between Devil's Peak and the M5 freeway; its name shortens Ronde Doorn Bossien, a circular grove of thorn trees on the Liesbeek River.1 Settlers were granted land here in 1657, the railway arrived in 1864, and Main Road, west of the line, is still its commercial center.1

The University of Cape Town, founded in 1829 as the South African College and a full university since 1918, has its main campus on the slopes of Devil's Peak above the suburb and enrolled 29,396 students in 2024.21 Newlands, at the foot of Table Mountain, is best known for its rugby and cricket grounds and as the original home of Ohlsson's Cape Breweries.3

Local tip: On a winter day in Newlands, plan for rain and an indoor table; The Creamery on Dean Street is open daily until 23:00 and also sells takeaway.

At a glance

12Cafés listed
3With opening hours
07:30Earliest opening
23:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: O'ways Teacafé, from 07:30 (Mon–Fri 07:30–17:00 · Sat 09:00–14:00).
  • Closes latest: The Creamery Café Newlands, until 23:00 (Daily 09:00–23:00).
  • Most listed streets: Kildare Road (2), Main Street (2).
  • Most common features: outdoor seating (8%), takeaway (8%), open late (8%).

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Coffee chains in Rondebosch & Newlands

Kildare Road and the Newlands spring

Kildare Road is one of the Newlands café streets: Hazz is at 51 Kildare Road and Hans & Lloyd at 35. Newlands spring water has a local reputation for quality, but the popular spring on Kildare Road was closed in 2018, during the city's water crisis, after a fight broke out among people collecting water.3

Cassis and Melissa's share 60 Main Street. Platō Coffee is at 11 Austwick Road, and O'ways Teacafé at 20 Dreyer Street opens 07:30–17:00 on weekdays and 09:00–14:00 on Saturday.

Dean Street and the Montebello garden

The Creamery Café Newlands on Dean Street keeps the longest hours, 09:00–23:00 every day, with outdoor tables and takeaway.

The Gardener's Cottage, the original gatekeeper's lodge of the Montebello Design Centre at 31 Newlands Avenue, sets its tables under large old shade trees among farm buildings and craft workshops.4 It opens 08:00–16:30 from Tuesday to Saturday and 08:30–16:30 on Sunday, serves brunch and is closed on Monday.

Why Newlands is so wet

Newlands is the wettest suburb in South Africa.3 On the eastern, leeward side of Table Mountain it can get up to 2,000 mm of rain a year, against less than 600 mm in Camps Bay on the western side, because the mountain is not high enough to stop the north-westerly winds, and the moist air condenses as it pours over the top.5

Newlands Forest, part of Table Mountain National Park, mixes indigenous forest, fynbos and pine plantations, and Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden is close by.3 The heavy rain comes in winter. A front tends to announce itself: high cirrus first, then a building north-westerly, then a cold front with torrential rain and gale-force wind.5

The fountain and the stations

On Main Road, the Rondebosch Fountain, a Victorian cast-iron fountain presented in 1891, was destroyed in a road accident in 2015 and rebuilt in 2020.1 Rondebosch station, in the commercial area around Main and Belmont roads, is the suburb's main public transport stop.1

Rondebosch and Newlands are consecutive stops on the Southern Line, after Mowbray and Rosebank and before Claremont, and trains normally do not run on Sundays or public holidays.6

Sources

  1. Rondebosch, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. University of Cape Town, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  3. Newlands, Cape Town, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  4. Gardener's Cottage, Newlands, SA-Venues.com, accessed October 2026
  5. The Cape of Storms: why Newlands is the wettest suburb in South Africa, Table Mountain Fund, accessed October 2026
  6. Southern Line (Cape Town), Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
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In Rondebosch & Newlands, also browse: Outdoor seating Bakery cafés Brunch

FAQ

Rondebosch & Newlands cafés: questions

Why does it rain so much in Newlands, Cape Town?

Newlands lies on the eastern, leeward side of Table Mountain. The mountain is not high enough to stop the winter north-westerly winds, so moist air pours over the top and condenses on the eastern slopes. Newlands can get up to 2,000 mm of rain a year, against less than 600 mm in Camps Bay, and is the wettest suburb in South Africa.

Which cafés are on Kildare Road in Newlands, Cape Town?

Hazz is at 51 Kildare Road, and Hans & Lloyd is at 35. Kildare Road is also known for its spring: Newlands water has a local reputation for quality, but the popular spring there was closed in 2018, during the city's water crisis, after a fight among people collecting water.

When was the University of Cape Town in Rondebosch founded?

The University of Cape Town was founded in 1829 as the South African College and became a full university in 1918. Its main campus sits on the slopes of Devil's Peak above Rondebosch, and it enrolled 29,396 students in 2024.

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