Cafeography
Johannesburg · Maboneng & Inner City

Cafés in Maboneng & Inner City

Fox Street in Maboneng, from Bertrand Café's 22:00 close to Sawubona at 303, plus downtown coffee on Anderson, Simmonds and Pritchard streets.

Photo: Joshua Bull, Pexels License

The name Maboneng means "place of light".1 The precinct began in 2009, when the developer Jonathan Liebmann bought old offices and warehouses on the eastern edge of the city center and, with the architect Enrico Daffonchio, turned them into Arts on Main and the buildings that followed.23

Its cafés run along Fox Street. Bertrand Café at 296 Fox Street opens daily from 07:00 to 22:00 and has Wi-Fi, while Eat Your Heart Out at 299 and Sawubona at 303 are on the same stretch. Further west, City Perk Cafe is at 70 Fox Street and Cafe Narge at 132, and Stuff Cafe is at 300 Commissioner Street.

Local tip: Bertrand Café at 296 Fox Street opens at 07:00 and closes at 22:00 every day, so it works for the first coffee on Fox Street and for the last one.

At a glance

14Cafés listed
1With opening hours
07:00Earliest opening
22:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Bertrand Café, from 07:00 (Daily 07:00–22:00).
  • Most listed streets: Fox Street (2), Fox St (2), Anderson St (2).
  • Most common features: wi-fi (7%), smoke-free indoors (7%), open late (7%).

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Coffee chains in Maboneng & Inner City

Arts on Main and the buildings that followed

Arts on Main started as an old warehouse and became a mixed-use creative hub, and Main Street Life, also on Fox Street, was redeveloped as apartments.4 By 2014 the precinct had six major complexes, with a seventh in development.4 Main Street Life added exhibition space, restaurants, the POPArt Theatre and the Bioscope, an independent cinema.1 Fox Street Studios rents space to restaurants and fashion and design shops and also houses the precinct's community center.1

In 2016 Market on Main, the arts complex's sister, served a range of artisan food.3 The artist William Kentridge's Centre for the Less Good Idea is one of the complex's tenants, and Kentridge has bought several of its units.2

After the 2019 auction

The developer did not last. In April 2019, 18 properties belonging to Propertuity were sold at a liquidation auction.2 The precinct carried on regardless, and the Maboneng Civic Association set security, street cleaning and noise rules as its priorities.2 Residents stayed too; one, Lauren Mulligan, told Daily Maverick that she and her partner wanted to live in the city among young, community-minded creatives.2

Interfool & Co trades in the precinct, and 4th & Voorhout, a café and art venue, is at the corner of 4th and Voorhout streets in New Doornfontein.

Coffee in the old business district

West of Maboneng is the original business district. The Daily Buzz serves coffee on the 7th floor of 5 Simmonds Street; in 2018 the same group ran the Craft Coffee roastery on Gwigwi Mrwebi Street in Newtown.5 Darkie Cafe is at 10 Anderson Street, Cafe Nv at 47 Anderson Street, Cafe UfaOlu at 25 Kruis Street and Virgin CAFE at 97 Pritchard Street.

The landmark here is the Carlton Centre on Commissioner Street, 223 m tall over 50 floors.6 It was Africa's tallest building for 46 years, from its completion in 1973 until 2019, and its 50th floor is known as the Top of Africa.6

Getting downtown

Park Station, the Gautrain's city terminus, is 35 minutes by train from Pretoria.7 Rea Vaya, Johannesburg's bus rapid transit system, has run on dedicated lanes since 2010 and is paid for with a smartcard.8 Minibus taxis remain the everyday transport for most of the city's population.8

Sources

  1. Maboneng, Johannesburg, SA-Venues.com, accessed October 2026
  2. Maboneng: a new dream for a new decade (July 23, 2019), Daily Maverick, accessed October 2026
  3. Welcome to the heart of the inner city (April 15, 2016), Mail & Guardian, accessed October 2026
  4. Maboneng: the rebirth of Johannesburg’s forgotten city (September 23, 2014), The Urban Developer, accessed October 2026
  5. Why Joburg has been slow to wake up & smell the global coffee culture, Sunday Times (September 30, 2018), accessed October 2026
  6. Carlton Centre, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  7. Gautrain, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  8. Johannesburg, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
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In Maboneng & Inner City, also browse: Wi-Fi

FAQ

Maboneng & Inner City cafés: questions

What does the name Maboneng mean in Johannesburg?

Maboneng means "place of light". The Johannesburg precinct began in 2009, when the developer Jonathan Liebmann bought old offices and warehouses on the eastern edge of the city center and, with the architect Enrico Daffonchio, turned them into Arts on Main and the buildings that followed, including Main Street Life on Fox Street.

Which café on Fox Street in Maboneng, Johannesburg, is open in the evening?

Bertrand Café at 296 Fox Street in Maboneng is open every day from 07:00 to 22:00 and has Wi-Fi. Eat Your Heart Out at 299 and Sawubona at 303 Fox Street are on the same stretch, and City Perk Cafe and Cafe Narge are further west at 70 and 132 Fox Street.

How tall is the Carlton Centre in Johannesburg's inner city?

The Carlton Centre on Commissioner Street in Johannesburg is 223 m tall, with 50 floors. It was the tallest building in Africa for 46 years, from its completion in 1973 until 2019, and its 50th floor is known as the Top of Africa.

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