36 Buitenkant St Cape Town 8005, Cape Town Central 8005, South Africa
Cuisine:
Bistro, Cafe, Coffee Shop
Good for:
Breakfast/Brunch, Doing Business, Late Night, Lunch, Reservations
Truth Coffee HQ
24 Visitor Photos +
Expert Review
What do I say about Truth Coffee, except that I was fanatically excited about the vibe and decor of this place...
What do I say about Truth Coffee, except that I was fanatically excited about the vibe and decor of this place the entire time I was there. This is hands down the most impressive steampunk decor I’ve ever seen anywhere, coffee shop or otherwise. And I’ve been to several places that try to pull it off in New York, London, San Francisco, etc.
Truth Coffee is located inside a remodeled three-story warehouse, with its original exposed beams and factory-like walls and floors preserved. When I walked in, I was pleased to see how big it was, with many seating options, cushioned booths, regular tables and chairs, a lounge area with couches, and a long wooden table with stools.
I was immediately greeted by ultra-friendly staff who sat me down and flagged a server who gave me a menu right away. I had a table right next to the counter, so I could watch the baristas in action and catch a whiff of the heavenly aromas coming out of the espresso machine. The coffee machine and grinders looked like a bad experiment gone awry in an H.G. Wells novel (and I mean that as a compliment), with several long vertical golden cylinders and metallic knick-knacks on it to make it work like an intricate German clock. Most of the staff was clad in steampunk fashion, including arbitrary top hats, vests and chains.
I came in thinking I was going to order dinner, only to find out that the menu was not “available at the time,” so I was left to choose from only around four items. I wasn’t too thrilled about it, but ended up ordering the charcuterie meat and cheese board at a steal of a price. It was loaded with freshly sliced prosciutto, salami, brie, hard cheeses and olives, and they did not skimp on the amount. It was downright delicious, so I really couldn’t complain about not being able to try the other items on the menu. After nibbling for a bit and soaking in the atmosphere, I decided to order some drinks and try out the coffee. I ordered a mocha latte and the “sunrise espresso,” which is a double shot of espresso served cold with a dash of orange juice in a martini glass. While the mocha was good, the flavor of the sunrise espresso was a miracle in my mouth and some of the best coffee I’ve had.
During my time at Truth, I wandered around exploring the rest of the cafe and was pleased to find vintage typewriters, furniture and steampunk-style posters scattered throughout. But oddly enough, the most interesting part of the place might have been the bathroom. It sported black walls, golden sinks, and large bathroom stalls with a steampunkish-lock no less.
If you can’t make it to this Truth location, there are Truth kiosks around Cape Town where you can try the coffee, but you’ll certainly miss out on the funky decor and vibe by not coming to the main location.
Expert Review
Truth Coffee is more of an experience than a coffee shop. It’s probably the most elaborately decorated coffee shop you’ll...
Truth Coffee is more of an experience than a coffee shop. It’s probably the most elaborately decorated coffee shop you’ll ever go to, and it’s worth a visit just to marvel at the aesthetics of the place. If your time machine got stuck in some kind of vortex that combined the 1800’s with the future, maybe you’d find yourself in a place that looks like Truth. Truth is big on steampunk style in everything from the costumes of the wait staff to the elaborate machine that transmits fresh roasted coffee beans from the “Collosus” (the 1940’s era iron drum coffee roaster), around the espresso bar, and into freshly packed bags of coffee. Truth Coffee has all the bells and whistles—literally.
But Truth is more than just an aesthetic gimmick. They are also very serious about coffee. They take micro lots of green coffees, roast each in an old school cast iron drum probat with modern electronics, then mix the single origin coffees to produce a variety of “Truth” branded blends, for sale as beans to take home or coffee for your daily caffeine kick. As a coffee shop, Truth offers a relatively large seating area inside to enjoy their coffees and small meals. They serve breakfast and lunch, and the menu focuses on gourmet café fare like sandwiches, salads, burgers, and pizzas. They also have some seating available out on front on the sidewalk and also a walk up bar to get coffee or pastries to go.
I’ve tried their breakfast before, and really enjoyed the eggs benedict served on sour dough toast. Recently I tried the pizza and was slightly less impressed. I had the chicken, peppadew, pineapple, and feta pizza with added avocado. It was good but not all that flavorful, and the mozzarella cheese was on the rubbery side. It had a nice, crispy crust though. At Truth, the real star is the coffee—and of course the out-of-this-world atmosphere.
Expert Review
Their website boldly states: ‘The best in the world, or so we’ve been told’. You have to be very confident...
Their website boldly states: ‘The best in the world, or so we’ve been told’. You have to be very confident to make this statement, even if it came from a well-known writer and not from themselves, the fact that it’s the first thing you see on their website means they think they are pretty cool. Well, they are. They were cool before hipster was even a thing, and now with the trend so prominent all around Cape Town, people are flocking to this shop on a daily basis.
It’s a very cool looking place, modelled in the Steampunk look, it has a very industrial meets creative kind of feel. Mechanical swivel chairs, plug points hanging from the ceiling, bikes mounted on the wall, it’s a hipster’s dream. It’s where all coffee addicts rush to get their fix, and for good reason. The coffee is by far one of the best in Cape Town and I’ve never even once had a bad cup (and I’ve been often). In summer you can enjoy one of their delicious iced coffees which I could drink by the litre!
I generally just go there for coffee, however I have eaten there once when I was a bit too early for one of my meetings. I wasn’t overly hungry so I chose some avocado on toast, which although was delicious was rather pricey for the size. Having said that the rest of the menu looked very good so I might have to go back and try again, perhaps even for one of their muffins or sweet croissants.
They also offer the deal of buying one of their bags of beans and then enjoying a free coffee on them. So coffee with more coffee, I could live with that.