When it comes to morning coffee, I love Vida. It’s a local chain, but it is consistently good, especially if you’re craving a cold espresso drink. I seriously am addicted to their Café Gelado, which isn’t nearly as terrible for you as it sounds – it’s made with two shots of espresso, milk, vanilla syrup and ice blended into a frothy goodness. From a cost perspective, coming from the states, it didn’t seem very expensive to me, but when you translate the cost into dollars, it’s nearly equal to what the same style drink costs back home, which makes it pretty expensive for South Africa.

If you’d rather just have your coffee hot, they have all the usual espresso drinks as well as drip coffee. Service is at the order and pay at the bar variety, but there is seating and WiFi should you want to settle in.

There are locations around Cape Town, but I like the Sea Point and Camps Bay locations best. They both have awesome views and you can choose from sitting on the patio or inside away from the morning chill. The Camps Bay locale is much smaller and not really meant for lingering too long, especially inside where there are only a few tables. But the Sea Point location has much more space to spread out inside, should you wish to bring the lap-top and get some work done while getting your caffeine fix. There are also two levels of patio seating perfect for catching up with a friend or hosting a morning business meeting.

Vida also serves fresh (but pre-prepared) breakfast fare like toasted sandwiches and rolls that will be heated up to order as well an assortment of baked goods and pastries. I didn’t love what I ordered from a food perspective, but others seemed to enjoy their choices, and I’m not a huge breakfast person anyway. The coffee is what is important to me, and this was up to my standards.