Surfer’s Corner has had a much needed upgrade in recent years, turning the beloved beachfront surf spot into a more commercial entity. Having built a number of apartment blocks to revitalise the area and take advantage of beautiful sea views, the rest of the beachfront has been filled with eateries and surf schools. The parking area is often full with visitors split between avid surfers and beach walkers wanting to enjoy the picturesque walk between Muizenberg and St James.
Often buzzing with people, you can see hundreds of surfers in the water waiting to catch the next wave on most days – even in winter. While Muizenberg is very cold and not that great for swimming, the waves are steady making it a great place for wetsuit-clad learners and intermediates to catch a quick paddle or surf.
Bootlegger is a restaurant chain centred around great coffee, taking the atmosphere of a roastery and combining it with delicious breakfasts, lunches and suppers. While the restaurant chain has a number of branches across Cape Town, their Muizenberg outlet is more of a coffee bar.
Opening at sunrise most mornings and closing around sunset, it’s where you can get a consistently good cup of coffee first thing in the morning. Especially during the colder months, this can be a real lifesaver and makes the perfect accompaniment whether you’re just coming back from a surf or needing something to keep your hands warm on the catwalk. While coffee is their speciality and they know what they’re doing, they also sell beans, serve soft serve ice-cream and a number of confectionery items including croissants and biscuits with gluten-free options.
The staff are friendly and if you become a regular will know you by name. Bootleggers are in the process of updating their loyalty app, the predecessor of which has made it even more attractive to grab your coffees there. The new app is said to work with a form of currency rather than the traditional replacement for stamps and it will be interesting to see how it competes with the previous offering.
Another attraction of getting to Bootlegger Muizenberg early in the morning is that they have a special before 8:30am enabling you to get a discounted coffee of your choice. The coffee bar essentially is a walk-through whereby you can step in at the cashier’s side, order and pay before collecting and stepping out the exit. A simple coffee bar, it never gets too crowded because it’s small but you can expect a queue during busier times. The coffee bar doesn’t offer seating but the idea is to grab-and-go.
Bootlegger is definitely one of the better coffee franchises in the Cape metropole and as such delivers a good and reliable standard when it comes to taste and quality. The baristas are always friendly and happy to accommodate your preferences whether you want your espresso topped up with a little bit of cold water or you take your own mug. Conveniently located on the beachfront at Surfer’s Corner you can grab a coffee and go whichever way you please, whether it’s to watch surfers rip it up, take a stroll to St James cottages and back or even enjoy your coffee on the way to a game of Putt-Putt.
One word review: Convenient
80 Beach Road
Muizenberg Beachfront
Muizenberg
Sunrise to Sunset