The Ladder

 31 August 2026

 

THE LADDER

136 Bree Street, Cape Town

 

While I sipped my large mug of Americano (R35) I stared at the other patrons at this Bree Street bastion of hipness and recalled the internet cafés of twenty years ago, rows of desktop PCs in a low budgie space where one would be lucky to get badly made instant coffee and a packet of crisps. Today, an internet café is a funky, stylish space like The Ladder where anyone who wants to be seen, and often heard, working in public can bring their MacBook. Usually, it's one person at a two-person table (if not a larger one) whiling away the hours doing whatever they’re doing for the price of a cup of coffee, maybe two, perhaps a cheap bite to eat. It’s as if The Ladder, and the like, isn’t actually intended for diners. Free wi-fi draws patrons but does it translate into profit?

 

The last time I was here, my fellow patrons comprised a bevy of young women dressed as if they were at a fashion PR convention but today it was digital nomad morning.  

 

The huge windows on two side still provide beautifully bright natural light to the minimalist interior, styled in white and natural wood furniture,  with bare brick wall accents to remind us of the heritage of the historical building. It’s not what I’d call cosy but it sure is goodlooking.

 

No-one had loud Zoom meetings or shouty telephone conversations while I was there but I did feel unadorned without a MacBook of my own.

 

The breakfast menu is as minimalist as the design style of the joint, with two health bowls, a fry up, eggs Benedict, and either avocado, mushrooms or scrambled on toast, and the best thing that the English breakfast (R110) is the only item that is more than R100,00 though it is possible to inflate the bill by adding on various bits and bobs to your basic dish.

 

The espresso (R24) was a generous pour in a cute tiny, no doubt hand-made, bowl like thing though the Americano came in a proper mug. Good coffee.

 

The warm peanut butter oat bowl (R85) tempted me (peanut butter on mud cakes would tempt me), with the promise of granola, fried banana and chia seeds and topped with strawberries and blueberries. Visually appealing and very enjoyable.

 

If The Ladder were cosier, it’d be a favourite but, especially given how many patrons do work here and the bare bones design, it feel more like a co-work space than a home from home café.