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The luxury café oozes a retro-chic energy, perfectly suited for a quick coffee break, cosmopolitan breakfast or lunch, an afternoon high tea or post-movie dessert experience. -
A wide range of coffee capsules are on offer, including limited edition, single origin and auction lot coffees sold in crop-to-capsules luxury collections. -
The luxurious emporium with its captivating mezzanine is the first of its kind to focus on third wave – or speciality – coffee and rooibos in capsule form. -
It is a mesmerising theatrical space with stunning French-industrial inspired contemporary design detail. -
The plush café seating with swivel tables is highly seductive. -
A Parisian quality pâtisserie experience is introduced to Cape Town. -
The free-standing Espresso Bar located in the front of the store transports you to Napoli for an unforgettable coffee experience. -
Alfajores, an iconic and much-loved confection from Argentina, is reinvented at Coco Safar as a gluten-free indulgence in a range of mouthwatering flavours. -
The brand’s impeccable attention to detail extends to the pâtisserie, including its signature éclairs. -
Kaapstad is Coco Safar’s signature red rooibos capsule offering, with a maple flavour twist elevating this espresso-style caffeine-free tea. -
A staggering number of handcrafted decor details deliver a truly cinematic interior.
WORDS Michaela Stehr IMAGES Daniela Zondagh
Attention to detail and a love of coffee put a passionate twist on the daily grind at the Cape Town flagship Coco Safar café and pâtisserie.
We are familiar with our growing coffee culture and the abundance of hipster cafés popping up all over South Africa. Taking this trend to a whole new level of sophistication and luxury, however, is Coco Safar café and pâtisserie. The brand is the brainchild of Wilhelm Liebenberg and Caroline Sirois, who came up with the idea in New York, finessed the details in Toronto and launched this global brand in South Africa.
The first local flagship store is in Cavendish Square, Claremont, and an international rollout is in the pipeline. This is no ordinary coffee shop. From the cinematic lighting to the classy packaging, every element was planned and crafted with care. On the menu is not only high-quality artisanal coffee and rooibos tea, but also the most exquisite confections and bistro fare. Then there’s the espresso bar and coffee-capsule emporium. The overall design strategy was already in place when local architect Charl Marais became involved. He had the challenging task to work within a clearly defined interior design creative blueprint for the store under the close art direction of the brand founders. Charl embraced the design approach and brought great value to all aspects of the process.
“The design strategy for the store was multilayered,” says Wilhelm. “At the core it’s defined by an overall sense of daily escapism and being transported by the distressed luxury decor features and furniture treatment, inspired by a retro-chic, French-industrial, Jules Verne-style journey.” The space had to be extravagant and opulent, yet with a down-to-earth feel that would make it accessible to the general public. “Whether you’re popping in for a quick espresso, shopping for pâtisserie or capsules, or want to spend time over a leisurely breakfast, decadent high tea or couture dessert experience, you’ll find that the multi-sensory environment we’ve created and the dedicated way in which we’ve trained our staff will ensure a rather addictive experience every time”, say Wilhelm and Caroline.
There are striking design features at every turn. The Capsule Emporium boasts an industrial-style mezzanine library displaying the eye-catching capsule collections, retrievable by ladders and secured by floor-to-ceiling oxidised-steel columns. Saddle-stitched linen panels bring an element of timeless elegance and hand-made finesse to the space. Nearly everything was exclusively designed and made in the Western Cape, including the hand-stitched leather seating, solid oak counters and hand-blown light fittings.
“It was initially a struggle to get the craftsmanship quality we were looking for,” says Wilhelm, “but it can be done. We’ve proven that Cape Town artisans can compete with the best in the world. “Coco Safar is about excellence, authenticity and relevance, and the drive to be unique. If you’re not relevant and you can’t bring a distinctly new consumer experience and product offering, you have no need to exist.”
To reserve a table, give them a call on 021 671 1607 or visit cocosafar.com for more information.
