The 11 best remote-working spaces in Cape Town

South African co-working start-up Workshop17 started in Johannesburg’s vibrant Maboneng Precinct but has since spread to offer branches throughout the country. There are three Workshop17 venues in Cape Town, each with its own style and atmosphere. The newest branch, located in the city’s iconic Newlands Cricket Ground, is perhaps its most unique. But there are also options to work in the heart of the V&A Waterfront, or with panoramic views of Table Mountain from our pick of the three on trendy Kloof Street. They offer monthly packages catering to fleeting digital nomads through to full business services and a commitment-free hot-desking day rate.

Workshop17, 32 Kloof Street, Gardens

If you want to step up your digital nomad lifestyle and include co-living, then Neighbourgood is a great place to look. This trendy start-up offers accommodation and workspaces for people looking to make the city a remote working base, but their co-working spaces are also available as standalone options. The focus of these is to provide a focused work environment, unaffected by loadshedding and with fast Wi-Fi, driven by a community of like-minded people. There are currently three slick full-service remote workspaces in the city, but its Bree Street venue, located in the thick of its trendiest bars and restaurants, ticks all of the boxes.

Neighbourgood, 129 Bree Street, Cape Town

Cape Town’s East City precinct has reinvented itself to become an industrial-chic suburb on the fringes of the city’s central business district. It’s a trendy destination with coffee shops, bars, restaurants, and, increasingly, co-working spaces. Roamwork is one of them, and this slick shared office – with an in-house art gallery – offers day-to-day hot desks through to dedicated desks and private offices. And with various hotspots on your doorstep, mid-morning coffees and after-work drinks will likely be a highlight of your working time here, too. 

Roamwork, 50 Harrington Street, Zonnebloem

Even further from the crush of the city bowl is Stoep Startup Coworking Space in the Cape Town suburb of Plumstead. It gets its name from the Afrikaans word for a household patio. There, you’ll find a quaint home surrounded by greenery that’s been converted into a comfortable shared office space. Stoep has a specific focus on encouraging collaboration between freelancers, small businesses, and non-profit organisations, and they offer various packages, from a day rate to a designated desk and private offices.

Stoep Startup Coworking Space, 3 Tiverton Road, Plumstead

Whether you’re looking for a desk, comfy chair, and fast Wi-Fi connection for a single day’s work or a regular base from which to launch a start-up, Ideas Cartel knows how to do remote offices. It’s recently launched a shared office in Claremont, but its Old Foundry location in Green Point hits all the right notes for location and vibe. You’ll find a classy office space with gold-framed paintings, tufted leather chairs, and verdant indoor plants that’ll make you feel like you’ve arrived; even if you’re really there as a casual hot-desker.

Ideas Cartel, 16 Ebenezer Rd, De Waterkant

Although many of Cape Town’s co-working spaces are located in the central ‘City Bowl’, there’s a growing demand for similar services in outlying suburbs. Venture Workspace has seen this as an opportunity and now has three offices for remote workers: in Somerset West, Claremont and, more recently, Constantia. The latter gets our vote: the offices are located in a high-end shopping centre and are minutes away from some of the country’s oldest and grandest wine estates, perfect for those out-of-office meetings and hangouts.

Venture Workspace Constantia, c/o Ladies Mile and Spaanschemat River Rd, Constantia

Cape Town Office was one of the first co-working spaces in Cape Town. It opened in 2010 after founder Lizelle Ellmann van Rhyn returned to the city after a stint abroad, only to find a dearth of remote working options. So she decided to build one instead. The focus is on a comfortable, inclusive office space that respects hard work but will happily bring everyone together for vinyl listening sessions and after-hours drinks. Cape Town Office has various solutions, from a hot-desking monthly package of 50 hours spread over two months to dedicated spaces for full-time teams.

Cape Town Office, 62 Roeland Street, Gardens

Global remote working start-up WeWork has one Cape Town location largely unaffected by its parent company’s bankruptcy filing. It’s ideally located in the heart of the city and offers all of the trimmings you’d expect from other branches worldwide, including a dedicated desk, private office, or full-floor office. And if you’re a global WeWork user, your membership is also good for the Cape Town location.

WeWork Cape Town, 80 Strand St

Craft+Graft, in the historic Cape Town suburb of Gardens, offers a bright and airy workspace that focuses on being an inspiring collaborative office. They offer flexible packages for everyone, including hot desks for solo digital nomads, dedicated desks for those looking for a predictable place to call home, and fully private offices perfect for small teams. They also have various meeting, breakout, and communal rooms that aim to encourage all to work or socialise together.

Craft+Graft, 2 Gordon Street, Gardens