Salvation Café

Salvation Café is a daytime café in the 44 Stanley precinct in Milpark, with tables on a covered veranda and in one of the precinct's courtyards. It serves breakfast and lunch and is a popular weekend brunch choice for people who combine a meal with browsing the design shops around it.

The menu focuses on fresh, healthy ingredients, including free-range eggs and chicken and grass-fed beef. Breakfasts range from healthy bowls to sweet and savoury plates, and breakfast burritos are a favourite. At lunchtime the menu turns to salads, sandwiches and wraps. The cakes are a big part of the café's reputation, and its cheesecake in particular has a loyal following, so leave room or take a slice away. There is also a children's menu.

The café suits families, friends meeting for brunch and solo travellers looking for a relaxed meal before exploring 44 Stanley. Because almost all the seating is outdoors or under the veranda, it is at its best on the sunny days that Johannesburg enjoys for much of the year; on cold winter mornings, bring a warm layer. Weekends are busy, especially from mid-morning, so arrive early or expect a short wait for a table.

Salvation Café is open during the day, roughly from 08:00 to 16:00; confirm times by phone before you go, particularly on public holidays. Prices are mid-range for a café. The 44 Stanley directory lists an email address for the café if you want to ask about group bookings.

For a lighter visit, a slice of cheesecake and a coffee in the courtyard makes a good mid-afternoon break. If you are visiting with children, the kids menu and the open courtyards make it one of the easier family brunch spots in this part of the city.

44 Stanley is in Milpark, just west of Braamfontein and the University of the Witwatersrand. The precinct has parking, and most visitors come by car or ride-hailing app. After eating, browse the local fashion labels, the bookshop and the record shop, pick up coffee beans at Bean There, or catch a film at The Bioscope independent cinema. Constitution Hill and the Origins Centre are both a short drive away for an afternoon of sightseeing.