Two guests on wooden bar stools drinking iced matcha at the Kōhī counter, with a tall wooden speaker cabinet and an indigo noren on the plaster wall behind them.

44 Stanley · Milpark, Johannesburg

Good coffee, and a room built for listening.

A small café in Milpark that doubles as a gallery and a listening room. The coffee is serious, and so is the hi-fi.

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The name

Kōhī just means coffee in Japanese. The rest came later: the matcha, the records, and the jazz kissa habit of sitting still long enough to actually listen.

A tall wooden LS-1500 loudspeaker cabinet against a plaster wall, beside a shelf holding a Chemex, glassware and small teapots. — The LS-1500, and the shelf beside it.

The room

Bare plaster, a lot of wood, and speakers that take up more room than they should.

Kōhī is a café first. It's also a small gallery, and a listening room whenever someone puts a record on. The turntables sit behind the counter, next to the coffee, which tells you most of what you need to know about the place.

The room borrows from Japan and from Joburg in roughly equal measure. Restraint and good joinery from one, jazu and the hospitality from the other.

See the space

The ritual

What we make

Full menu

A barista's hands at the lever of a polished espresso machine.

Bring a record.

Every Sunday, the room turns into a listening session. Bring something to play if you've got it. If not, come anyway and sit at the back. Coffee and pastry run the whole time.

When: Every Sunday
Doors: 08:00–16:00
Entry: Free, just walk in
Bring: A record, if you have one

Hear the playlist

Jazz Kōhī

Gallery