My Favorite Jozi Coffee Shops: Vice in Craighall Park

2Summers | 1 June 2021
johannesburg food coffee restaurants craighall park

Eleventh in an occasional series about my favorite coffee shops in Joburg.

Vice, a coffee shop next to CNR Café in Craighall Park, has become a semi-regular coffee hangout for me lately. I’ve held off on blogging about it because it’s a tricky place to describe.

Vice is sort of Mexican. Or…Mexican-Aztec-ish, in an eclectic, South African kind of way.

Vice in Craighall Park
Vice in Craighall Park. The sign and the cactuses are kinda Aztec-y Mexican, in a way that may or may not be culturally appropriating but is nonetheless pleasing to the eye. (With all its outdoor seating space, Vice is a great covid-era meeting spot.)
The interior is also Aztec-y Mexican.
Smoothie at Vice
Elias and his smoothie. The image on the cup, which also appears as a mural on the wall, is…an Aztec goddess? A sexy lady Aztec warrior? I can’t decide if I should feel offended by it or not. I think Elias was unsure too, but he sucked down that entire smoothie in no time. (FYI, it was the "Max Mango" smoothie: mango, turmeric paste, almond milk, vanilla paste, and date syrup.)

Vice serves single-origin Mexican coffee – an uncommon bean in high-end South African coffee roasteries. It’s very good though. I only just learned this now (thanks, Google), but Mexico is one of the largest coffee-producing countries in the world.

Coffee from Vice
Mexican coffee served in drop-dead gorgeous, Mexican-ish cups.
Coffee and cups from Vice
The coffee and cups are for sale and I might have to buy some next time.

There are some vaguely Mexican dishes (i.e., foods wrapped in tortillas) on the Vice menu. But also there are bagels, grilled cheese sandwiches, and Vietnamese pho. Vice has a whole menu of “elixirs” – smoothies, juices, health shots, and nut milk drinks – for health-conscious folk.

Strawberry milk from Vice
"Strawberry milk": strawberries, almond milk, date syrup, and vanilla paste. This was so delicious.
Bagel with guac at Vice
Bagel with guacamole: also very tasty. The bagels are made next door at CNR Café. (Vice and CNR Café are under the same ownership.) While I don’t think they’re as good as Bagel Zone bagels, they’re still very respectable.
Vietnamese Pho at Vice
Vietnamese pho, which I hear is delicious but I haven’t had it myself yet.
Bacon bagel
The "Bacon Bagel": marinated bacon, egg, coriander aioli, and raw kraut. I ordered this dish and almost couldn’t make sense of all the flavors exploding in my mouth. I wasn’t sure what to do with the lime half because squeezing lime juice onto a bagel felt weird to me. But overall I give the bacon bagel a thumbs-up.

The best thing I’ve eaten at Vice so far is the “spicy potato and scrambled eggs tortilla”, which sounds Mexican but actually has a South Asian/Cape Malay flavor. The wrap comes with a side of coconut chutney dipping sauce, which is spicy and sweet and creamy all at once. Unfortunately I don’t have a picture.

I started out by saying Vice is hard to explain and I think this disjointed post is proof of that.

I don’t understand you, Vice. I don’t know who you really are. But I like you and I want to get to know you better. I’ll be back again soon.

Vice is at 11 Rothesay Avenue, Craighall Park.