Workshop17 Kloof Street Review: The Gardens Coworking Pick

Workshop17is the biggest name in South African premium coworking. The flagship Workshop17 V&A Waterfront is the one most nomads know — the glossy Watershed space with the harbour view and the tourist foot traffic. The Kloof Street branch is the quieter, more neighbourhood-feeling sibling that sits in the middle of Gardens and serves a membership that is more “locally employed remote workers” than “international nomads hopping through for the day”.

This is the review for nomads who are considering it.

The basics

Location:Kloof Street, Gardens — one of the main walking spines of the upper City Bowl, 5 minutes’ Uber from Sea Point, 10 minutes’ walk from the CBD.

Day pass:R280 to R380.

Monthly hot-desk:R3800 to R5200.

Dedicated desk:R5500 to R7800 monthly.

Private office:R12,000 to R28,000 monthly depending on size.

Meeting room:R200 to R450 per hour with credits for monthly members.

Wifi speed test (April 2026)

We ran a 1pm weekday test during a clear non-load-shedding day and a second test during a stage-3 outage:

Download (normal):280 to 380 Mbps
Download (during outage, backup power):200 to 290 Mbps
Upload:80 to 140 Mbps
Latency to Google servers:8 to 12 ms
Packet loss:0%

Consistently fast. The workshop17 Kloof Street infrastructure is noticeably better than the average Cape Town café and matches or beats most of the mid-range coworking options in the CBD.

Load shedding coverage

Backup power:yes, full coverage. UPS + inverter + solar array. Desks, wifi, lighting, and phone booths stay on through scheduled outages.

Aircon during outages:runs on reduced mode to save battery. The room stays comfortable in moderate weather.

Stage-6 handling:the space has been through stage-6 and stayed operational. No reported outage during our visits.

This is one of the most load-shedding-resilient spaces we have tested, which is what you would expect from a flagship-brand operator.

The room and the vibe

Workshop17 Kloof Street is a medium-sized space across multiple floors with an open-plan hot-desk area, a handful of private offices, meeting rooms of various sizes, a kitchen, and a small lounge. The aesthetic is “polished startup office” — clean lines, natural wood, plants, wide windows looking onto Kloof Street.

Noise:quieter than the V&A branch. The neighbourhood location and the smaller membership mean a calmer room, fewer tourists dropping in, less cafe-buzz. More library-like.

Membership:heavy on South African remote workers for tech and agency roles, a smattering of nomads, and a few small teams in private offices. The demographic skews mid-30s to mid-40s — an older and more working-professional crowd than Neighbourgood Mews.

The community:less of a nomad-party scene, more of a heads-down working scene. Social events happen (monthly breakfasts, the occasional talk) but they are not the draw.

What is included

Fast fibre wifi with load shedding coverage
Coffee, tea, water
Printing and scanning (monthly credit allocation)
Phone booths for calls
Kitchen with microwave and fridge
Meeting room credits
Access to other Workshop17 locations (limited on the base tier)
Member events

What is not included

Parking at the building (paid street parking nearby, metered weekdays)
24/7 access on the base tier
Food service beyond the usual café options
Premium meeting rooms beyond your credit allocation (pay-per-use)

The coffee

Workshop17 has a commercial espresso machine, oat milk, and competent coffee. Not a specialty destination — for a specialty-coffee morning you will walk down Kloof Street to any of the several nearby Tribe/ Rosetta/ Truthoutlets. Workshop17 is the wifi-and-power choice, not the coffee-first choice.

Our rating

Wifi: 9/10(fast, load shedding bulletproof) Vibe: 8/10(calm, professional, neighbourhood feel) Value: 7/10(fair for the tier, premium pricing) Community: 6/10(working-focused, less nomad social) Location: 9/10(Kloof Street is walkable to Gardens restaurants, close to Sea Point by Uber)

Total: 39/50— a strong neighbourhood coworking pick.

Who it is for

Good fit for nomads who:

Are based in Gardens, Tamboerskloof, or the upper City Bowl
Want a calm, professional workspace rather than a social club
Need bulletproof wifi with full load shedding coverage for client calls
Plan to stay 2+ weeks and value a neighbourhood feel

Not the right fit for nomads who:

Are based on the Atlantic Seaboard and want the V&A flagship experience
Want the pool + bar + events social-club vibe (go Neighbourgood Mews)
Want the cheapest working space in the city (go Tribe Coffee or a CBD café)
Want the biggest nomad community in one place

Workshop17 Kloof Street vs V&A Waterfront

The V&A flagship has the harbour view, the tourist-feel, and the premium aesthetic. The Kloof Street branch has the neighbourhood walkability and the calmer membership. For a working nomad who wants to get things done with minimum distraction and maximum wifi reliability, Kloof Street is actually the better choice. For a one-time day-pass visit to see “the famous Workshop17”, the V&A branch is the one.

How to try it

Day pass:book online or walk in. R280 to R380 depending on day. Valid single day.

Monthly trial:signup, 30 days notice to cancel, bring ID and a credit card.

Multi-location tier:allows access to all Workshop17 locations in South Africa, useful if you move between Cape Town and Joburg.

The verdict

Workshop17 Kloof Street is the best pick for a nomad staying in Gardens or the upper City Bowl who wants a premium-tier working space without the V&A Waterfront tourist buzz. Fast wifi, bulletproof load shedding coverage, a calm room, a walkable neighbourhood, and the Workshop17 brand standard throughout. Not the cheapest option in the city, but a good working environment.

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