Priest: Finally an espresso bar with real street cred

I have a dream: my city, Johannesburg, developing a vibrant street culture to rival that of Barcelona and Paris.

I'm not talking about the sanitised boulevards built between malls in Rosebank and Melrose Arch, but real Soho stuff - streets lined with cafés, bars, galleries, boutiques and coffee shops with no Woolworths in sight.

So, it was with delight that I saw a picture on Instagram of Priest, a new coffee shop along Jan Smuts Avenue, sandwiched between a row of art galleries.

Priest is one part editing suite and one part espresso bar.

Getting Vini Reyes, a Chilean ex-punk rocker and former lead vocalist of The Vendetta Cartel, to run the shop is a real coup.

Not only does he bring a cool South American vibe, he also brings homemade Chilean bar food like churrasco (mini-pitas filled with guacamole, sirloin and Chilean mayonnaise), empanadas (small cheese, meat or mushroom pies) and chilenitos (layered cookies with caramel and meringue).

Dressed like a carnival barker in a shiny red waistcoat, Reyes chats about his famous football cousin Mark Gonzales, who played for Liverpool, Spain and Moscow, while he makes your coffee, the choice of which is pretty extensive. I had a double cappuccino and left buzzing.

Window signage reads Se habla español (''We speak Spanish") and there's a neon sign in the shape of a human head that says ''open".

The graphic black and white mural was created by artist Peter Mammes.

Priest's current headquarters are in Woodstock, Cape Town but many of their clients are in Johannesburg.

Said owner Cal Kingwill: ''The idea behind opening in Johannesburg is that we wanted a satellite space that our editors and clients can work from."

• 142 Jan Smuts Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg. 087-754-4032