Brewster Safari
Image: Nintendo Life

Brewster and The Roost are finally in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, but they don't just appear after the game has updated.

Nope, you're going to have to earn the coffee shop and wait for it to open, too — this game is all about patience, after all.

Below we take you through the steps to get the doors of The Roost open.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons Brewster / The Roost Guide

Who is Brewster, and what is The Roost?

The Roost
Image: Nintendo Life

Brewster is a very organised and likeable pigeon barista, who happens to run The Roost. This coffee shop has been much in demand for the Switch entry in the series, though unlike in the 3DS version of the game it doesn't seem that you get to work in the shop. What you can do is enjoy some coffees with friends, islanders and other characters.

So how do I bring Brewster and The Roost to my island?

This is actually a little more drawn out than you might expect. If you want the cafe, you're going to have to earn it. Oh, and of course you'll need to have your game updated to version 2.0.

Step One - Go to the Museum

The first step is to head to the museum, and you'll see there's no sign of the cafe - it hasn't just appeared. When you talk to Blathers, however, he discusses the need to attract more visitors to the museum, and to do this he wants to ask his old buddy Brewster to open up his coffee shop.

The trouble is that nobody knows where Brewster is, you have to find him. Don't worry, though, it's pretty easy.

Step Two - Take Your First Cruise With Kapp'n

Another part of the update to version 2.0 is the addition of Kapp'n, who you can find relaxing at your island's dock (not the one with the airport, you have a second dock elsewhere on your coastline). To continue this quest you need to find him and start chatting.

He explains his main purpose, which is to take you to various islands where you'll be able to find some unique goodies. Right now, however, we want to find Brewster, so accept your first boat trip and pay 1000 Nook Points.

Step Three - Find Brewster on the Island

Assuming you've followed these steps correctly, in terms of activating the Brewster 'quest' in step one, you'll see the barista on the island you visit. All you need to do is talk to him and he'll give you a gyroid fragment, explaining that if you plant and water it one of the cool creatures will grow.

More importantly, you'll tell him about Blather's request and he'll agree to setup The Roost in the museum.

Before you leave you can explore the island of course, in our case we found another gyroid fragment by digging. When you're ready talk to Kapp'n and head home.

Step Four - Back to the Museum

Now you head back to the museum to give Blathers the good news. The downside? Logistics. He explains that the museum will close for construction the next day, before re-opening with the cafe two days later. We have to wait two days for our coffee!

Step Five - Time Travel Go back to the Museum two days later...

Head back to the Museum after the allotted time has passed and you'll find Brewster's coffee bar open and ready to serve you 24 hours a day.

What can you do at The Roost?

Drink coffee, primarily. The Roost is a social hub where characters from the game come from time to time to relax with a cup of Brewster's famous brews.

As well as drinking coffee for 200 Bells a cup, you can also use the amiibo Telephone in the corner to invite special amiibo characters for a coffee. For example, we've used our amiibo collection to grab a cup of Joe with the likes of Resetti and Digby (who turned up with Isabelle).

How to get takeout coffee

After three days of patronage, Brewster will open up the previously reserved takeaway counter and allow you to order takeout coffee for 300 Bells a cup. This takeout coffee cup is a placeable object which you can also hold and drink from — each gulp will fill your fruit meter (which gives you strength to dig up entire trees) by one, and there are three gulps in each takeaway coffee cup before it disappears.

After five days of patronage Brewster will stop you as you're leaving and give you the Roost sablé cookie cooking recipe.

This Brewster-shaped cookie can be made with 1 flour and 2 sugar, and goes down well with a cup of coffee.

How to get Coffee Beans

On your eleventh coffee, Brewster will give you Coffee Beans in a bag. You can't use them for anything but decoration, but they're customisable to represent different bean types — and as a neat little Easter Egg, they're the bean options from New Leaf (Original, Mocha, Kilimanjaro, Blue Mountain, Decaf)! This is the only customisable Brewster gift — and you'll have to ask Reese and Cyrus to do it for you for 1,000 Bells.

Pigeon Milk

When you're 12 coffees in, Brewster will finally offer you his own pigeon milk. He also starts to call you by your name, so the pigeon milk means he likes you...

Cup with Saucer

16 coffees will get you a cup with saucer item, stamped with Brewster's logo. Cute!

Coffee Plant

Brewster will give you a coffee plant after buying 21 cups of coffee — but it's just decorative. He's not going to let you actually grow your own beans! He'd lose business!

Siphon

If you're envious of Brewster's fancy coffee siphon, you'll need to purchase 31 cups of coffee to get your own.

Pro Coffee Grinder

Finally, after 41 cups of coffee, Brewster will give you his pro coffee grinder. It looks expensive...

Brewstoid

Your final gift from Brewster, after a grand total of 51 cups of his freshly-ground coffee, is the Brewstoid. It makes a cute little cooing sound. This is the only coffee item that you can't order more of through the Nook Catalogue!

How do you invite amiibo characters for coffee at The Roost?

You must be connected to the internet in order for the amiibo telephone to function.

Simply press 'A' to interact with the phone and follow the instructions to invite whichever Animal Crossing amiibo characters you have by tapping amiibo figurines or amiibo cards to your Pro Controller or right Joy-Con.

Non-Animal Crossing amiibo won't work, unfortunately — so you can't have a cup of coffee with Link or Mario. If you leave The Roost, the visitors will be gone when you return.


We'll update this guide with more information as it becomes available.

This article is part of our Animal Crossing: New Horizons walkthrough, which includes a Complete Fish List, Complete Bug List and Complete Sea Creatures List. If you're looking for specific fish or bugs, we can tell you how to catch the elusive Coelacanth, Mahi-Mahi, Giant Trevally, Stringfish, Golden Trout and all the Sharks and Beetles, along with a full list of critters leaving at the end of the month (unless you visit Kapp'n's Boat Tour islands, of course!).

We can also help with How to Spot Redd's Fake Paintings and Statues, How to Make Bells Fast, How to Breed Flowers, How to Get more DIY Recipes, How to Upgrade Nook's Cranny, where and when to find special characters like Gulliver, Sable, Label, Wisp, Celeste, Pirate Gulliver and Jack, plus tips on using the Star Wand, Tool Ring, Rock Trick, Cutting Down and Moving Trees, using amiibo on Harv's Island, How to Back Up Your Island Data, How to Time Travel, How to Get a 5-Star Island Rating and a whole lot more.

If it's new content you're looking for help with, we can help you find gyroids, unlock Brewster's café, use the new Pro Camera App for selfies, enact new ordinances, get the beloved Froggy Chair, and even learn How to Cook.

And finally, Where to Buy Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Nintendo Switch, if for some reason you haven't yet picked up the game, and How To Buy The Happy Home Paradise DLC, too!