The Best Cafes in Bangkok

The Best Cafes in Bangkok

Image by malachite sourced from wikimedia commons

Bangkok is continuously becoming more and more cosmopolitan, and this means the Thai capital has been having something of a cafe boom for decades, having seen several waves of them in the last few decades, in line with its development as a modern city.

In fact, pretty much anywhere you walk in the city of Bangkok, you are likely to find – in some form, shape, or variety – a fair old range of cafes to choose from, depending on what you classify as a café exactly.

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And although it’s unlikely that you’ll find a ‘greasy spoon’ anytime soon in Bangkok, some of the best cafes — ones that might just a few years back have operated as mere coffee or snack shops — have been able to develop the theme into something of a deeper and more meaningful café experience, compared to just your average coffee shop, that is. They certainly know how to add quirks or individual little touches in some of the places featured here.

Some of the cafes in Bangkok exhibit refreshingly broad approaches to style, and many seem able to develop continually expanding agendas and approaches – yet still with originality and character. Some of these cafes are well-known and others not so much, but these places draw crowds of customers every day, proving that Bangkok loves cafes!

So hopefully we can provide you here with a few insights of Bangkok café culture, with a selection of some of the best cafes in Bangkok.

1. The New Yorker

This Bangkok café in the heart of the Sukhumvit area claims to be an authentic “New York Style” American Cafe, although it also doubles as a Sports Bar and restaurant. If you find yourself in Bangkok but for some reason you fancy the ambiance of a New York coffee shop of an afternoon, then this is the place to head for.

Image by Harry Bellagnome sourced from wikimedia commons

The café is actually rather small, although it has that New York vibe about it, with live sports like basketball, hockey and such like shown on wide screen televisions.

The menu features a few hearty delights like an American style breakfast, cheeseburger and fries, and of course the obligatory apple (or cherry) pie. You could be forgiven for forgetting that you are actually in the middle of a SE Asian capital city when visiting this top Bangkok café.

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are all offered in this establishment in the heart of the Bangkok nightlife district, which opens every day (for more than 12 hours) until 9 pm.

Address: 148 Sukhumvit Soi 22 (Soi Sainampueng)
Sukhumvit Road, Klong Toei, Bangkok 10110

Tel: +66 (0)88 484 3397

Email: thenewyorkercafebangkok@gmail.com

2. Blue Whale Café

If you find yourself in need of a good café while in the historic and touristy ‘Wat Pho’ region of Bangkok, near to the Grand Palace, just away from the Chao Phraya River – then check out the Blue Whale.

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It is situated on a reasonably subdued back street along the river, and is just a three-minute walk from the famous Wat Pho temple.

On entering the cafe you might notice a large drawing of a blue whale on the wall. This is the cafe’s mascot, and it rests nicely on the first floor wall, which like all the others, is painted in ocean-like blue.

This Bangkok cafe first opened its doors in 2016 when three friends decided upon the creation of this somewhat unique establishment. They have fortunately had no shortage of patrons, and he café quickly established a name as a must-visit spot among Bangkok locals and visitors alike.

The cafe’s menu includes a variety of interesting items, especially the ones incorporating the café’s theme, being made from blue Butterfly Pea Flower, which is a natural colouring. One such popular item is the Blue Whale Sour, which has a mix of the colouring and yellow lemonade.

The Blue Whale also includes a range of light fare, lunch, and dinner options for those in need of a bit more fortification.

The second floor is where table seating is available, and this section of the café also includes a low-table area with floor cushions, allowing a slightly less formal feel. There is an almost beach-like feel to the place, largely due to the natural light coming in through the glass ceiling. This might vary on the time of day that you visit, of course, but is quite impressive during the brighter hours of the day.

Address: 392/37 Maha Rat Rd., Phra Borom Maha Ratchawang, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok
Phone Number: 096-997-4962
Hours: 10:00～20:00
Closed: Thursday
Nearest Station: MRT Hua Lamphong
URL：https://www.facebook.com/bluewhalebkk/
Instagram：https://www.instagram.com/bluewhalebkk/

3. Tales Khaosan (Cafe & Hostel)

Staying momentarily in the ‘old town’ region of Bangkok, in the infamous Khao San Road area, we can find the delightful ‘Tales’ Café. The café is located about half a mile away from the other famous temple landmark in the area –- ‘Wat Prakeow’, or the ‘Temple of The Emerald Buddha’.

This establishment is situated in one of the 4-storey traditional shop house varieties of building common to the area. It has been renovated into a trendy and popular community space for travellers and locals alike to use. The café itself is located at ground floor level, sending out the welcoming aroma of freshly-brewed coffee along with an assortment of other delights.

Image by Takeaway sourced from wiki media commons

The coffee is reportedly some of the best for miles, and the menu includes some pretty impressive cakes and dessert-style snacks along with fruit-laden yoghurts. There are also rice and others dishes slightly more suited to lunch or dinner.

The premises has organised the co-working space on the mezzanine and fourth floor, while on the second and third floors is the hostel.

Address: 88 Chakrabongse Road, Talad Yot, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok 10200

Opening hours: Tuesday – Sunday 10:00 – 16:00

(Hostel & Co-working space: 24 hours)

Closed: Monday

TEL: 097 090 6241

Parking area: Chanasongkram Temple: 06:00 – 23:00 (10THB/hour)

Website: http://www.taleskhaosan.com

4. Onedee Café

This is a slight variation on the cafés in Bangkok theme, by way of an ice cream café.

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Going the homemade ice cream with a traditional Thai twist route, Onedee is nicely-located and easily-accessible. It is especially easy to get to due to the fact that is in the delightfully semi-suburban area of Ari, and is also rather near to the BTS Ari Station.

The name ‘Onedee’ (wan dee), means “good day” in Thai. If you drop in on this place it could even put your day on the up, whether you are an ice cream lover or not.

Onedee’s has its own range of specialities and best sellers. The ‘Toddy Palm Cake with Ice-cream’ is one such example, just to give a feel of what to expect from this place. This particular speciality is made from a combination of ice cream and ‘Khanom Tan’, a traditional Thai dessert comprised of coconut. The Thai ingredient of this particular ice-cream is sweet and warm, and goes hand-in-hand with the cold ice cream.

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There are a range of equally quirky and exotic ice-cream combination desserts on offer in this Bangkok ice-cream café. Another Thai dessert-inspired creation (this time from crispy sweet pancakes known as Khanom Bueng), is the ‘ice cream with sweet shredded egg yolk bean paste ball’.

With something of a sweet and sour taste, this dessert is topped with the colourful sweets made from mung beans which are made to look like brightly-coloured miniature fruits and vegetables.

Onedee does a mean range of drinks which come in retro-looking, hand- painted Thai porcelain. All coffee is made using is beans sourced both locally and from other regions such as Laos and Ethiopia. The ‘Palm Sugar Coffee Macchiato’ s another Onedee speciality that gives further indication of the subtle Thai-inspired touches incorporated by this top cafe in the middle of Bangkok.

Address: 19 Phahonyothin Soi 7, Samsen Nai,Phaya Thai,Bangkok
Phone Number: 094-146-4049
Hours: Mon-Thu 10:00~22:00; Fri-Sun 10:00~22:30
Nearest Station: BTS Ari
Website：https://www.facebook.com/onedeecafe/
Instagram：https://www.instagram.com/onedeecafe/

5. The Pooltime Café

As the name might suggest, this is a pool-themed cafe in the Ekkamai area of Bangkok. And this is indeed a place devoid of the usual cafe colour scheme clichés, which might have something to do with the fact that the owners are a couple of designers by trade.

In an attempt to avoid being just another trendy, minimalist, naturally aesthetic Bangkok cafe, the pair decided that colourful was the way to go.

So this is colourful as in a bright pink and turquoise theme, with the idea being a feeling and atmosphere almost akin to relaxing by a pool. It does work quite well and let’s face it there are much worse places to enjoy a drink and a snack.

Rather than ice cream though, this cafe’s signature item is a cheeseburger – and an impressive one at that – imbued with herb grilled beef patty, crispy bacon, and completed by onion rings. Even the blue buns are special, and apparently their recipe is a secret held close to home.

You might be somewhat surprised upon reaching the second floor to happen across an area complete with a raccoon!  This is the owners’ pet, which was brought to the shop one day and attracted a lot of customers – so obviously it stayed! Customers are allowed to play with the raccoon in ‘raccoon corner’ — a toy-filled area for a small charge (150 baht for 15 min) which includes a drink worth 100 baht.

On the top, 3rd floor, somewhat more remarkably, is a shop containing a somewhat random variety of fashionable items and accessories, including such things as retro looking swimwear and sunglasses, just on the off-chance that you might’ve come in looking for those!

This café has a fair few tricks up its sleeve it would seem, which includes transforming into a bar after 6 pm on Fridays and weekends, so this pool-themed Bangkok café serves two different sets of customers during both the afternoon and the later evening hours.

Address: 582/11, Tai Ping Tower, Sukhumvit 63, Khlong Tan Nuea, Wattana, Bangkok
Tel: 090-652-4109
Hours: Tue-Thur, Sun 12:00~20:00; Fri-Sat 12:00~24:00; (Raccoon’s Hours are 14:00~18:00)
Closed: Mon
Nearest Station: BTS Ekkamai
URL：https://www.facebook.com/POOLTIME.CAFE/
Instagram：https://www.instagram.com/pool.time.cafe/

6. Featherstone Bistro Café and Lifestyle Shop

Ekkamai is an area that has its fair share of charming cafes, and this particular offering in the form of the boutique Featherstone Bistro Cafe is a particular establishment that’s well worth a visit just for the fact that it seems so uncharacteristic of Bangkok..

In fact, upon entering the café you may be somewhat surprised to find that the interior is something out of a classic Parisian film noir setting, resplendent with wooden beams and stained glass.

There is definitely a rustic feel to the place, and the western-style cuisine is largely focused around impressive salads and home-made pizzas, with the added quirk being the Featherstone craft shop portion of the café which sells jewellery along with a range of artisanal French soaps and such like.

Address: 60 Ekamai 12 (Soi Jaroenjai) Klongton Nuea, Wattana, Bangkok 10110

Tel: (66) 97-058-6846

Opening hours: 10.30 am – 10 pm Daily

BTS: Ekkamai

7. Greyhound Café

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The Greyhound Cafe is an established name in Bangkok that actually began as a fashion line back in the 1980s, but eventually added elements of cuisine to complement itself as a lifestyle brand. In fact, it has since expanded into not just multiple concepts, but also locations.

Fashion and art go hand in hand in the Greyhound, which offers an interesting variety of Thai and international dishes.

Many of the dishes on offer are actually recipes of old, and are comprised of a fusion of dishes from around the world. Food is considered an art form by the Greyhound Café, and this is reflected in some of the prices which tend to be quite rangy.

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From chicken wings to spaghetti or noodles, along with Thai dishes that might seem more subtle than usual, at Greyhound you’ll find a pleasing variety of choices on the menu whether seeking local cuisine or otherwise.

The locations tend to be trendy, state-of-the-art shopping malls and community retail malls with nice surroundings like some of those in Thong lor or Siam (CentralWorld and Siam Centre), generally chosen to reflect the taste and calibre of the wares on offer.

 Address: Various branches visit website for a full list 

Opening Hours: 10am – 10pm daily (varies a little across outlets)

WEBSITE: www.greyhoundcafe.co.th