Top 15 Best Cafés In Chiang Mai

One of the best things about Chiang Mai is the amazing coffee scene! There are hundreds of cool cafés littered throughout the city. Obviously, we haven’t visited every single one, but we did make it to a fair share of them with multiple stops to some of our favourites. Below is an overview of our top 15 best cafés in Chiang Mai, in alphabetical order.

Akha Ama

There are two locations in Chiang Mai. I visited the one in Santitham. The atmosphere was quiet, with plenty of seating options in different rooms, as well as an outdoor patio. Wifi speeds were great, with multiple networks available. There are a few food items available, but most importantly, the americano I ordered for 50 baht was excellent!

AOM Coffee Shop

This is a cute, family run café in Santitham. The small downstairs portion is cozy with couches and small tables. Upstairs, there is a room so quiet, you could hear a pin drop. It’s a perfect place to get work done. Our americanos were 40 baht a piece and were delicious! There are also a variety of sweets available to purchase.

Borijinda Café

Located in the northeast corner of the old city, Borijinda Café offers an amazing cup of coffee for a reasonable price. When I visited, I shared a french press, which costs 90 baht. The wifi speeds are excellent, but there are only a few seating options available if you are planning to get some work done. We also bought a lychee smoothie, which was one of our favourite food items in Chiang Mai! In my opinion, Borijinda Café is one of the best coffee shops in the old town.

Café Fleur de Mai

This quaint café in the quiet Jed Yod neighbourhood has a great vibe. When we visited, it was decorated with a photo exhibit of an ethnic Sihan community in Belaga, Malaysian Borneo. The photographer had been living with the community and studying their lifestyle for six months. The coffee was great with a cost of 45 baht for an americano. The wifi was good, with the few available tables filled with people working on laptops. There were a few treats available to purchase, as well as a number of local craft beers.

Choy Coffee/Curry Puff Coffee

These two cafés share a stall in Thanin Market (Siri Wattana Market) in Santitham. Both offer a great coffee for a low price. They provide a choice of two different blends of espresso, for a mere 25 baht for hot beverage. The baristas are excellent and efficient. This stall is one of the best values in town for coffee! This tiny café caters mostly to those taking coffee to go, but there are a few stools for those wishing to sit. It became one of our go-to places for coffee. With excellent product and the cheapest prices in town, how could you not be a return customer?

Free Bird Café

Free Bird Café is a vegan café in Nimman that focuses on Thai, Burmese and western dishes. The price for an americano is 69 baht. However, the reason this café makes the list is simply because of its social activism. It is part of the Thai Freedom House organization, which helps Burmese refugees and migrants learn English language and life skills. All proceeds from Free Bird Café go to this organization, and the café also trains students in the hospitality industry. This also helps them practice their English skills. It was nice to know that the cost of my coffee was going to a good cause!

Good Morning Chiang Mai

This is a popular café in the old city, whose interesting decor lures instagrammers to snap some cool selfies. We sat outside on the large, inviting patio and enjoyed our americanos at a cost of 50 baht each. If planning to work for an extended period of time, signs on the wall indicate that you must pay to charge your devices. There is a full food menu for those wishing to have more than just coffee.

Impresso 

This Nimman café has a nice outdoor patio space, as well as some tables and bar seating indoors. The wifi speeds are more than suitable for working, although it is limited to one hour of usage with the purchase of a beverage. My americano was smooth and delicious, and the 60 baht price is on par with other cafés in the neighbourhood. Shaleen enjoyed her cold matcha latté, though she felt it was too powdery and required more stirring. Overall, Impresso is a good neighbourhood café to have a cup of excellent coffee in Nimman.

Mingmitr Coffee

There are many locations throughout the city, but I checked out the one located in the trendy Nimman neighbourhood. This small café has excellent coffee and decent wifi speeds. There are also few snacks to purchase. The staff are friendly and the 50 baht price tag for an americano is reasonable for the area.

Miracle Coffee

There are Miracle Coffee stands all over Chiang Mai, although we only visited the location at Thanin Market (Siri Wattana Market) in Santitham. Similar to Curry Puff Coffee and Choy Coffee listed above, this stall serves an americano for a mere 25 baht and they are excellent! There are a few stools to sit if required, but most customers take their coffee to go. The friendly baristas and great value kept us coming back regularly!

Nine One Coffee

We visited Nine One Coffee in Nimman based on word of mouth recommendations and reviews online. They serve organically grown local coffee in whatever style you prefer. This comes at a premium, as prices are rather high compared to what we had become accustomed to in Chiang Mai. We chose the beans after smelling four potential options. We decided to share a french press and it set us back 120 baht. The café has a small interior with a few seating options, as well as a bigger outdoor patio space.

Respect Coffee

This is one of our favourite cafés in Santitham, due to the quality of coffee! It is a rather small corner shop with comfortable indoor and outdoor seating and great wifi speeds. The owner is super friendly and even challenged us both to a game of rock paper scissors for a 5 baht discount! Spoiler alert: we both won, making our coffees cost 40 baht each!

Ristr8to

As another staple coffee place in Nimman, word of mouth and online reviews brought me to check it out. At the time I visited, it was really busy, with only a couple empty seats in the place. The 88 baht price for my americano was pretty steep as far as Chiang Mai standards go, but all was forgotten when I tasted the outstanding coffee! I planned to work with my laptop during my visit, but unfortunately, the wifi was not functioning. Despite the crowdedness and problems with wifi, Ristr8to still makes this list due to the quality of their coffee!

Rong Ros Café

A cute little hidden gem in Santitham, this quaint café’s 30 baht price for an americano is more than worth it! Despite being pretty small, there is seating for up to twelve people. The room is nicely decorated and the staff is very friendly. Our only regret is that we did not go there more often!

T@31 Café

This is a tiny café in Nimman run by a wonderful barista named Tik and her British husband. The coffee is great and the conversation is even better. There are decent wifi speeds and the 35 baht charge for an americano is an excellent value.

Special Mention:

Prompt Café Chiang Rai

Although this café is not technically in Chiang Mai, it is worth mentioning as many visitors make the trip to Chiang Rai! This café is super small and easy to miss, but the quality of coffee made us return customers during our short stay in Chiang Rai! They roast the local beans in house and the 50 baht price of an americano is worth every penny.

So that is our top 15 best cafés in Chiang Mai! Do you have any recommendations of cafés that didn’t make our list (or we haven’t been to yet)? Send us a message!