Best Coffee Shops in Bangkok: 9 Cafes Worth the Trip
From a 55th-floor Sathon counter to a Phaya Thai roastery run by world champions, here are the best coffee shops in Bangkok worth crossing the city for.
The best coffee shops in Bangkok do not cluster on one street or in one neighborhood. They sit on the 55th floor of a Sathon office tower, inside a 150-year-old former boat-repair shed on Charoen Krung, and in a glasshouse cut out of a fifty-year-old home on a quiet Sukhumvit soi. The city's specialty scene grew sideways instead of vertically, which means the move is to pick the cafe that matches the morning you actually want.
This guide walks through nine cafes worth crossing town for, grouped loosely by what they do best: roastery-led specialty rooms, design-led destinations, brunch-anchored dining cafes, and a gallery-cafe hybrid that closes at 2 AM. Every venue here has its full page on BGM with hours, address, and the order to lead with.
The roastery-led specialty rooms
Roastery rooms lead with filter. Ask which lot is on the pour over that week.
If you came to Bangkok looking for serious coffee, start with the rooms where the roaster is in the same building as the bar.
Factory Coffee BKK
You walk in off Phaya Thai Road and the roastery floor is the first thing in view, not the counter. Factory Coffee was built around the bean. The team behind the bar has placed Thailand Barista Champion in 2017, 2018, and 2020, Top 13 World Barista in 2018, Top 2 World Espresso Champion in 2022, and Top 3 World Coffee Roasting in 2025. That track record is the reason to be here.
The house signatures carry the cafe's design language: Rocky Road, Flower Room, Awesome Berry, and Tiramisu Crisis. Single-origin lots and competition-grade beans rotate alongside the standard espresso and brew options. Drip bags and capsules sit at the counter for take-home. Get the espresso first, ask which roast is on the bar that week, and only then move to milk or filter if you want to compare profiles. Closest stop: BTS Ratchathewi, a short walk south.
RISE Coffee Flagship Store
The flagship sits at the ground-floor back of Mahatun Plaza on Ploenchit Road, a 150 square metre unit designed by Bangkok firm space+craft. One side of the floor is the coffee lab, where the roastery operates and where the staff run cuppings. The other side is the bar, glass-walled so customers can watch the lab work behind them.
The four signature blends carry the room's house argument that everyday coffee should be approachable. Good Day is the everyday cup. Bold Move runs heavier. Fruitopia leans bright. Daydreamer is the dessert-leaning pour. Bags start at 300 baht for take-home. Hours run 8 AM to 5 PM daily, and the walk from BTS Ploen Chit is short and signposted.
Sarnies Bangkok
Down on Charoen Krung 44, Sarnies occupies a building that started life as a boat-repair shop more than 150 years ago. Founder Ben Lee, an Australian ex-finance professional, opened the Bang Rak flagship in 2013 after building the brand in Singapore from 2011. Beans are roasted on-site every week, which is rare for a Bangkok cafe of this size and gives the flat white a freshness you can taste.
The food runs Aussie cafe staples crossed with Thai pantry ingredients: brunch plates, sandwiches, all-day dining for both the laptop crowd and the weekend brunch crowd. Take the BTS to Saphan Taksin and walk in. The soi is narrow; street parking is essentially nonexistent.
Browse every Bangkok cafe on BGM's full cafes index →
The design-led destinations
Design led rooms fill up for photos around midday. Mornings are calmer and the coffee is the same.
Some rooms exist for the view, the architecture, or the brand exercise. They still pour good coffee.
% Arabica Bangkok Empire Tower
The cafe sits on the 55th floor of Empire Tower in Sathon. The brand brought its Japanese counter design up the elevator with it: a single long bar, minimal seating, baristas working in the open. The Chemex installation behind the counter is the visual signature, with the glassware cascading like waves down the wall.
% Arabica was founded in Hong Kong in 2013 by Kenneth Shoji. The chain owns a coffee farm in Hawaii and runs custom espresso machines built in Seattle, which is the reason the shot pull at every outpost lands the same. The Empire Tower outpost gives you a wraparound panorama of the city and the river bend behind glass. Ride the elevator in the late afternoon and order at the bar.
Ryoku Cafe
Off Sukhumvit 35 in Watthana, Ryoku occupies a fifty-year-old house that has been opened up into two floors of glasshouse-style seating, white frames, indoor greenery, and large windows that pull in light from the garden. The pancake program is the headline. Japanese-style soufflé pancakes arrive in Strawberry and Mascarpone, Choc-A-Holic, and a savoury Chicken Pancake build.
The beverage list leans Japanese-tea-first. Hot Matcha Latte is the obvious pairing for the sweet pancakes. Beyond that, Nitro Vanilla Black Tea Rose, Cloud Peach, and Purple Lotus Hot Tea round out a list a tea-led cafe would write. Open Wednesday through Monday, 08:00 to 20:00, closed Tuesday. Six to eight minutes on foot from BTS Phrom Phong and EmQuartier.
The brunch-anchored dining cafes
For longer mornings, larger groups, or a coffee that has to come with a proper plate.
Sarnies Cafe Sukhumvit
The Phrom Phong outpost of the Singapore-born group. Wood-forward room on Sukhumvit 37, three minutes from the BTS. The coffee program runs on beans roasted by Sarnies Roastery, the house operation that supplies every Sarnies concept in the group. The bakery counter shapes the visit: naturally leavened sourdough, pastries, and Japanese-inspired comfort plates on display before you order.
Weekend mornings fill fast. Walk in before 9 for a quiet flat white. Order a single-origin pour-over alongside the sourdough toast if you want to taste what the roastery is doing this month.
BABYCCINO
BABYCCINO sits on Ekkamai 12 with floor-to-ceiling windows looking out onto greenery and a quiet water feature. The signature Babyccino, at 190 baht, is fresh milk layered with a shot of espresso, finished with aromatics of anise and rosemary. It is the reason the cafe carries the name on the door.
The food is brunch-shaped and leans French: Truffle Brioche at 320 baht, French Toast at 320, Salmon Eggs Benedict at 370. Hours run 8AM to 6PM every day. Ekkamai 12 is a residential soi, so factor in a 10-minute walk from Ekkamai BTS. Arrive early on weekends.
Roast @EmQuartier
One of four Roast locations in Bangkok, sitting on the first floor of the Helix wing above Phrom Phong BTS. The Original Roast Breakfast at 420 baht is the dish to order on a first visit. The Helix design pulls daylight down through the building, so the cafe gets natural light from the mall's open atrium.
Mall brunch on Sukhumvit means weekend rushes are real. Arrive at opening, or push to a late-afternoon coffee instead. Add the Turkish Egg as a side to share.
The gallery-cafe hybrid
Gallery cafes pair a short menu with a rotating show. Good for a slow hour with a laptop closed.
The Little Prince Café Bangkok
On Soi Suan Plu in Sathon, the ceiling stops you first. Yellow stars overhead, planet cutouts hanging at different heights, over a hundred hand-painted artworks lining the walls, and floral-patterned red sumo statues at eye level. French pop sculptor Arnaud Nazare-Aga built the place as a walk-through homage to Saint-Exupery's 1943 novella.
The pastries come from his son Arthur Nazare-Aga: French and Italian classics, tiramisu, and flower-shaped cookies with star decorations that match the ceiling. Specialty coffee runs through with latte art. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10 AM to 2 AM, closed Monday. That late close is unusual for a cafe and shifts what the room is for after sunset. Allow an hour minimum if you want to actually look at the art.
Getting around
Most of these cafes sit within a short walk of the BTS Green Line, which is the easiest way to chain two or three into a single morning. Phrom Phong covers Sarnies Sukhumvit, Ryoku, and Roast @EmQuartier in one station. Ploen Chit covers RISE. Ratchathewi covers Factory Coffee. Saphan Taksin covers Sarnies Bang Rak. Sathon's two destinations (% Arabica and The Little Prince) are easier by Grab.
No bookings are needed at any of the nine. Walk-in works at every door. Weekday mornings give you the calmest counters and the longest conversations with the bar. Start with Factory Coffee on the day you want to drink seriously, with BABYCCINO or Roast on the day you want to eat well, and with The Little Prince on the night you want a room that closes after midnight.
Order the espresso first.
For longer mornings with a full brunch plate alongside the coffee, see our best brunch in Bangkok roundup. To chain cafes across the city, the Bangkok BTS MRT guide covers the Green Line interchange detail. Coffee in the morning, rooftop bar at sunset? Both pair with where to stay in Bangkok.
FAQ
Which Bangkok coffee shop has won the most barista competitions? Factory Coffee BKK on Phaya Thai Road. The team has placed Thailand Barista Champion in 2017, 2018, and 2020, Top 13 World Barista in 2018, Top 2 World Espresso Champion in 2022, and Top 3 World Coffee Roasting in 2025.
Where is % Arabica in Bangkok? % Arabica Bangkok sits on the 55th floor of Empire Tower in Sathon, with a single long bar and a Chemex installation behind the counter. The cafe gives a wraparound panorama of the city and the river bend behind glass.
Do any of the best Bangkok coffee shops take reservations? No bookings are needed at any of the nine cafes in this guide. Walk-in works at every door. Weekday mornings give you the calmest counters.
Which Bangkok cafe stays open the latest? The Little Prince Cafe Bangkok in Sathon opens Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 2 a.m., closed Monday. That late close is unusual for a cafe and shifts what the room is for after sunset.
What are RISE Coffee Flagship Store's hours and bag prices? RISE Coffee Flagship Store at Mahatun Plaza on Ploenchit Road runs 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Bags of the four signature blends (Good Day, Bold Move, Fruitopia, Daydreamer) start at 300 baht for take-home.
Browse all Bangkok cafes → BGM Cafes Index