10 Best Cafes
in Yaowarat

If you're walking down Soi Nana (Charoen Krung 38–40) on the edge of Yaowarat / Chinatown and come across a doorway overgrown with flowers and plants, that's Wallflowers Cafe — the neighborhood's legendary cafe, hidden on the upper floor of the Oneday Wallflowers florist. It began as a collaboration between the stylist who owns the flower shop and the owner of Nana Coffee Roasters, so you get both magazine-worthy corners and coffee that means business. It suits cafe hoppers who want the looks and the flavor, people who love to take photos, and anyone wanting to escape the bustle of Yaowarat to sit and chill in an old building done up in English Cottage Garden style — every corner full of dried flowers, vintage furniture and pretty light through the old windows.

The menu people mention most is the Dirty: bold espresso shots from the Nana Coffee Roasters house blend poured over cold milk, giving you that dark-roast coffee playing against sweet, creamy milk that coffee lovers go for. On the sweet side the star is the dark-beer cake (around 260 THB), moist with a faint malt aroma, and the edible-flower drinks that arrive so pretty you have to photograph them before you drink. Real reviews agree the coffee is fragrant and the cake fresh and tasty, though some note the prices lean toward city-cafe territory — a single Americano touches 130 THB, which isn't cheap, but for the atmosphere and the photo corners it's understandable.

The per-head cost runs about 101–250 THB, with cake from 190 THB a slice and drinks around 130–250 THB. Open daily 10:00–18:00, while the upstairs Wallflowers Upstairs is a rooftop bar that opens in the evening until midnight, with a DJ or live music some nights. It's an easy walk from MRT Hua Lamphong, with no parking — public transport is recommended. Worth noting: seating is limited and weekends get busy, so for the prettiest corners come right when it opens. There are cats and dogs wandering the cafe too, so if you're allergic to fur, be prepared. People keep flocking here because it's a cafe that gives you everything at once — good coffee, pretty sweets, and a secret-garden atmosphere in the middle of Chinatown that's hard to find anywhere else.

If you're after the one cafe that's "the most Yaowarat" of all, Lhong Tou Cafe is among the first names that come to mind. It's a contemporary Chinese-style dim sum cafe in an old shophouse just before the Chaloem Buri junction. The spot everyone photographs is the two-tier "floating" seating built against the wall, which you have to climb a ladder to reach — a bit like a train sleeper berth. The design got so famous that cafes across Asia have copied it. It suits cafe-goers who want both pretty photos and tasty Chinese bites in a single sitting, and it's just right for a couple or a small group.

The must-order is the "salted-egg lava fried bun" (Egg Lava Bun), the shop's headliner — deep-fried for a crisp shell, and when you split it the salted-egg lava oozes out, rich and savory-sweet. Plenty of real reviews crown this one "the real deal." Another big seller is the Lhong Tou congee set, served in tiny bamboo steamer baskets with an assortment of Chinese sides and very photogenic, followed by dim sum like mini barbecued-pork buns, Lhong Tou shumai and mala fried chicken, finished with an ice-cold Lhong Tou milk tea that's another signature.

Prices run about 101–250 THB per person, which is fair for a Yaowarat-location cafe and what you get. Dim sum is 29–89 THB a piece and the milk tea is 95 THB a glass. Reviewers praise the pretty crockery, quick service and reasonable prices. The common note is that it's a small shop that gets busy — at peak you may have to queue or wait for a table, and the upstairs seating takes a fair bit of ladder-climbing, so if you're afraid of heights or with older relatives, choose a table downstairs.

It's at no. 538 Yaowarat Road, near the commemorative gateway arch, about 300 meters back toward the Chaloem Buri junction from MRT Wat Mangkon Exit 1. Open daily around 09:00–20:00 (until 21:00 on Saturday-Sunday). No parking, so the MRT is easiest. It's so popular because it bundles together everything people come to Yaowarat for — an old-meets-new Chinese atmosphere, photo corners like nowhere else, and dim sum that's genuinely good — making it a not-to-miss pin for a new generation of Chinatown regulars.

If you want to escape the bustle of Yaowarat without going far, CHATA Specialty Coffee is the answer many people fall for. The shop hides deep behind the Baan 2459 hotel, a Sino-Portuguese building close to a century old. Open the door and you'll find a translucent glasshouse, sunlight filtering through the leaves as shadows, with the old brick wall of Wat Samphanthawong as a backdrop — so quiet and calm you almost forget you're standing in the middle of Chinatown. It's ideal for cafe-goers who want to sip coffee and chill, take pretty photos, or find a quiet morning spot to work.

The star is the house blend of beans from four countries (Indonesia, Ethiopia, Brazil and India), roasted to a medium that's neither too bold nor too light. The drink to try is the Dirty, bold espresso shots poured over ice-cold fresh milk with coconut-blossom sugar, fragrant and rounded against just the right bitterness. If you don't drink coffee there's Cha-Coco (Thai tea with cocoa) and an authentic Japanese-style iced matcha that many reviews call fragrant and well-balanced. And don't miss the coconut three-layer cake on a crisp tart base with coconut cream and a meringue top — small but perfectly tasty.

Real reviews lean the same way: the coffee is genuinely good, the setting pretty and photogenic, the staff attentive. Drink prices start around 100-150 THB, cake is 65 THB a slice, and a rotating special single-origin can climb into the high hundreds, which is fair for the quality and location. Worth knowing: the indoor zone is cool with the air-con but the seating is limited, so weekends get packed and you may have to queue, and the shop is mainly cash — bring cash to make it easier.

Open Tuesday-Sunday, roughly 09:00-18:00 (last order around 16:45), closed Mondays. It's at 98 Phat Sai Road (a lane off Yaowarat), about 300 meters from MRT Wat Mangkon, and reachable from MRT Hua Lamphong too. It's popular because it combines three things rarely found together in Yaowarat — quality specialty coffee, a pretty glasshouse setting with a story, and photo corners you never tire of. When you come, aim for mid-morning when the light is at its best, to capture the glasshouse in full.

If you're strolling Yaowarat and want a good coffee corner for a proper rest, Coffee Room Yaowarat is a cafe coffee lovers talk about a lot. It sits in an old building of the Lhong 1919-adjacent Lueanrit community, right on Yaowarat Road near the Wat Tuek junction, very easy to find. The selling point is that the owner is a serious specialty type — a coffee-competition judge who roasts beans in-house, with a roaster on site and a range of bean characters to choose from. The fun part is that this place grew out of the old Midori fabric shop over near Pahurat, so there's a fabric showroom in the same building. It suits coffee lovers, cafe hoppers, or anyone wanting a quiet breakfast-brunch between sights in Chinatown.

The must-order and headliner is the "iced latte with bow croissant," a latte served alongside a cute little bow-shaped croissant that's extremely camera-ready — a menu many reviews say you have to photograph before you eat. The coffee isn't just about looks, though: reviewers praise the iced latte as well-rounded, and if you take it black, try the drip or cold drip with fruity notes from the Slow Bar. Those who like bold sweet drinks have a matcha latte at just the right strength and sweetness. On the heartier side there's all-day breakfast — breakfast sets, fried bites, spaghetti, single-plate rice, and a crowd favorite, the fried-chicken waffle with sriracha sauce: soft waffle topped with crispy fried chicken and sriracha mayo. The homemade croissants here use real French butter, crisp outside and soft within.

On price it's standard cafe territory: coffee starts around 60 THB (Americano), the iced latte with bow croissant is around 150 THB, heartier dishes around 119–189 THB, and about 150–300 THB per person. Open daily 07:00–18:00, so an early visit is no problem. A point many love is the free 2-hour parking in the Lueanrit community project, which is very hard to come by in this area. The shop has two floors — the upstairs has plenty of seating, with quiet corners to work or read — decorated in a clean modern style, the olive-green building contrasting with a white interior, and a wall of coffee-bean drawers that makes a standout photo corner.

Good to know before you go: the shop is inside the Lueanrit community, a conserved old shophouse row, so if you drive, enter the project and park in the community lot. Some heartier dishes may run out by the afternoon, so come morning to late morning for the fullest menu. They also roast beans to order, so if you like a particular bean you can buy it to take home. Overall it's a cafe that gives you quality coffee, photo corners and food all in one place — which is why it's become a popular pin in the new-generation Yaowarat.

If you want to start the morning the truly Yaowarat way, "Ek Teng Phu Kee" (益生甫記) is the legendary coffee shop that's been open since 1919, passed through four generations. Now the younger family members have come in to breathe life back into the old shop and make it a hit again. It's a small shophouse on Phadung Dao Road, near the Chaloem Buri junction, decorated with an old-Chinese feel — wooden menu boards, marble tables, soft music playing — and plenty of people turn up in qipao to take check-in photos. It suits anyone who loves a retro atmosphere, those wandering Yaowarat early, or anyone wanting a corner to sip coffee and chill before moving on.

The most talked-about menu item is the "Ceylon milk tea," or iced tea, the shop's signature made with real tea from Sri Lanka, followed by the traditional coffee many reviews call bold and fragrant, since it's still brewed through an old-style coffee sock — paired with the shop's own-recipe "custard toast" and the soft-boiled-egg toast set. If you like snacking, try the fried mantou dipped in condensed milk, and dim sum like the barbecued-pork buns that foreigners love to order. The flavors lean homely and traditional, and most reviews praise the strength of the coffee and the shop's nostalgia.

On price it's very cheap, as befits an old-school coffee shop — drinks start at 17–22 THB a glass, dishes are 20–70 THB, and a toast-and-custard set is around 80 THB, so per-head you eat your fill for tens to a low hundred baht. It's at 163 Phadung Dao Road, Samphanthawong subdistrict, walkable from Yaowarat or MRT Wat Mangkon. The real standout is how early it opens — from 5 a.m. until around 7 p.m. every day — ideal for early risers or anyone wanting a bite before other shops open.

A few things to know: the shop is small with limited seating, so coming with no more than 3–4 people is most comfortable. Weekends or the Chinese New Year festival get packed with long queues. Some reviews note that a few dishes taste reheated and some drinks run sweet, so the flavor leans more "old-world charm" than modern cafe. But if you come for the atmosphere, the bold coffee, and a taste of a genuine century-old shop in Chinatown, this is a pin you shouldn't miss.

La Cabra's Talat Noi branch is a Scandinavian specialty coffee cafe from Denmark that opened its first branch outside its home country in an old building along Charoen Krung Road, in the Talat Noi-Chinatown area. The shop is renovated from the original building, keeping its original character while adding minimalist white-toned design, green tiles as a feature and wooden stools with a Thai feel. It suits cafe hoppers serious about coffee, photo lovers, and foreign visitors exploring Talat Noi who want to stop for a good cup.

The star is single-origin coffee, lightly roasted following the "Brighter is Better" philosophy — standout beans come from Kenya (such as Kiamugumo with caramel and red-currant notes, almost tea-like) and Ethiopia (Sheka Honey with peach-blueberry notes, Bensa Logita fragrant with jasmine and honey), available as both pour-over drip and espresso. On the pastry side, try the frangipane poppy seed croissant, an almond-filled croissant scattered with poppy seeds, sweet with a touch of salt, which many reviews call a highlight, and the spinach & cheese roll, plus the sourdough served with homemade butter and jam that draws a lot of praise. Most reviews praise the light-roast coffee as clear, bright and pleasantly fruity-tart, with fresh pastries and a calm, comfortable setting good for working. What some criticize is that prices run fairly high compared with ordinary Bangkok cafes, and service can be inconsistent at times, so be prepared.

On price, espresso starts around 110 THB, Americano 120 THB, special-bean filter coffee around 140 THB up to around 280 THB for special menu items, while matcha / lemon soda runs around 90–140 THB. Beans to take home are around 670 THB per 250 grams. Average per person with a pastry lands in the mid-hundreds — premium-cafe territory, with credit cards accepted.

It's at no. 813 Charoen Krung Road in Talat Noi, Samphanthawong subdistrict/district, next to the FooJohn jazz bar. Open daily 08:00–17:00, about a 7–10 minute walk from MRT Hua Lamphong. Worth knowing: the shop doesn't take table reservations, seating is limited and weekends get fairly crowded, so come in the morning for a more relaxed feel and easier seating. What makes La Cabra Talat Noi so popular is that it's genuine Nordic-style specialty coffee in a charming old building in the heart of Chinatown, where coffee lovers both Thai and foreign keep coming to check in.

Hong Sieng Kong is a cafe-gallery on the Chao Phraya River in Talat Noi, set in an old Chinese house nearly 200 years old that was once a rice-trading warehouse, now renovated anew. The name comes from "Hong," the owner's father's name, plus "Sieng Kong," the name of the old neighborhood that people here feel tied to. The place spans about 1 rai, divided into several zones you can wander and photograph all day — a riverside River Room, a Wooden Hall with high open ceilings and cool breezes, and an upstairs gallery showing Chinese antiques, some said to be hundreds of years old. It's ideal for cafe hoppers, lovers of old-corner photos, couples after a chill riverside seat, and anyone wanting to watch the sunset behind the Chao Phraya River.

The signature drinks people order a lot are the TaladNoi orange coffee, a fresh, tangy coffee that cuts the richness; the coconut blossom coffee, fragrant and well-rounded; and the Sieng Kong pudding tea, a tea that feels a bit like ginger-syrup tofu pudding topped with tofu pudding. For dessert there's toobtub (water-chestnut rubies), ice cream served with nuts, raspberry jam and a flourless orange cake, plus freshly baked croissants and pies. Most reviews crown the atmosphere and photo corners the real star — many love the river breeze and the light and shadow off the old brick walls — while some say plainly that the coffee and food are merely okay, not wow, making it a place "you come for the atmosphere" more than to eat seriously, so keep that in mind.

Prices are riverside-cafe level — drinks and desserts start around 110–160 THB and up, averaging about 200–400 THB per person. The shop asks you to order at least one menu item per person, and some reviews say that on weekends, if you don't order, there may be an entry fee / minimum-spend policy, so check at the shop again. Saturday-Sunday evenings often have live music to add to the atmosphere.

It's at no. 734-736 Trok Wanit 2 (Soi Wanit 2), Talat Noi, Samphanthawong district, deep in the riverside neighborhood near Wat Pathum Khongkha. Open around 10:00–20:00, closed Mondays. Worth knowing: it's a famous, busy shop, especially in the evening near sunset and on weekends — you may have to queue and order a drink before getting in to find a seat. Parking in the lane is hard to find, so it's best to park at River City, the Wat Pathum Khongkha lot or the Talat Noi parking lot and walk in, or take the MRT to Hua Lamphong and a short Grab. For anyone already wandering Talat Noi-Yaowarat, stopping for a coffee with river views in the afternoon-to-evening is well worth the atmosphere you'd struggle to find elsewhere.

If you're wandering the old-town stretch around Yaowarat-Pom Prap and want serious specialty coffee in a characterful old building, As.is [HQ] on Rama 4 Road at no. 45 is a shop coffee lovers talk about a lot. The standout is that it's renovated from the old shophouse of a family seed business, and still keeps the original shop sign "Kao Ia Heng" out front. The space is industrial-loft style — bare concrete, exposed brick, leather furniture, brown-and-black tones — looking raw and cool. It suits coffee people who want to chill, work quietly, or take a break mid-tour of Chinatown, and it's not far from MRT Hua Lamphong or the Yaowarat side.

This is both a cafe and an in-house roastery, with a rotating menu of several blends — espresso, single-origin drip and cold brew to choose from. The cup people order often is the hot latte, where the milk and shots come together smooth. On the sweet side the star is the Nutella cookie, a big cookie with crisp edges and a chewy center — served warm, the Nutella filling oozes out into the bold cocoa cookie. If you like cake, try the Black Stout Cake, a rich chocolate cake with a cream-cheese top, or the lemon cake, tangy-sweet and refreshing. There are also rotating homemade croissants and bakery items. Most reviews praise the quality coffee, as befits specialty, the tasty bakery, and the photogenic setting.

Prices are friendly for a specialty cafe — coffee around 75-135 THB, with some sweets-bakery items a touch higher (the Muffin Melt is around 165 THB), and about 150-250 THB per person, comfortably. Open roughly 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., but worth knowing: on some early-week days (Monday/Thursday) it may be closed or close early, and the hours have been adjusted several times, so check the shop's page before you set out to be sure. The shop isn't large and seating is limited, with weekends busy — for the prettiest corners, come right when it opens.

Overall, to put it the way one friend tells another, As.is suits anyone wanting well-made specialty coffee from a serious roaster, in an old building with a story — it's not just a photo cafe, but the drinks and bakery genuinely deliver. It's one of the coffee pins worth stopping at if you're visiting the Yaowarat-old-town area.

If you want to know what genuine old-school coffee really tastes like, Ear Sae is the answer — a long-running Hainanese coffee shop that's been part of Yaowarat for over 96 years, handed down to the fourth generation, tucked on Phat Sai Road at the corner of Song Sawat Road, near the old Yaowarat market, just a short walk from MRT Wat Mangkon Exit 1. This shop suits anyone wanting to escape fancy cafes and sip coffee in a truly old-school setting that's barely changed since the day it opened — marble tables, wooden chairs, regular uncles and aunties chatting for hours, a picture of Yaowarat that's hard to find these days.

The must-order is the traditional coffee, roasted day-fresh from southern robusta beans and brewed through an old-style coffee sock. Most reviews agree it's intensely bold, fragrant and bitter, well-rounded, with just the right touch of sweetness — anyone who likes it bold and rich will love it. The other unmissable is the whole-pot egg custard, made in-house from pure eggs with no preservatives, and the custard toast — soft bread spread with fragrant butter and topped with rich, sweet custard. Some say the custard runs a touch sweet, but you can order it less sweet. If you want to try something unusual, go for "no kao," coffee mixed with iced tea, with a distinctive aroma you rarely find elsewhere.

Price is a point many love — hot coffee starts at just 25 THB, with most cold drinks around 30-40 THB, unbelievably cheap for a legendary shop in the middle of Yaowarat. The owner still holds the old prices and refuses to cut quality. The shop opens very early, from 4 a.m. until 7 p.m. — for early risers wandering the old market, stopping for a hot coffee while the sky is still dark is bliss.

This shop is popular not just because it's been around so long, but because it has genuinely kept its original flavor and atmosphere. It draws plenty of reviews — over a thousand people — and the score stays high, reflecting how both Thais and foreign visitors keep coming back. Worth knowing: the shop is fairly old with limited seating, weekend mornings get packed, and you may have to wait or share a table, and some days the custard sells out fast — if you're set on the custard toast, come early to be sure.

If you're looking for a cafe with real character in Talat Noi, Mother Roaster is a name nearly every coffee lover will nod at. It hides on the second floor of an old building in Trok San Chao Rong Kueak, with the ground floor still a workshop full of old engine parts and Sieng Kong odds and ends. Walk past the heaps of parts and up a narrow wooden staircase and you'll find a cafe with old wooden floors and the warm feel of grandma's house. The person who opened it and stands brewing herself is "Grandma Pim," a barista in her 70s who's been with coffee for thirty years, running the shop with her son. What sets it apart from the city's hip cafes is that every cup is "mother's roast" — beans hand-roasted in a pan, a little at a time. It suits true coffee lovers, those who seek out old shops with a story, and anyone who'd rather sit and chat about beans slow-bar style than rush a photo and leave.

The must-try is the hand-roasted black coffee and the drip coffee, with over 30 special beans to choose from, both Thai and imported. Many reviews agree the coffee is "genuinely good" — fragrant and bold, with firm bean quality — and the folks at the shop share their coffee knowledge well, picking a bean to suit your taste. Standouts people order often include the Iced Latte on the Rok, which uses a single ice ball so it doesn't dilute, rich with caramel and dark-chocolate notes; Dark Calamansi, a bold drip with calamansi for a refreshing cut to the richness; and Midnight Plum, coffee mixed with plum juice that many order on the recommendation and get hooked on. Espresso fans have the ROK Presso, the hand-press machine, as another star. Prices start around 80 THB and run to a low-hundreds special cup — fair for hand-roasted bean quality.

The atmosphere is the charm here — old wooden floors, the original doors and windows, hanging plants, an upturned-fishbowl lamp, plastic chairs mixed with antiques, giving the feel of a playful grandma who decorates her own home. Several cats wander about, and the walls of the lane are covered in street art, a pretty photo corner on the walk in. The average per person is about 101–250 THB, and the shop is mainly cash. It's in the heart of Talat Noi, a short walk from MRT Hua Lamphong Exit 1, or you can come from the River City side and park there.

Good to know before you go: the shop opens around 10:00–18:00 and has days off (several sources say closed Mondays, and in some periods it opens only Thursday–Sunday) — check the page or IG before you set out. It's a slow bar, brewing one cup at a time by hand, so when it's busy you may wait a while — patience helps. And what many reviews mention is the straightforward, grandma-style service: some love it as genuine and warm, while some find it brusque, so be prepared and focus on the coffee to enjoy the place fully. Mother Roaster remains a popular pin in Talat Noi because it's original hand-roasted coffee that's hard to find, plus the story of the grandma and the old building that's become a symbol of this neighborhood.