10 Most Popular Cafés
in Thong Lo-Ekkamai

When the talk turns to the coffee shop that serious Bangkok coffee people have to try at least once, Roots at The Commons Thong Lo is one of the first names that comes up. It's a Thai specialty coffee roaster that has been a pioneer of Thai coffee since 2013 — it roasts its own beans, works directly with farmers in the North, and is owned by "Te" Varatt Vichit-Vadakan, a Thai barista champion who has competed at a high level. So if you're serious about how coffee tastes, or you want to see what well-roasted Thai coffee can be, this is a great place to do it.

The drink people talk about most is the Espresso, where you can tell the barista you want it strong (intense, full body) or smooth (mellow, easy to drink) and they'll pick the bean and pull the shot accordingly. Another true signature is the Cold Brew, especially the White Cold Brew (with milk) that regulars are hooked on — clean and crisp but with depth. The one that beats the Bangkok heat best is the Orange Tonic, or orange coffee — cold brew mixed with fresh orange juice and tonic, fizzy with a bright sweet-sour lift. And if you want to try a single origin from beans the shop roasts itself, there's a rotating selection by the season, plus lighter options like the Cacao Nibs, topped with cacao nibs for extra texture.

The reviews mostly point the same way — the coffee is genuinely good, the quality is consistent across branches, the roasted beans smell wonderful, and the baristas are attentive, easy to talk to and good at recommending. The pastry prices are fair too. As for coffee, the Espresso starts around 100 THB, the Orange Tonic about 120 THB and an Iced Latte around 140 THB — mid-range leaning slightly higher, but fair for Thong Lo.

Worth knowing: this branch is a small showcase bar with only a few counter seats, so most people order and carry their cup to the central seating area of The Commons. On weekends or busy times you may have to wait in line and find your own seat. It opens daily roughly 07:00–17:00 on the Market Floor of The Commons Thong Lo Soi 17 (Sukhumvit 55), a short walk down the soi from BTS Thong Lo. We'd suggest coming for an early-to-mid morning to dodge the crowds and enjoy a relaxed atmosphere.

When the talk turns to legendary Thong Lo brunch spots, Roast is one of the first names coffee people and brunch fans think of. The shop has been around since 2011, starting out as a self-roasting coffee shop before growing into a full all-day eatery. It now sits on the very top floor (Top Yard) of The Commons Thong Lo Soi 17 — an airy, open space ringed with greenery, the kind of place where you can settle in for a long, easy brunch and a chat with friends, or sit quietly with a coffee and get some work done. If you like a Western-style café that takes its food and its coffee equally seriously, this place covers it all.

The dishes people order most are the Eggs Benedict (both ham and smoked salmon), with runny poached eggs over hollandaise; the soft, juicy French toast; the thick American pancakes; and the Roast Breakfast, a big plate loaded with eggs, sausage and bacon. Come for dinner and there's steak and other mains to choose from, paired with coffee the shop roasts every bean of itself. Plenty of reviews praise the latte and the single-origin coffee as genuinely good — fitting for a place that began as a coffee shop. Desserts like the Dutch Baby are another that fans come back to order.

On flavor the reviews mostly run positive, especially on the coffee and the atmosphere, though some note that when it's busy the service slows down and the wait for food and coffee runs a bit long, and that prices are on the higher side compared with a regular brunch place (many mains touch 280–400 THB). But with a 4.5 Google score from several thousand reviews, it's clear most people still come back. Another plus is that it's a shop expats and tourists know well, with a full English menu that's easy to order from.

It's inside The Commons Thong Lo Soi 17, a short walk from BTS Thong Lo or a quick motorbike-taxi hop. It opens daily 09:00–22:00 (last kitchen order 21:15). Worth knowing: late mornings on weekends get very busy and tables fill fast, so if you don't want to wait, come before noon or book ahead. And if you can't get a seat inside, you can carry your order out to the open Commons seating area too.

When the talk turns to the pioneering Ekkamai cafés that are still going strong today, One Ounce for Onion is a name nearly every coffee person knows. The shop hides at the very end of a small soi off Ekkamai 12 (the one that cuts through to Sukhumvit 71). It shares its space with the Onion clothing brand of "House," the guitarist of the band Slur, so it carries a hipster–industrial-loft feel you won't find in a chain. It suits people who want to slip away from the bustle for a quiet coffee, workers who bring a laptop and dig in, or couples after an easy, uncrowded corner.

The hero here is the specialty coffee, made with beans from Brave Roasters — you can choose which bean you want. Classic types can go straight for a latte or iced americano, but the ones people talk about are the refreshing experiments, like the Black Chinotto, cold-brew coffee mixed with chinotto orange — bitter, sweet and sharply sour, perfect for hot weather — and the one quirky enough to become a signature, coffee with luo han guo, which adds a gentle herbal sweetness unlike anything else. On the food side there are soft waffles topped with ice cream, good donuts (lately in partnership with Brassica), bakery, pasta and salad. A standout dessert reviews love is the waffle with lemon-yogurt ice cream, the sweet-sour cutting through any richness nicely.

Real reviews lean positive — the words that pop up most in Google reviews are dirty coffee, donuts, waffles, chill vibe and friendly staff. Many praise the coffee as genuinely well made, fitting for a specialty shop. The gripes are that the food menu has shrunk from before and that parking is hard to find since it's in the middle of a residential area. Prices are in line with cafés in this neighborhood — coffee from around 70 THB, special drinks and desserts around 120–180 THB.

Worth knowing before you go: the shop really is hard to find, with no big sign at the mouth of the soi — open Google Maps and drop the pin to be sure, or call a Grab to the door, which is easiest. It opens 09:00–18:00 daily. If you're a true coffee fan after a quiet café with character, this is still a pin worth stopping at in Ekkamai.

If you're a true coffee fan who wants to taste the bean more than shoot a photo, Phil Coffee Company is a name Thong Lo-Ekkamai coffee people bring up often. The shop has been around since 2011, starting as a small roastery before opening a café. The name "PHIL" comes from the founding brothers and, in Greek, means "love." Its real strength is that it roasts its own beans in small batches every week, so the coffee is always fresh, never stale stock — perfect if you want to try a single origin by the cup and, if you love it, grab a bag to take home.

The drinks people order most are the Filter coffee (drip) with a rotating single origin — past lots have come from Chiang Rai, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Kenya, plus special lots like the Panama Casa Ruiz. For something stronger there's espresso and cold brew. Most reviews praise the quality of the beans and how clean and clear the drip comes out, with flavors that read in distinct layers, and baristas who can talk coffee in detail and steer you to the right cup. The food is limited and light — homemade granola, açaí bowls and bakery — so if you're after a big spread of food you'll need to shift gears, because the hero here really is the coffee in the cup.

Coffee starts around 100 THB, fair for self-roasted specialty beans. The shop sits in a 1970s Thai house tucked down a quiet dead-end soi, with bare cement walls, old tiled floors, 1990s music playing and plants all around — a raw, easy feel, nothing twee. You can work here or sit quietly with a cup, and since it isn't as packed as the famous cafés, you get the calm.

It's on Sukhumvit Soi 61 on the Ekkamai side, about 600-something meters from BTS Ekkamai, though hidden down a small soi, so pull up the map to find it more easily. Hours are roughly 09:00–18:00 on weekdays and 10:00–17:30 on weekends (times can change, so check the page before you go to be sure). Worth knowing: the shop is small with limited seating, so when it's busy you may wait a little, and this is a place for people who want to drink coffee seriously, not a fluffy photo café. If that's your thing, you're on the right track.

If you want a Thong Lo-Ekkamai café that does both great coffee and bread baked fresh in-house every day, Bartels (the Sukhumvit branch) is a spot people around here are genuinely hooked on. It was founded by a Danish-Norwegian couple, Eva and Nicolai Bartels, starting from their first shop in the middle of Sukhumvit, on the stretch between BTS Thong Lo and Phrom Phong. The concept is a Scandinavian-style bakery that bakes its own sourdough every morning with a 24-to-48-hour ferment, presses cold-pressed juices to order, and serves specialty coffee alongside. If you're after a café where you can sit a while over a real breakfast or brunch with a good cup, this place fits perfectly.

The hero here is the sourdough sandwich — crackly crust, chewy crumb with that fermented aroma. The one people order so often it has become the signature is the Grilled Tuna Melt, which plenty of first-timers say turns them into regulars, along with egg dishes like Eggs Benedict and avocado toast. On the coffee side there's everything from a smooth-milk flat white and a round espresso to an iced latte, and if you want something refreshing without coffee, there are several fresh cold-pressed juices to choose from. There's also a rotating lineup of in-house pastries and cakes. Most real reviews praise the genuinely good bread, fresh ingredients, and flavors that stay consistent every visit.

Google reviews skew very positive — words that come up often are tasty bread, hearty sandwiches, good coffee and friendly staff. Many like that the room is airy and easy, good for working or meeting friends. The common gripes are that weekend mornings get busy and tables fill fast, and prices run a little above an average café in the craft-bakery way — but with a Google score of 4.5 from over 1,700 reviews, it's clear most people come back. Coffee and drinks land around 100-180 THB, with the big sandwiches a bit higher.

It sits at 760/1 Sukhumvit Road, on the stretch between Thong Lo (Soi 55) and Phrom Phong, walkable from the BTS on either side. It's open daily 07:00–18:00, an easy spot for breakfast before you start the day or a break while wandering the area. Worth knowing: parking is limited, so the BTS is easiest, and if you want the morning loaves still warm, come around opening when everything's stocked and the crowd is thin.

Kurasu is a specialty-coffee café from Kyoto that crossed the sea to open in Thailand back in 2019, and it now sits on the corner of the Thong Lo soi (Sukhumvit 57) in Thong Lo-Ekkamai — walk straight there along the skywalk from BTS Thong Lo. The shop is a soft cream-yellow building, minimalist Japanese inside with warm wood tones, an open counter where you can sit and watch the baristas brew, and shelves of coffee beans and Japanese drip gear lining the wall. It suits serious coffee fans, people who like a quiet corner to work in, and café-goers who want to try the real thing from Kyoto.

The drinks people talk about most are the matcha. The shop uses matcha from Morihan, a long-established Kyoto tea maker, and the must-orders are the Matcha Latte Espresso (a coffee shot added to a matcha latte) and the Dirty Matcha. For the no-sugar crowd there's a Matcha Latte without syrup. Many real reviews agree the matcha is silky and well balanced, not cloyingly sweet, with a trailing umami note. On the coffee side it uses single-origin beans selected from roasteries across Japan, with clear, complex profiles, and if you like it cold there's Cold Brew. There's also a branch-only Kumo Latte that uses coconut cream instead of milk, scented with pandan for a Thai touch. If you're hungry, try the Anko Toast — thick, soft toast with sweet red bean and butter, a signature here.

Prices run roughly 100–250 THB per person — the Matcha Latte Espresso about 180 THB, an espresso 100 THB — mid-range for Japanese specialty. The staff speak fluent English and there's an English menu, so it's easy for international visitors to order. It opens daily around 08:00–17:00. Worth knowing: there isn't much seating and there's no parking, so the BTS is easiest. If you're hooked, you can buy beans, drip bags and brewing gear to make your own at home — true to the shop's idea that good coffee can be brewed anywhere.

If you want one serious coffee café in Ekkamai, Kaizen Coffee Co. is among the first names coffee people have talked about since 2015. It was started by three friends who soaked up Australian coffee culture — originally in Tai Ping Tower before moving to the far end of Ekkamai Road (Soi Sukhumvit 63), a two-storey glass greenhouse-style building across from C Ekkamai. It's a great fit for anyone who wants good coffee plus a full breakfast or brunch plate, not just a café for photos.

The must-order is the Flat White, which plenty of reviews agree has silky, soft microfoam and a rounded, not-bitter shot, along with the Nitro Cold Brew — nitrogen-charged coffee that Kaizen was one of the first in Thailand to do, pulled from the tap with a creamy head like a stout, smooth and silky to drink. On the food side, don't miss the Breakfast Burger, loaded with bacon, cheese and a fried egg, and the signature Matcha Lava Cheesecake that oozes matcha when you cut into it. If you like brunch, the egg dishes like the Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon and the Miso Scrambled Eggs are well done too.

The space is airy, with glass up to the ceiling, oak tones and dark grey brick — comfortable to sit in, with pretty light all day. Most reviews praise that "it all comes together — good atmosphere, good food, good coffee." The note many people raise is that prices are fairly premium: coffee starts around 130 THB and brunch plates run 295–395 THB, in line with specialty cafés in this area. Weekends get busy and parking is limited, so coming a bit early is more comfortable.

The shop is popular because it hits the Ekkamai crowd just right — genuinely good coffee, brewed with attention to detail, plus food cooked fresh in the kitchen and bread and cakes baked in-house. It opens daily 07:30–16:30, easy to reach from BTS Ekkamai with a short motorbike-taxi or drive into the soi. It's a good spot to meet for breakfast or settle in to work quietly, away from the Sukhumvit bustle.

If you've ever scrolled social media and seen an all-white café with a pretty curved staircase that people line up to shoot all day, that's Flat+White Cafe. The shop started in Tai Ping Tower on the Ekkamai Soi 26-28 side before moving to its own five-storey "milk carton" building in Soi Thararom 2, which connects Thong Lo 19 to Ekkamai. The whole concept plays on the image of a layer of milk slowly pouring over coffee, with walls shaped like waves of milk foam designed by Context Studio. It suits café-goers who want both good coffee and a pretty photo corner in one place.

The drink people order most is the Flat white — the shop's namesake — with silky milk and a well-rounded taste, along with the nitrogen coffee, poured out with a soft foam like beer. If you like it sweet and refreshing, try the Strawberry Melon Milk (around 150 THB), a cold blended milk with a fragrant melon scent. Dessert fans shouldn't miss the carrot cake (170 THB), which plenty of reviews call moist, not dry, and the shakes made with Guss Damn Good ice cream. Another standout is the Dirty and the Mel+Ple Iced Latte with maple cream. On the savory side there's everything from fruit French toast to eggs benedict and shrimp spaghetti, in case you want to sit down for a proper meal.

Inside, the ceilings are high, natural light pours in, there's seating over several floors, the air-con is cold and there's Wi-Fi, so it works for both working and meeting friends. Real reviews praise the staff as chatty and friendly and the coffee as good value. Drinks run about 120-170 THB, standard for Thong Lo-Ekkamai. The shop scores 4.6 on Google from nearly 400 reviews, which speaks to its popularity.

Worth knowing before you go: the shop opens 9am to 6pm, closed Wednesdays, with last kitchen order at 5pm and coffee at 5:30pm. There's parking out front for only 2-3 cars (extra parking is available at Park 19 Hotel), and the shop is a fairly long walk from BTS Thong Lo, so a motorbike-taxi or driving yourself is recommended. Come in the morning before the crowds and you'll get the pretty staircase corner in peace.

House of Susan Croissant is a small white cottage-style house in Soi Ekkamai 24 (Sukhumvit 63) that has become a pin for croissant fans. The selling point is "every piece baked fresh, into the oven only once you order." The shopfront has a glass window so you can watch the kitchen shaping dough live, and whoever walks in gets a croissant that's still warm and fragrant, crisp outside and soft inside. It suits anyone who loves handmade bakery that isn't sitting out all day, plus café-goers who want to settle into a quiet corner of Ekkamai.

The items people talk about most are the mini croissants with generous fillings, especially the "salted-egg lava," which oozes a rich, salty filling, and the "truffle cream," deeply fragrant for those who like a bold taste. For sweet-and-tart, try the "raspberry lychee," which real reviews say has a silky custard cream with the sweetness cut just right by the tartness. Another hero is the Frido, or cronut (a donut made from croissant dough), in both almond-cream and bacon-mushroom-cream versions — bite in for layers of crisp pastry and a packed filling, a hard-to-find item many people come specifically for.

Prices start gently at around 35 THB for a mini croissant up to the low hundreds for a premium-filled Frido, averaging about 100–250 THB per head. The shop opens early from 07:00 until around 18:30 (Saturdays close a touch earlier). It's easy to reach from BTS Ekkamai, then into Soi Ekkamai 24 — the shop is the second house on the right, with parking out front. Its Wongnai score is 4.1 from over 60 reviewers, and its Instagram has followers in the tens of thousands, reflecting a genuinely loyal fan base.

Worth knowing: because everything is baked fresh to order, at some times you may wait around 10–30 minutes, so on weekends or busy afternoons, allow extra time. Downstairs seating is limited and the shop takes cash only. We'd suggest coming a bit early to get the full range without a long wait. Some items are seasonal and rotate, so check the page before you come.

PACAMARA Coffee Roasters x Specialty Coffee Lab, the Thong Lo 25 branch, is the flagship of a Thai specialty-coffee brand that started in Chiang Mai. The shop is a two-storey white house set deep inside Thong Lo Soi 25 (Sukhumvit 55), split between a café zone and a Specialty Coffee Lab that runs serious coffee classes. It suits coffee lovers who want a good self-roasted cup, people who settle in to work for hours, and anyone after a quiet corner away from the Thong Lo bustle.

The drinks people talk about most are the signature dirties, like the Murasaki Dirty made with soft, fragrant Japanese taro, and the Monburan Caffe Latte inspired by Mont Blanc cake, blending Japanese roasted chestnut with chestnut cream for a gentle, well-judged sweetness. All the coffee bases come from a house blend the shop roasts itself, full-bodied and bold to the last sip per the reviews. If you like the unusual, order the Snow Cold Brew — coffee jelly topped with snow-shaved milk and a shot of espresso poured over. For dessert there's the Very Berry green-tea pancakes, which reviews call soft, chewy and beautifully balanced.

On price, espresso drinks start around 95 THB, slow-bar coffee about 120 THB and pancakes around 220 THB, in the going rate for a specialty café in Thong Lo. The downstairs is open and airy with a big coffee counter and natural light through the glass panes, while upstairs is a comfortable sofa zone — quiet, with outlets — perfect for working or reading for a long stretch. There's parking out front for about 5-6 cars.

The shop is popular because it's both a café serious about bean quality and a coffee school in one, with founders who are internationally certified coffee trainers. Worth knowing: the shop is deep down the soi, so you have to walk in a bit; on weekend late mornings it gets busy and parking fills fast; and the main hours are midday to evening, so check the times before you go if you're planning an evening visit.