🔄 Updated 21 Jun 2026
The charm of Trang's cafes is that you get two eras in one place. Tubtieng is the heart of the old town, with rows of shophouses that are decades old — some were once rubber factories, old schools, or traditional tea houses. Today they've become cafes that still keep their bare concrete walls and original tiles. Walk a few steps and you'll hit a kopi shop that brews coffee into a condensed-milk tin the way it has for 60 years, then a minimalist design cafe pouring latte art. We ranked these from local and visitor reviews, focusing on places that are actually open and worth sitting at right now.
10 Trang cafes worth trying
Tubtieng Old Town Cafe
The old-shophouse cafe that's become the face of Trang's old town. The building was once a machete workshop and rubber-rolling mill, and inside you get classic bare concrete walls hung with old photos telling the story of Trang's past — a throwback mood that photographs well from every angle. The standout drinks are kopi cham (hot coffee mixed with Ceylon tea) and milk tea over ice. There are desserts, one-plate meals, and snacks too, so it's a good place to settle in over a coffee and take in the old building.
Kopi Shop (80-year-old classic)
An old-school coffee shop that has been part of Trang since 1942 and was the hangout for teenagers in the '70s and '80s — and still is today. The coffee here is traditional kopi, dark-roasted and brewed strong, with a heavy aroma, eaten the Trang way with patongko (fried dough sticks) or kaya toast. The atmosphere is that of a genuine old tea house. Come here to soak up the kopi culture, not for a polished, picture-perfect cafe.
Gray 18 Cafe
A grey-toned cafe with a clean, understated look on Wiset Kun Road, across from the entrance to the old Pornsirikul School. It's tidy, with good photo corners inside and out, and the coffee is well made and smooth. It suits people who'd rather sit and chill in a nicely styled room than at an old-school joint. The average spend per person is reasonable, and it's a popular meet-up for young people in town.
OBCS — Optimum Balance Coffee Stores
A clean white-toned specialty cafe in Soi Wiset Kun, with both a cool air-conditioned indoor area and an outdoor zone set in a nicely kept garden. The focus is on quality coffee — they take their pour-over and espresso seriously — so it suits people who know their coffee and want a bright, photogenic space. It's one of the spots the town's coffee crowd brings up often.
RumLuk Cafe
A retro-styled cafe and restaurant set in the old Burana Rumluk School building in Soi Wiset Kun, with a charming old-school feel. The focus is on food made from good ingredients, including healthier options, so you can come for a proper meal or just linger over a long coffee. It's a fit for anyone who wants the old-building atmosphere plus real plates of food, not just sweets.
Kopi Sathani
An old-school coffee shop right by Trang train station, open for over 30 years. Walk out of the station, turn right, and it's about 100 meters down the road. It serves kopi, breakfast, and dim sum in the atmosphere of an old tae-tiam (Chinese coffee house). It suits travelers who arrive in Trang by train and want somewhere to sit for a coffee and dim sum before starting the day.
Kopi Ko Lor, Wang Tor Junction
A classic kopi shop at Wang Tor junction on Wiset Kun Road, open long hours from 6am to 9pm. It serves traditional old-recipe kopi alongside dim sum and Trang-style breakfast. The big draw is that it's open all day, so you can drop in for both breakfast and an evening visit. It's a regular spot for people in the neighborhood, with easy-on-the-wallet prices.
The Tree Sleep Space
One of the first cafes in Trang to have a co-working zone. The space is open and roomy, on Choem Panya Road in Tubtieng. The working zone runs 100 baht for 2 hours, making it a fit for anyone who wants to sit and work or read for a long stretch — there's Wi-Fi and plenty of seating. It's a solid choice when you want to focus rather than chase photo corners.
At Most Cafe
A grey-black-and-white cafe in town with lots of photo corners, cool air-con, and Wi-Fi — good for both sipping a drink and getting some work done. It's a minimalist spot that young people in town like to come and shoot photos at, with a full lineup of coffee and sweet drinks.
Chiccafe
A loft-style cafe in town on Wiset Kun Road, with free Wi-Fi and a low-key, comfortable feel — good for a rest stop or for working somewhere that isn't crowded. It's close to the old town, so you can easily walk on to see the old buildings or hit another spot.
Hit several spots in one walk
Trang's new-wave cafes cluster mainly around Wiset Kun Road and Soi Wiset Kun, so a short walk or drive gets you to several. Gray 18, OBCS, RumLuk, and Chiccafe all sit within an easy radius — you can plan to do them in one go. The old kopi shops, meanwhile, are in the old town and near the train station.
Want to taste deeper? Try a Trang food tour or cooking class
Half a day with a local who knows the lanes — or cooking a dish yourself — teaches you more than just eating. Book ahead on Klook or GetYourGuide.
What is kopi, and why is Trang's old-school coffee so good?
Kopi is southern-style old-school coffee, drawing on Chinese and Malay influences. The beans are roasted very dark — some shops roast them with butter and sugar until they pick up a toasty, caramelized aroma — then brewed through a traditional cloth sock and served hot with sweetened condensed milk, or made into iced o-liang. The flavor is far heavier and stronger than your typical cafe coffee. In Trang, kopi is tied to the lives of rubber tappers who wake before dawn and stop at a tea house for coffee and dim sum before heading out to work. That's why many kopi shops open while it's still dark and pass their recipes down through the generations — and some still brew coffee into a condensed-milk tin and serve it the old way they have for over 60 years.
- Hot kopi — old-school coffee with sweetened condensed milk, dark and aromatic, eaten with patongko (fried dough sticks) for dunking
- O-liang — iced black coffee with sugar, cutting the richness and cooling you down nicely on a hot, sunny day
- Kopi cham — hot coffee mixed with Ceylon tea, a layered flavor that Tubtieng does especially well
- Hot tea — a tea-house staple, ordered alongside dim sum in the morning the Trang way
- Kaya toast / patongko — the can't-skip snacks to go with your kopi
New cafes in old buildings — how to get good photos
What sets Trang's cafes apart is that the old buildings are genuinely old — not newly built to look vintage. Bare concrete walls, old patterned tiles, wooden window shutters, and light slanting in through the late morning all give your photos some depth. Come from morning to early afternoon, when the natural light is soft — you'll get nicer shots than firing a flash.
Old-building corner at Tubtieng
Bare concrete walls and old photos of Trang — shoot it next to a cup of kopi cham for a retro mood
Clean white zone at OBCS
A bright white backdrop with the outdoor garden — frame in a glass of pour-over for an airy, open shot
Grey wall at Gray 18
Understated grey tones with the in-room light — good for portraits and drink shots
Straight talk
A lot of Trang's new-wave cafes are small with limited seating, so on weekends or long holidays they get packed and you may have to wait. As for the old kopi shops, don't expect a polished, styled-up room — the charm is in the strong coffee and the old tea-house atmosphere. If you want both, plan your day to hit the old shops in the morning and sit at the new cafes in the afternoon — that works out best.
Plan a one-day Trang cafe crawl
Old-school kopi + a walk through the old town
New-wave cafes around Wiset Kun
Plan a full eat-and-explore trip around Trang
See the Trang travel guide →