I haven’t explored so many cafes and coffee shops since Amsterdam, well maybe Kiyv. Chiang Mai has so many amazing coffee shops. As I did in Amsterdam, I thought I’d make a list of all my favorites.
Let me start with my top 3 picks. These would be on my YOU MUST GO TO list for Chiang Mai:
Rustic and Blue The Farm Shop: By far one of my favorite places in Chiang Mai and on my must visit list for sure!! Really good coffee, great food, nice selection of smoothies and cocktails too! The atmosphere is just lovely. I visited several times while in Chiang Mai. Somethings with a book, sometimes with my laptop, sometimes with a friend. Never felt rushed or unwelcome to just hangout and enjoy the day. It is a little pricey, but well with it. They do accept credit cards.
Ristr8to – Specialty Coffee: A MUST visit!! It is CASH ONLY and there is often a line, but it is worth the wait. In my opinion, it’s the best coffee in Chiang Mai. The baristas take such care in making each cup of coffee, it truly is art in a cup!! I would also recommend their coffee beans. I tried several varieties at home and enjoyed all of them. This is the smaller location!! They have a larger, cozier cafe just a street away.
Fern Forest Cafe: On my must-visit list for Chiang Mai. The garden is an amazing little oasis of happiness. The coffee is great, food is very tasty, and the staff is by far one of the best in the city. We visited several times while in Chiang Mai and it became Nolan’s favorite cafe. They have a really cool fish pond that my son loved. The staff always left him feed the fish.
In addition to my top three, I visited countless other coffee shops, here are a few more of my favorites:
Brew Fact: Lovely neighborhood coffee. Our house was just around the corner and I stopped by most mornings for a take-away coffee. Really friendly staff and great coffee. Though I never worked from here, they do have a great indoor space. There was almost always a few people inside working on laptops.
Clay Studio Coffee in the Garden: CASH ONLY – always good to know going in! Very cool garden area with lots to take in. Food was just ok, I went for breakfast. Coffee was enjoyable. Great place to relax with a book, but I wouldn’t say you’ll be blown away by the food.
No. 39 Cafe: CASH ONLY. Lovely environment. Lots of little places to explore and hang out. Nice music, free WiFi. I went to read a book, so it was exactly what I was looking for. Coffee was on point, but I didn’t try any of the food.
Roastniyom Coffee: Just fine, nothing to write home about. Nice space if you want to work for a bit. Lots of tables and power outlets.
Into The Woods: Cash only!! Fun little cafe. Really cool decor, nice selection of books to borrow, unique coffees to try, and the food was good too.
See You Soon Cafe: Impressive menu of cocktails and smoothies! Also has a great little shop, which I really enjoyed looking around.
The Coffee Club: is nice. Coffee was good and breakfast was great. I had the avocado toast. It was a little pricey. I would go back. They also had CNN news playing. I haven’t seen American TV in months, so that was cool to see. Staff was friendly. I was starving so I did grab pics of my food but grabbed a few menu pics!
Sadly, I left Chiang Mai before I could visit all the coffee shops on my list. When I return to Chiang Mai, and I will return one-day, here are a few I hope to visit:
There were so many other cafes I never made it to. Here were my sources of inspiration:
- https://thailand.tripcanvas.co/chiang-mai/unique-cafe-restaurants/
- https://www.bontraveler.com/home/thailand/10-coffee-shops-not-to-miss-in-chiang-mai
