Chiang Mai cafes: 16 worth the trip, area by area

If you only have one morning for Chiang Mai cafes, do three. Start at Ristr8to on Nimman for the latte art. Then cross to the Old City for a pour-over at Akha Ama, where the beans come from Akha farmers in the northern hills. Finish across the river in Wat Ket at Khagee, with a canelé and a coffee in a quiet old house.

The other 13 below are the cafes Thai locals and visitors keep sending each other to, grouped by area. Every one was open when we checked on 22 October 2026. Hours change, and plenty of Chiang Mai cafes shut one weekday, so tap the map link before you go.

The 16 Chiang Mai cafes at a glance

Spend is the rough range diners report per person.

Why is Chiang Mai coffee worth the trip?

Because it's grown up the road. Arabica grows in the hills of northern Thailand, from Doi Chang in Chiang Rai to Omkoi in the far south-west of Chiang Mai province. Plenty of the cafes below roast it themselves. Akha Ama buys from Akha farmers, Graph has roasted its own since 2017, and Maled and Thingamajiggy roast in the shop.

So at least once, skip the latte and order a pour-over or filter of a Thai single origin. Then buy a bag to take home. It's the best coffee in Chiang Mai for the simple reason that it hasn't travelled far.

Where are the best cafes in Nimman?

Nimmanhaemin Road, Nimman for short, runs south from Maya mall on the west side of town, a short Grab from the Old City. Cafes line the main road and the numbered sois off it, many of the city's newer ones among them, and it's flat and easy on foot. The first three picks below are within three minutes' walk of each other.

Ristr8to Original

Ristr8to made its name on latte art, and its founder won a world latte art title. It's still the cafe most people mean when they say Chiang Mai coffee. Order the Satan Latte, the best-seller, or a flat white or V60 if you'd rather taste the beans. A cup starts at about 80 baht. It's on the corner of Nimman Soi 3, open 7am to 5:30pm every day, and busiest from 9 to 11am. After 3pm you'll usually get a seat. Map

Yelloo

Yelloo is a Thai favourite about a block north of Ristr8to, at 6/35 Nimman Road. It's for people who care what's in the grinder: the espresso bar names its single origin right down to the farm and the process, next to the house blend. Order a latte, or ask what's on the bar that week. Open daily from 8am until about 5 or 6pm. Map

Fohhide

Fohhide is on the top floor of a building on Nimman Soi 5, and it has what the street-level cafes don't: Doi Suthep straight ahead over the rooftops. Come for the view. The coffee is good and fairly priced for Nimman. It never gets as packed as the places downstairs, so any time works. Open 8am to 5pm, until 6pm Friday to Sunday. Map

Maled Coffee Roasters

Maled is a small roastery on Old Airport Road, about 15 minutes' walk south of Ristr8to or a short Grab. They roast in the shop and sell beans by the bag, and it's quiet enough to sit and work. Order whatever they've roasted that week as an espresso or a filter, and take a bag with you. Open 7am to 5pm every day. Map

Where should you get coffee in the Old City?

The Old City is the square inside the moat, and its cafes sit between the temples. Everything here is within a 15-minute walk of the next stop, so it's easy to pair a coffee with Wat Phra Singh. There's a walking route for a morning further down.

Akha Ama Phrasingh

If you want the northern Thai bean story in one cup, drink it here. Akha Ama is a social enterprise started in 2010 that buys from Akha farmers in the hills of northern Thailand, and its single origins are named after the farmers who grew them. Order the month's single origin as a pour-over, and buy a bag of beans. The shop is at 175/2 Ratchadamnoen Road, two minutes from Wat Phra Singh. Open 8am to 5:30pm every day. It's quietest at opening and busiest around 2pm. Map

Graph Cafe

The first Graph is a tiny room on Ratvithi Road in the north-east of the Old City, about eight minutes' walk from Tha Phae Gate. Graph roasts its own coffee, much of it from beans grown around Chiang Mai, and it's known for drinks that play with tonic and charcoal. To taste the beans, order a filter of a Thai single origin. Seats are few and you may share a table. Open 9am to 5pm daily. If it's full, Graph Contemporary on Charoen Muang Road, on the Wat Ket side, has more room, and its carrot cake gets good reviews. Map

Fern Forest Cafe

Fern Forest is a garden of ferns and shade trees on Singharat Road, about seven minutes' walk north of Akha Ama. People come for the garden and the cake counter: the coconut cream pie and the fruit tarts. It's one of the pricier stops, about 200 to 400 baht a head with food. Open from 8am until 7 or 8pm daily. It's full from about 11am to 4pm, so come at opening for a quiet table. Map

Khom Chocolate House

For the friend who doesn't drink coffee, or for the afternoon slump. Khom makes its chocolate from cacao grown in Thailand, and its drinking chocolates have won international awards. Order the Double Dark Chocolate. It's at 24/2 Ratchamanka Road, about seven minutes' walk south of Akha Ama, open 10am to 6pm every day. Map

What are the best cafes in Santitham?

Santitham is the residential grid north of Huay Kaew Road, between Nimman and the Old City's north-west corner. Flats, cheap food, fewer visitors. The cafes here are where people come to read and work.

Ombra Caffe

Ombra is on the Nimman side of Santitham, about ten minutes' walk from Ristr8to, in a quiet residential lane. It's an Italian-leaning coffee bar with a green courtyard: espresso, cappuccino, cold brew and a breakfast menu. It's quiet, with plenty of seats and power points, which is why remote workers like it. Open 8am to 5pm. One older listing has it closed on Sundays, so check before a weekend visit. Map

Early Owls

Early Owls is a garden cafe in a renovated teak house in Chang Phueak, north of the Old City, with a lawn and a pond. It's a brunch place first: Western breakfasts, salads, fresh juices, and decaf, which is rare in town. Open 9am to 6:30pm, closed Wednesdays. Come in the morning. The garden gets hot in the afternoon. Map

Which cafes are on the river in Wat Ket?

Wat Ket is the old quarter on the east bank of the Ping River, over Nawarat Bridge from Tha Phae Road. Wooden shophouses, a temple, and some of the best baking in Chiang Mai. It's about a 15-minute walk from Tha Phae Gate.

If you're here for Loy Krathong and Yi Peng (23 to 25 November 2026), this is your side of town: people float their krathongs on the river around Nawarat Bridge. Our Loy Krathong post has the dates and where to go.

Khagee

Khagee is a small, Japanese-style bakery cafe in a renovated house by the river, on Chiang Mai-Lamphun Soi 1, and its bread is made with natural yeast. Order a latte with a canelé or a scone. The coffee is good and plain; the baking is why you came. Expect about 100 to 250 baht a head, which is a lot for the size, and service can be brisk. It opens 9am to 5pm, but one listing has it closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, so check its Facebook page before an early-week visit. Midday and weekend afternoons are the busy times. Map

Forest Bake

Forest Bake is a tiny bakery in a lane behind Wat Ket, with every seat outside in a shaded garden. The cake counter is the point. The carrot cake and the lime cake both have fans, and there's quiche for something savoury. Open 9am to 5pm, closed Wednesdays. Come before 11, because it's busiest from noon to 2pm, and bring mosquito spray. It's about ten minutes' walk from Khagee. Map

The Baristro x Ping River

Further up the east bank, on Patan Road about 3 km north of Nawarat Bridge, The Baristro's riverside branch is a big, bright room with tables looking straight onto the Ping. Thai cafe lists rate it for the setting, and the menu runs from espresso to iced sodas. Open 8am to 6pm every day, busiest from 1 to 3pm. It's too far to walk from the centre, so take a Grab. Map

Which garden cafes outside Chiang Mai are worth a Grab?

Out of town, the cafes come with gardens and rice fields, and you'll need a Grab or a driver. Much Room is a short ride south; the two Mae Rim picks are 15 to 20 km north of the Old City. From November it's the cool season, the nicest time of year to sit outside.

This is the trip where company helps most. A Chiang Mai friend can come along to your plan, split the cake counter with you, take the photos in the garden and sort out the Grab back in Thai.

Much Room Cafe

Much Room is in Pa Daet, about 3 km south of the Old City: a mushroom-themed cafe in a shady garden with big trees and running water. Come for the setting and the cakes. The drinks list is short, and the espresso splits opinion. About 200 to 400 baht a head. Open 10am to 6pm daily, busiest around 2pm. Map

Fleur Cafe & Eatery

Fleur is a European-style house in a rose garden in Mae Rim, about 15 km north of town. Make it lunch. People come for the food and the garden, and those who make the trip only for coffee tend to leave underwhelmed. About 200 to 400 baht a head. Open 9am to 6pm. It's busiest from noon to 3pm, so come at 10. Map

Thingamajiggy Coffee Roaster

Thingamajiggy is a tiny wooden cafe and roastery in the rice fields at Huai Sai, Mae Rim, with mountains all the way round. The room was designed after the area's old rice granaries. Order their own coffee with the carrot or banana cake. It opens at 7am and shuts at 2pm, so it's a morning trip, and it's listed as closed on Wednesdays (one listing says otherwise, so check). Akha Ama's Living Factory, where you can see how the beans are processed, is about a kilometre away: 9am to 5pm, closed Wednesdays. Map

A morning cafe route in the Old City

Four cafes and a temple, about 3 km on foot, done by lunch. Wear something that covers your shoulders and knees for Wat Phra Singh.

1. 8:00 Fern Forest Cafe. Breakfast or cake in the garden while it's still quiet.
2. 9:30 Akha Ama Phrasingh. Seven minutes' walk south. A pour-over of the month's single origin, and a bag of beans.
3. 10:00 Wat Phra Singh. Two minutes away.
4. 10:45 Khom Chocolate House. About eight minutes south-east. A drinking chocolate, because you've had enough coffee.
5. 11:30 Graph Cafe. About 15 minutes north-east. A filter of Thai beans. Tha Phae Gate is eight minutes on, for lunch.

Go cafe hopping with a Thai friend

Cafe hopping is better with two: twice the cakes, someone to talk to between stops, and photos with you in them. Take this list, pick a friend in Chiang Mai, send the day and the time, and meet at the first cafe. They come along to your plan, order in Thai and share the cake. It's booked by the hour and always platonic. Their time is the booking; coffee, cake and Grab rides are paid on the day. Here's how booking works.

Questions people ask

What is the best cafe in Chiang Mai?

For coffee, Ristr8to Original on Nimman and Akha Ama Phrasingh in the Old City are the two people send each other to most. For a setting, Fern Forest Cafe in the Old City and Forest Bake in Wat Ket. For a view, Fohhide on Nimman or Thingamajiggy in the Mae Rim rice fields.

Where is the best coffee in Chiang Mai?

Go where they roast northern Thai beans: Akha Ama, Graph, Maled and Thingamajiggy. Order a pour-over or filter of a Thai single origin. Ristr8to is the pick for milk drinks and latte art.

Which area of Chiang Mai has the most cafes?

Nimman. Nimmanhaemin Road and its numbered sois are packed with cafes, close enough to walk between, and many of the city's newer ones open there. The Old City comes next, with cafes between the temples.

Are Chiang Mai cafes closed on any day?

Quite a few close one day a week. On this list, Forest Bake and Early Owls close on Wednesdays, and so does Akha Ama's Living Factory in Mae Rim. Khagee may close early in the week, so check before you go on a Monday or Tuesday.

How much is a coffee in Chiang Mai?

Most hot drinks in Chiang Mai cafes cost about 50 to 150 baht. A cup at Ristr8to starts at about 80 baht. Garden cafes with full menus, such as Fern Forest, Much Room and Fleur, run to about 200 to 400 baht a head with food.

Can I go cafe hopping in Chiang Mai with a local?

Yes. Pick a Chiang Mai friend, choose the cafes and the time, and they'll meet you at the first one. They come along to your plan, and you book their time by the hour.