The best cafes in Chiang Mai

A bit of context

As huge coffee lovers, this post covers some of our absolute favourite cafes in Chiang Mai. Thailand is one of the top coffee producers in the world, but until recently this has largely been focused on producing Robusta for commercial use. Now though, there is an emergence of Arabica and Robusta being grown for domestic which is trickling down into small batch coffee producers, roasters and sellers. Chiang Mai is an amazing place to visit for many reasons, but you can now add coffee to that list as well.

Below we’ve set out the cafe’s we love, which focus on great coffee, great locations, and (for the digital nomads among us) great places to work.

Macnuts Coffee

Macnuts Coffee is a just outside of Chiang Mai Old Town, to the North and very close to Wat Lok Moli temple which makes this a perfect stop off point if you’re in that part of town visiting the temple.

It’s more of a ‘hole in the wall’ for takeaways but it has a bit of seating outside in the shade. The real selling point of this place is the quality of the coffee and the care that goes into making it.

The cafe has it’s own small roastery and shares it’s skills online, you can often see the baristas recording their roasting and coffee making process. The shop also sells coffee both in small bags or wholesale.

The staff are friendly, coffee is delicious and the menu is small, meaning the focus is on getting things just right.

Price bracket: under 100฿

Opening times: 09:00-18:00 all week

Socials: IG @macnuts.coffee

Location: Sriphum, Maneenopparat, Muang, Chiang Mai

Ma Lune

Ma Lune isn’t instantly noticeable when walking along Wua Lai road, but it would be a shame to miss it. With it’s beautiful wooden chairs and tables, great music and relaxed, welcoming vibes it’s absolutely a must visit if you’re looking for a great cafe in Chiang Mai. It’s very close to the Silver Temple if you’re visiting that as well.

The cafe also welcomes digital workers so this is a great spot if you’re looking to set up camp in a cafe in Chiang Mai to get some work done.

Ma Lune focuses on coffee from Northern Thailand and offers lots of choice of different coffee beans for your coffee. The owner is very knowledgeable and we had a great conversation with him about the recent rise and interest in small batch coffee roasteries in Thailand. Chiang Mai absolutely is the capital of this, with the owner moving from Chiang Rai to open up his cafe.

Price bracket: under 100฿

Opening times: 08:30-19:00 all week

Location: Wua Lai Rd, Haiya, Mueng, Chiang Mai 50100

Weave Artisan Society

We almost didn’t go here on our hunt for good coffee in Chiang Mai, but I’m so glad we did. The building is a little hard to find, as you’re walking towards it you’ll feel like you’ve got lost and you’re just in a dusty car park! Keep going, it’ll spring up.

The coffee is great but the building and vibe is what make this place amazing. Weave Artisan Society is set in a huge warehouse, with beautiful polished concrete, lots of green plants, tall windows, a stunning bar and loads of co-working space – you’d be forgiven for thinking you had stumbled into a cafe in Shoreditch, London.

You could absolutely stay for a few hours here with a good book or your laptop. So if you’re looking for a good places to work digitally in Chiang Mai, this is also a great option.

This cafe does a range of pastries and cakes as well which are delicious. The coffee is a little more pricy than other places but you’re paying for the hipster space here!

A pizza restaurant, chocolate shop and jewelry store also share the building which makes it a fun and vibrant place to spend some time.

Price bracket: under 200฿

Opening times: 09:00-00:00 Friday – Wednesday; 09:00-17:30 Thursday

Socials: IG @weavearitsansociety

Location: 12/8 Wua Lai Rd Soi 3, Tambon Hai Ya, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50100

Gallery Drip Coffee

This cafe is actually set within the Arts and Culture Centre, which is well worth going to, but the cafe on it’s own (which you can access separately) is so cute.

As the name suggests they specialise in drip coffees with beans from all over Northern Thailand, but they also do a delicious iced latte, cold brew etc.

It’s quite small, very welcoming, and has a great selection of coffee, tea and cakes. In addition the background music and calm views into the courtyard make this cafe a tranquil option if you’re after a relaxed coffee in Chiang Mai. There’s also lots of lovely art work to gaze at or buy and it’s a perfect spot to plan your next move in the town as it’s very central.

Price bracket: under 100฿

Opening times: 09:00-17:00 Tuesday – Sunday

Socials: IG @gallerydripcmi

Location: Prapokkloa Rd, Si Phum Sub-district, เมือง Chiang Mai 50200

Alt_Chiang Mai

Alt Chiang Mai is a concrete polished, focused kind of place. It does good coffee but is more focused on being a co-working space with a cafe on the side.

There is a separate co-working and co-living space to the cafe, meaning you can either drink and chit chat without annoyed glances or tap away without distractions. You need to book a desk to work here and can do that online, details below.

The space exudes modern calm architecture, has decent music playing in the cafe and some beach style outdoor furniture if you’d prefer to sit on the terrace and people watch.

This isn’t exactly a cosy cafe, but you’ll feel very productive and in tune with your inner digital nomad here.

Price bracket: under 200฿

Opening times: 09:00-21:00 all week

Socials: IG @alt_chiangmai website Alt Living

Location: 129, 1 Intrawarorot Rd, Tambon Si Phum, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50200

Nu Nu Nini’s Cafe

This place isn’t exactly hipster, nor does it specialise in northern Thai coffee grown from small batch farms. It is, however, absolutely charming and a great spot to sip and people watch.

It gives off strong French cafe vibes and is popular with local expats for their morning pastry, coffee, and read of the papers. There is an upstairs with aircon but we preferred to sit on the ground floor near the street and watch the morning market in full action.

Their pastries are delicious and their coffee is also very good, especially the cappuccinos and lattes for the morning.

Price bracket: under 100฿

Opening times: 07:00-17:00 Sunday – Friday; 07:00-22:00 Saturday

Socials: website Nu Nu Nini’s Cafe

Location: corner of, 2 Rat Chiang Saen Rd, Tambon Phra Sing, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50200

We’d love to hear if you have any cafes to add to this list, leave a comment below!

Happy Travels!