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Tag: cafes

  • The best cafes in Chiang Mai

    The best cafes in Chiang Mai

    1. A bit of context
    2. Macnuts Coffee
    3. Ma Lune
    4. Weave Artisan Society
    5. Gallery Drip Coffee
    6. Alt_Chiang Mai
    7. Nu Nu Nini’s Cafe

    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.

    Weave Artisan Society
    Nu Nu Nini’s Cafe
    Macnuts Coffee
    Ma Lune
    Gallery Drip Coffee

    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

    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!

  • Five of the cutest cafes in Gili Trawangan

    Five of the cutest cafes in Gili Trawangan

    1. Location, location, location!
    2. Cafe number 1: Carpe Diem Cafe & Restaurant
    3. Cafe number 2: Taste
    4. Cafe number 3: The Banyan Tree
    5. Cafe number 4: Coco Cafe & Ice cream
    6. Cafe number 5: Coffee & Thyme

    Gili Trawangan, fondly known as Gili T, is the most developed of the three Gili Islands. Gili Meno and Gili Air are certainly not undiscovered, but if you’re after aesthetically pleasing cafes and delicious smoothie bowls for breakfast whilst looking out onto white sands and blue waters, then Gili T is the place for you.

    We’re big fans of coffee – those of you following us on Instagram will be used to our cafe hunting endeavors! We tried lots of cafe’s on Gili T and not all of them made the cut – here are five we loved.

    Location, location, location!

    All these cafes are on the main stretch on the east of the island, which makes them very easy to find as that’s where a lot of the hotels and beautiful beaches are. This side of Gili T is also where the harbour is for boats arriving from Lombok, Bali and the other Gilis, so if you’re waiting to board or have arrived before check-in time at your hotel, these are all perfectly located to kill time in a yummy way!

    Just a note on the all important air con: Pretty much all the cafes on Gili T will have air conditioning, but sometimes it’s in a room upstairs or towards the back of the cafe – if you’re after a break from the heat but you don’t get that freezing hit of aircon as you walk through the door, don’t panic, friendly staff can point you in the right direction!

    Cafe number 1: Carpe Diem Cafe & Restaurant

    This cafe caught our eye as we were walking past thanks to the stunning selection of baked goods on display in the window! The next day we went back for our coffee and pastry pick me up. The team here are so friendly and kind. There were a couple of small kids in that day with their tired parents and the staff were happy to entertain the little ones, carrying them around the cafe and chatting away to them.

    Delicious ‘crombolino’ that fell over but was still tasty!

    The cafe itself is decorated beautifully, with large parrot murals and very on trend rope lights. The cafes on GIli T all scream ‘boho beach’ and this is no exception.

    We ordered an iced latte, long black and crombolino pastry and were not disappointed. The coffee was great quality and the pastry was delicious! We were half expecting it to be a bit anticlimatic because so many amazing-looking pastries are, especially in South East Asia unfortunately, but this was great!

    Carpe Diem is also a restaurant, while we didn’t try their food, it is well rated and the food coming out looked very good. Plus the kitchen staff were super busy, which is always a good sign.

    Location pin!

    Cafe number 2: Taste

    We went here a couple of times for an afternoon coffee because 1) the coffee is great and 2) the atmosphere is so chill. 

    Cafe culture, beautiful cafes, Island cafes, Island life, coffee, foodies
    At Taste: Sitting on the sand, drinking a coffee and looking out to the sea – perfect!

    Sitting on the beach with the sand between your toes is such a great way to spend an afternoon and the servers are so lovely you don’t feel any stress or pressure to move on. We actually spent about an hour here after finishing our coffees just playing cards and chilling out with no issues. 

    For people who really like their coffee this was way up there, and (as always) the order was an iced latte and hot long black. 

    This place does also do food but we didn’t eat here and their food menu looked to be on the pricier side so I would hope the quality is worth it.

    Location pin!

    Cafe number 3: The Banyan Tree

    This place looks tiny when you first walk in but it has a large upstairs seating area which is airconditioned and an outdoor balcony overlooking the sea. 

    It seems to be very popular with digital nomads as somewhere a little bit quieter to get some work done. While it definitely gives off that vibe, it also has some great music playing and friendly waiters who are never short of a smile. 

    The building is beautiful, with high ceilings and exposed brick work that you’ll notice is very similar to some of the older buildings on the island if you go for a wander through the winding streets.

    Beautiful architecture in The Banyan Tree

    In addition to the lovely coffee there is a great selection of sweet treats that are mainly vegan along with a large menu that I would have liked to have tried if we were on the island another night (we found Banyan on the last day!).

    The cafe also promotes sustainability and eco-friendly initiatives, which is especially important on such a small island that relies on shipping it’s produce in from nearby Lombok and Bali. 

    Location pin!

    Cafe number 4: Coco Cafe & Ice cream

    This cafe is such a vibe, it’s constantly bustling as it’s right by the harbour and serves great coffee, cakes, smoothie bowls and avocado toast. 

    Absolutely amazing smoothie bowl from Coco Cafe & Ice Cream

    We popped in here on our first morning for a pick me up brunch and it totally hit the spot. The music is great, the staff are chaotic but lovely, and everything tastes delicious. It’s pretty small though so find a table and hold it for dear life! It’s worth it.

    Location pin!

    Cafe number 5: Coffee & Thyme

    The first thing you’ll notice about this cute cafe is the servers’ outfits! They’re something between a Venetian gondolier and bumble bees! The team are lovely, busy and never far away.

    The art in this cafe is beautiful, I loved the design wall behind the counter – it’s so fun and boho I had to sneak a picture. 

    Gorgeous art work at Coffee & Thyme!

    The coffee here is a great but so are the cakes and pastries – pop in for a quick coffee, stay for a slice of cake and recharge. If you can snag the little booth in the window this place is also the best cafe for people watching. We ended up staying here for ages watching life on Gili T go by. 

    Location pin!

    And there we have it, five of the cutest cafes in Gili Trawangan for you to get your coffee fix. Most of the cafes on Gili T cater for more than just coffee and tea so if you’re after brunch, or cake, or somewhere to set up your laptop for a few hours and get some work done – these will definitely serve your needs.

    We’d love to hear if you’ve tried any of these and if you have any others to add to the list. Leave a comment so we can see!