Best Coffee Places in Bangkok Thong Lo and Ekkamai
Bangkok is a city that really caters to coffee lovers like me. There are so many small breweries with delicious coffee. Furthermore, these places have become my second home and office. In this article I want to show you my favourite places in the Thong Lo and Ekkamai areas. Similar to my guides about Hong Kong, Singapore and Vienna, I rated them according to price, taste, location, staff, ambience and one new dimension: work friendliness. This last dimension is indicated separately next the overall score.
Hands and Heart Café
Overall Rating: 9.0
Work Friendliness: 7.0
This was the first discovery I made in our neighbourhood. The most convenient thing for me about Hands & Heart is that they open as early as 7 am. So you can grab your coffee on your way to work. The coffee is delicious and the staff extremely friendly. A cappuccino is BHT 120. In the afternoon, Instagramers arrive at the place to take pictures in the really cool white marble lofty setting. However, the Instagram craziness has decreased after the café laid out some new rules.) The pastries are delicious (try the lemon cake (picture above) and the brownie; the croissants are only so-so). I often go there to work, usually in the mornings. There is unlimited wi-fi. In the afternoon it can be a bit noisy. Hence, it is not really a place where you can have work calls. (33 Soi Sukhumvit 38)
Hands & Heart will be open until the early new year. They have opened a new branch just across the street (in the lane connecting Soi 38 and 36) called “h dining”. It is located in a beautiful landed house. Coffee is as delicious as in the original branch with more food options and a bigger space – and a beautiful outdoor area.
Price 8 / Taste 10 / Location 9 / Service 10 / Ambience 8 / Work Friendliness 7
Ink & Lion
Overall Rating 8.6
Work Friendliness: 8.0
This is one of my favourite places. It makes me forget that I am in Bangkok – it could be New York or London as well. The coffee is delicious (a cappuccino is BHT 100) and they offer mini-pastries as well (about BHT 60 per piece). It is very work friendly (free unlimited wi-fi) and you will find a lot of fellow “coffees are my office” people. The music is not too noisy. However, it has become a bit crowded recently. I still think it is perfect if you want to do some work from there. (Soi Sukhumvit 63 – Soi Ekkamai 2)
Price 8 / Taste 9 / Location 7 / Staff 9 / Ambience 9 / Work Friendliness 8
Goodfellas Café
Overall Rating: 8.0
Work Friendliness: 5.0
Right below the stairs of Thong Lo BTS is the small Goodfellas Café. It is a bit dark but the coffee is very nice and comparatively cheap to the other places (a cappuccino is BHT 60). Unlimited wi-fi is available. We also tried the pastries, they were OK but go there for the coffee not the pastries 😉 (1039-1041, 55 Sukhumwit (main road), right below the staircase to the Thong Lo BTS station)
Price 9 / Taste 9 / Location 9 / Service 9 / Ambience 7 / Work Friendliness 5
Blue Dye Café
Overall Rating: 8.4
Work Friendliness: 8
Another coffee place I discovered when I was exploring our neighbourhood. This café is located in a side street of Soi 36 (right behind the Noble Remix condo). I really like the green house vibe thanks to big window front overlooking a small terrace where they sell coffee accessories and tableware. There is unlimited wi-fi and it is a popular place for people to work as well. The staff is very nice and the coffee is good. A cappuccino is BHT 110. (40/1 Soi Sukhumvit 36 (small side alley Napha Sap Alley, Lane 1)
Price 8 / Taste 7 / Location 9 / Service 9 / Ambience 9 / Work Friendliness 8
Pacamara
Overall Rating: 8.0
Work Friendliness: 8.0
Originally from Chiang Mai, the Thai capital of coffee, Pacamara has now opened several branches in Bangkok. The most charming location is in Thong Lo (just off the main road Sukhumvit Soi 55). The café has two floors and it has a very inviting work atmosphere. All of their coffee creations are delicious. My personal tip is the iced cappuccino and pair it with their waffles. (66 Thong Lo 25 Alley)
Price 8 / Taste 10 / Location 6 / Service 8 / Ambience 8 / Work Friendliness 8
Toby’s on Sukhumvit 38
Overall Rating: 7.8
Work Friendliness: 6.0
Toby’s is more of a brunch place but I still wanted to include it in this list because the coffee is really nice. A cappuccino is BHT 110 (including 10% VAT). I really like the vibe, because it is a small house with a Scandinavian touch. It is not really a place where I like to work, because it feels a bit empty during the week. But it has become one of my regular coffee and brunch places, I just love it! (75 Sukhumvit Soi 38)
Price 7 / Taste 9 / Location 6 (it is a bit far in the Soi, especially if you walk from the BTS station) / Service 9 / Ambience 8 (it is a bit noisy on the weekends, the music is actually not necessary) / Work Friendliness 6
Fill in the Blank
Overall Rating: 7.8
Work Friendliness: 8.0
This is definitely one of the cutest places in the area. A lot of love was dedicated to decorating the café and it feels very cozy. Coffee is good – maybe not the best in town – but I recommend it if you want to escape to a quiet place and get some work done. (28/10 Sukhumvit 61 Alley)
Price 7 / Taste 7 / Location 7 / Service 9 / Ambience 9 / Work Friendliness 8
Phil Coffee
Overall Rating: 7.6
Work Friendliness 7
Hidden away in Sukhumvit Soi 49, Phil is another nice place if you need a break from the busy city life. Located in a landed house with two floors, it is a good hideaway to get some work done and their coffee does not disappoint either. (65 Sukhumvit 49/2 Alley)
Price 8 / Taste 8 / Location 7 / Service 8 / Ambience 7 / Work Friendliness 7
Roast
Overall Rating: 6.8
Work Friendliness: 6.0
Another classic with multiple branches but I like the one at the Commons most. The Commons is a really cool concept in Thong Lo – market area in the basement with small restaurants and then 4 floors full of restaurants and bars and outdoor seating areas. (Stay tuned for a separate post about that.) The coffee is really good and a cappuccino is about BHT 120 (the menu prices do not include 10% service charge and 7% VAT). (The COMMONS 335 Thong Lo 17 Alley)
Price 7 / Taste 8 / Location 5 (it is quite for from the BTS station and traffic in that area can be really bad) / Service 7 / Ambience 7 / Work Friendliness 6
D’ark
Overall Rating: 6.6
Work Friendliness: 7.0
D’ark has become an institution in Bangkok with several outlets – of course, they cannot miss out on the trendy Thong Lo area. A cappuccino is BHT 136 (they menu shows prices without 7% VAT and 10% service charge), which is comparatively high. It looks really pretty though and tastes really good. I love the mini-brownies and carrot cakes! (Piman 49 – Sukhumvit Soi 49)
Price 6 / Taste 8 / Location 5 (it is quite for from the BTS station and traffic in that area can be really bad) / Service 7 / Ambience 7 / Work Friendly 7
Why Certain Cafés Did not Make it onto My List
Un-Fashion Café
I read a lot about the café which is really hyped online and really wanted to check it out. When I arrived, there were three waitresses looking into their phones. It took a while until the one at the counter looked up and I could order. I then wanted to pay with a BHT 1,000 note, which had, until then, never been an issue. Even at really small cafés. The staff did not want to accept it. I asked if I can pay by card instead because I did not have any smaller notes. The woman at the counter sighed and said she would go change the money.
Throughout my coffee, the staff watched what I was doing. Furthermore, I think the place is a bit overrated. The design idea and the adjacent vintage shops are a cute idea. But, I did not find it an inviting place that would make me want to come back.
Ekkamai Macchiato
I have read so much about this coffee place and it was recommended by multiple people. Hence, I was very excited to go. However, I tried multiple times and was always standing in front of a closed gate – even though their website said it was open. I found this annoying but because of the various recommendations I kept trying. The coffee is delicious and also their cakes are nice. However, even though the shop is in a cute landed house, the atmosphere is lacking and the limited wi-fi also makes sure you get the message of not staying there for too long. I had the feeling it is popular with the Instagram crowd who comes once to take pictures rather than with regulars. For this reason and despite their nice coffee, I decided to exclude Ekkamai Macchiato from my list. (Soi Sukhumvit 63 – 12 Soi Ekkamai 2)
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Updated 12/2019, first published 12/2017. All information as of the date of publishing/updating. We cannot accept responsibility for the correctness or completeness of the data, or for ensuring that it is up to date. All recommendations are based on the personal experience of Elisabeth Steiger, no fees were received by the recommended places above.
The photos of the coffees are all so beautiful! It’s fun to see how the places compare with their coffee art!
Thank you so much! It was really interesting to do the research and also the coffee was so good! 🙂
I didn’t expect to see cafes like these in Bangkok! But I do like them – I will keep this post for whenever I’ll head to Asia ♥
Yeah, I am always surprised by the variety and quality of the dining scene in Bangkok as well!
Those coffees all look delicious. Good to hear that good coffee shops are in abundance in Bangkok Thong Lo and Ekkamai! Those cakes as well look mouth-watering 🙂
The cakes are so good indeed! I fell in love with the lemon cake!
I liked the reviews of each place by your criteria, I’m always interested in how people rate somewhere. 🙂
Thanks a lot! I tried to show my criteria because I think these reviews are subjective by nature. Hence, I wanted to make my ratings as objective as possible.
Love the photos of coffees and cakes! Making me hungry for sure. i love that you include wether they are work friendly, such a good point to include!
Thanks for your comment. I added the work friendliness out of my personal need, actually. I read a lot about coffee places, how pretty and nice they are. Then I go there to work and I realize it is absolutely not a place where I can focus.
You had me at coffee. I am a coffee addict. I also go to lots of coffee shops to work. 🙂
Haha, me too! Then Bangkok is definitely your city 😉
Wow, what an extensive list! I’ve never been to Thailand (but really want to) and really never thought it was a country big on coffee! I like the atmosphere of the Blue Dye Café and night check it out when I go to Thailand.
Coffee really is nothing that comes to mind immediately when we think about Thailand but the coffee scene in Bangkok is really big. Bly Dye is a really nice place!
That’s such a nice, unique post. I love coffee and seeing this makes me go on a coffe tour right away 🙂 Awesome, thanks for sharing, makes me wanna revisit again and drink all the coffee & try the little cakes! <3
Thank you so much for your comment! I’m glad I was able to inspire you to go exploring 🙂
I super love Audrey Café & Bistro! Every time I go there it feels like I’m in the Breakfast at Tiffany’s movie. hehe Plus I super love their coffee and food!
It is a very cute café indeed, little Paris in the centre of Bangkok. 🙂 And also the pastries are really delicious.