The best cafés in Chiang Mai 2026, handpicked by a local.

A beautiful café with a wonderfully local feel. The owner is incredibly friendly and speaks English. You'll meet plenty of locals here, along with expats who like to bring their laptops and get some work done. The cappuccino is excellent, and the beans are top-notch. There's also freshly baked cake every day, made by the owner's daughter — and it's absolutely delicious! If you'd like to try something really special, go for the Caramel Slide. It's outstanding. This café is definitely worth a visit!

A super beautiful café near the Old City, very centrally located, with an international crowd—modern, cool, stylish people from all over the world. On Sundays there is free jazz from midday, and the selection of coffee, cakes, desserts, and dishes is simply enormous. If you want to see something beautiful: beautiful people, beautiful interior design, a cool location—it's an absolute must to go there.

One of the most interesting cafes in Chiang Mai by far. If you are really into amazing cake, good coffee, and great specialty drinks, then this is exactly the right place for you. At the same time, there are many other nice restaurants, little shops, and cafes on this street, all of which I can highly recommend. Please note: On weekends, it is usually very busy and you should expect possible waiting times. If you can visit during the week, it is usually better. But this is really one of the best cafes when it comes to good cake and coffee.

This is truly a very cozy café. It's fun to spend time there. In addition to really good cakes and specialty coffees, you can also have a proper meal here, such as lunch. In the evening, it is truly excellent, very delicious, and the atmosphere is simply beautiful.

A little bit outside of Chiang Mai, but really not far from the city center. It's a truly wonderful café set amidst nature, with its own roastery. The coffee, cappuccino, and other coffee specialties are really great. What makes this place special: you have a view of a rice field, and there's often beautiful wildlife to watch if that's your thing. But even just the atmosphere here is simply lovely, and the coffee is quite good. As for food, the selection isn't particularly large, but if you're looking to chill, relax, and enjoy some really good coffee at the same time, this place is just top. If you're in the center of Chiang Mai, it's about 20 minutes away by car or scooter. This is now a district of Chiang Mai, so it's not far out. Have fun trying it out!

Whether this place is still a hidden gem, I can't say anymore, but it's definitely very famous here: this breakfast and brunch café. On weekends it's always very busy, so either reserve a seat beforehand or expect a short wait. It's usually better to come here during the week. Even celebrities from Bangkok come here to have breakfast. It's also located in a beautiful area, just behind the university. It's definitely worth coming here if you want to experience something truly special. Have fun and enjoy your meal!

Here you have the best of both worlds: coffee and restaurant together. This little café is very cozy, very charming, lovely greenery outside and in a really great area. There are also many other cafés here, in this beautiful corner, with a lot of love and detail. Yes, food is available here too. It's in the other house, but right next door and definitely worth a short detour.

The Landin Café is really a place for super relaxing and chilling out. Here you can also work comfortably with your laptop. That's no problem, and the whole area is nice, where you can discover various other small shops, again in the area behind Chiang Mai University. You also see lots of interesting people there, a mix of locals and tourists, but it's not too touristy. A really exciting, great area, and the coffee is okay. There are better ones, but still, the staff is super friendly and nice. Maybe I just had a bad day, but otherwise, I really love this place. Now and then, there are small bands playing quiet music, not too loud, not too aggressive. All in all, it's a relatively chilled and cool place that is definitely worth visiting.

Definitely one of my favorite cafés in the hipster quarter of Nimman. I really love coming here, either for people-watching or simply to let my thoughts wander. What you absolutely have to try is this Sunset Malibu coffee with orange juice. At first, I always thought: God, how does that go together? But it's so refreshing, especially when it's hot, and then they put crema on top. I can't describe it; it's so delicious. You could actually just order a whole pot of crema and lick it. Absolute insider tip, although it isn't actually a secret: there are lots of cool, stylish people here. It also has a lovely garden where you can come in the evening, and if you like, you can have a beer or a cocktail. The food here isn't bad either. It's a café and restaurant, and I can only recommend it. Definitely worth it.

Opposite one of the best Italian restaurants with the English name 'Why Not', you'll find the Kanvela Café. What makes it special is that they sell handmade chocolate there. It's really something. If you love chocolate, you'll find truly exceptional varieties here with an unbelievably good taste, but of course also high-quality coffee options to try. It's definitely worth stopping by to enjoy a nice cappuccino or another drink, and to fill up at the chocolate tasting station. Have a great time—just keep in mind, the chocolate isn't exactly cheap, but it's definitely worth the price.

This is truly a dream location for one of the most beautiful views in Chiang Dao. There are excellent coffee specialties and cakes, but also having lunch or dinner there is simply the perfect place in Chiang Dao: one of the most beautiful restaurants for me. If you arrive on time for sunset, you will experience a perfect sunset with a wonderful atmosphere there. This really is one of the nicest and most amazing restaurants for me. Of course, there are a few other nice places there, but the view is simply—see it for yourself. The view is stunning, so it is definitely worth going there. You definitely won't make a mistake.

I love this café in Chiang Dao. It is definitely worth stopping by to enjoy some truly excellent coffee and a variety of drinks. The selection of cakes and pastries here is also just fantastic. It's a very cozy café, also great for working with a laptop. It really is absolutely worth visiting this café.

This small and cute café is truly a wonderful place to relax and unwind. Exceptionally good coffee. Right next door you can also order food, which is really great, and very healthy food is offered there as well. It's also an excellent spot to work with your laptop. Truly a beautiful place to enjoy, relax, and unwind, about a 15-minute drive from the Old Town.

This café is really dedicated to vegans and vegetarians: exceptionally good cuisine, everything is completely vegan and vegetarian, it's located right on the edge of the old city, in a beautiful spot. Right next to it is the Fern Forest Café, but for vegans and vegetarians in Thailand who are truly craving perfect vegan and vegetarian dishes like cakes, meals, etc., this is the perfect place. What isn't allowed here: laptops. That's not wanted here. So working there isn't possible, but for a break and really good food, vegans and vegetarians are in exactly the right place.

Yes, it's a little outside the city center. But if you really want to visit a nice café among locals, which is truly cozy, comfortable and not overcrowded, this café is the right place for you. There is a small, sweet, beautiful koi pond, personally taken care of by the owner, and it's a perfect spot to relax or even work quietly on your laptop. I find it's a beautiful place that is definitely worth checking out. Don't expect to see many foreigners there. It's mostly locals or expats living here. But I really think it's a very cozy café.

If you really want to eat excellent cakes, you are truly well served here. This is the second branch of the café. The first branch can also be found here on this page. The first one is more in the old town, this one is a bit outside and somewhat more modern in design. The cakes, honestly, are world-class, but you have to say: the prices are world-class too. They are almost, or just as high as in Europe. It's definitely worth it for cake lovers. Definitely: If you're in the area, you can also make a trip to the Saraphi district. It's a beautiful old district, where you can find the ruins of the original city center. It was moved to where it is now, because there used to be too many floods there. That's why the city center was relocated to the present area. It's wonderful to take a walk there, about 10 minutes by car from the café, and to discover Chiang Mai from a different side. Cappuccino was okay, but I must say I've had better.

About 40 km from Chiang Mai lies the beautiful Flow Flow café, which is definitely worth it for anyone heading to Pai. Pai is one of those tourist spots where people like to visit by scooter or car, so this is really a worthwhile stopover. You’ll need to do a little U-turn here, but it really won’t take too much time if you’re on your way to Pai. What makes it stand out: the owner really knows about coffee, and you can get really, really good coffee, cappuccino, and various coffee drinks here. They also have a very small, cute Matcha bar. If you love matcha tea or matcha-based drinks, this is definitely the right place to stop. As mentioned, the stop is absolutely worth it.