Bangkok cafes by neighbourhood: Ari, Talat Noi, Thonglor, Sam Yan

Bangkok cafes are a serious business. Thailand grows its own arabica in the north, the city has a dense crowd of roasters, and in the heat a long sit in an air-conditioned room with a cold brew is a legitimate activity. The best coffee neighbourhoods are each a different style: leafy Ari, the old shophouses of Talat Noi, the design-led cafes of Thonglor and Ekkamai, and the student strip at Sam Yan. Here is how to tell them apart.

Ari

Ari has the highest density of good cafes in the city, spread along the main soi and the quieter lanes behind it. NANA Coffee Roasters is the flagship, a roastery in a garden with a long menu of single origins and a serious brew bar. Casa Lapin's Ari branch is the laptop-friendly one, Bangkok Espresso Bar is a small room near the BTS for a quick, well-made shot, and Landhaus Bakery on Ari Soi 4 does the bread and pastries the others serve. Ari BTS drops you at the start of the soi. The Ari guide covers the food between the coffees.

Talat Noi

Talat Noi, the old Chinese quarter between Chinatown and the river, has turned its crumbling shophouses and machine-part yards into one of the city's best cafe walks. Mother Roaster started it, a roaster in a Chinese-style house that became a social-media landmark. Hong Sieng Kong is a riverside mansion restored as a cafe and gallery, with a terrace over the Chao Phraya. Between them are a dozen smaller cafes in alleys lined with street art and rusting engine blocks. Hua Lamphong MRT or the express boat to Marine Department pier gets you there. See the Talat Noi guide.

Thonglor and Ekkamai

This is where the city's design-led cafes concentrate. Roots at The Commons on Thonglor Soi 17 is the roaster most Bangkok baristas cite, with a bar inside the mall's open-air food hall. Ekkamai has a run of small speciality rooms, Ink and Lion on Ekkamai Soi 2 among them, and both sois are full of bakeries and brunch places that open early and stay busy. Thonglor and Ekkamai BTS are the stations; the sois are long, so take a motorbike taxi up. The Thonglor guide and Ekkamai guide list more.

Sam Yan

Around Chulalongkorn University, Sam Yan runs on student coffee: the cafes along Banthat Thong Road and in the Chula sois are cheaper and younger, many of them open late to match the food street outside, and Samyan Mitrtown mall has a 24-hour study zone with cafes attached. Chulalongkorn Centenary Park is the place to take a cup. The Sam Yan guide has the area.

Honourable mentions

• Gallery Drip Coffee inside BACC at National Stadium, for pour-over between exhibitions.
• Rocket Coffeebar on Sathorn Soi 12, a long-standing brunch cafe.
• Factory Coffee near Phaya Thai BTS, a competition-level espresso bar.

Getting there

• Ari: Ari BTS.
• Talat Noi: Hua Lamphong MRT, or Marine Department pier on the express boat.
• Thonglor: Thonglor BTS, then a motorbike taxi up Soi 55.
• Ekkamai: Ekkamai BTS.
• Sam Yan: Sam Yan MRT.
• Factory Coffee: Phaya Thai BTS.

Most cafes open mid-morning and close early evening, and the small roasters often shut one weekday. Check the venue before a special trip, and order Thai beans at least once: the northern arabicas are good.