I needn’t say that Hoi An is unique because everybody knows it is! Although the town is small and doesn’t have many large entertainment venues or shopping malls, people tend to fall in love with it and extend their stay. So, what is there in Hoi An that is so attractive? It is not only about the delicious cuisine, picturesque old tea-houses, or the charming Hoai River, but it is also home to an up-and-coming cafe culture.
The Espresso Station
In 2014, a man quit his secure job for a passionate urge: to search for and bring the finest organic coffee beans to consumers. And so began the mission of this small cafe. Located off an alley close to the ancient town, The Espresso Station always comes to mind when I’m looking for a great space with good sips. With its airy small yard covered with plants and showered with sunlight, I can toil away at work or meet up with a friend. Take a seat in a hidden corner to read your book, take a few photos like the Vietnamese youth, and read up on Vietnamese coffee while waiting for your beautiful drink.
If you already know that Vietnam is the second largest coffee exporter in the world, have you ever wondered why the coffee value is not high? It is partly because Vietnam still grows their beans with dated methods and many farmers do not take proper care of their beans, so the quality is not as high. However, this has changed in recent years, thanks to the support from enthusiastic cafe owners like The Espresso Station. So now that we have special coffee beans, what makes this coffee shop unique? I suggest stopping by to find out, talk to the well-trained baristas, and give the healthy “Dark Soul Latte” a try!
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Address: 28/2 Tran Hung Dao street, Hoi An city
Phone number: +84 905691164
Opening hours: 10 AM – 7:30 PM
Site: The Espresso Station
Price range: 45,000 – 80,000 VND
Reaching Out Tea House
You may find that this tea house is often silent. The reason for this is the employees here are deaf, you have just stepped into a tea house run by a charity organization that aims at empowering the disabled in Hoi An. It’s one of the most silent areas in Hoi An, where you can discover the beauty of the quiet.
Reaching Out Tea House offers tasty organic tea and coffee in the cozy space of an old house. It’s not only cozy because of the space, but also because of its unique environment. Take its name for example: reaching out. Just spend one minute thinking about “reaching out”: without words, without noise, without any expressive sounds. It is here that you will feel how magical it is to “talk” and understand, all in attentive silence.
On each table is a small tray containing pieces of paper. You will order your drinks by writing down your preference on the paper. There are also some small wooden tiles on the table with common phrases like “thank you”, “coffee”, “milk”, and “ice”. Place these tiles on the table and the staff will help you.
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Address: 131 Tran Phu street, Hoi An city
Phone number: +84 235 3910 168
Opening hours: 10 AM – 7:30 PM
Price range: 80,000 – 150,000 VND
Hai Cafe Restaurant, Bar & Grill
Many travel bloggers and reviews recognize Hai Cafe as the most memorable cafe in the world. This coffee shop is located in the Hoi An ancient town center and has two main spaces: the garden yard and the area under the porch. Both areas face the street and are designed with vintage Vietnam in mind. From inside out, Hai Cafe houses many small green trees and vines, making the atmosphere more fresh and clean.
In addition to its pretty spaces, this cafe is also famous for providing very good coffee and tea. If you are trying to sketch an ancient street of Hoi An, then sit under the porch, while letting your fingers play with the lines and colors. Oh, you may also have a chance to watch the cool performance of professional cooks at a Cooking Class at Hai Cafe. Contact the staff for more information about this program.
Address: 111 Tran Phu Street and 98 Nguyen Thai Hoc street, Hoi An city
Phone number: +84 905 409 406
Opening hours: 7 AM – 11 PM
Price range: 25,000 – 200,000 VND
Mango Rooms
The most impressive, probably most remarkable feature of this cafe is its design! One sentence that encompasses the feeling of Mango Rooms is this: You are entering the realm of colors, where contrasting hues play with one another emanating the feelings of youth and enthusiasm. The cafe has two distinct rooms: one faces a street of Hoi An ancient town and the other looks at Bach Dang street on Hoai riverside. While the former room is designed in an authentic Vietnamese style as if to match the background of the ancient town, the latter is dramatically more colorful and bright.
Each room offers different experiences, that’s why this place is so unique. The one facing the ancient town will bring you back to the old times of Hoi An. A cup of tea is best for this space because tea is slow and gentle. The other room will bring you the fresh air from Hoai river. Coffee is better in this case, since coffee is a drink of energy, excitement, and creativity. Or how about trying them both? But hang on! The local cuisine served here is even more a†mazing than the beverages! Do you have brunch plans yet?
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Address: 111 Nguyen Thai Hoc street, Hoi An city
Phone number: +84 235 3910 839
Opening hours: 8:30 AM – 10:30 PM
Price range: 30,000 – 300,000 VND
Vietnam Sustainable Space
Are you wondering where in Hoi An that you can gain the most authentic picture of sustainable businesses in this country? Make your way to Vietnam Sustainable Space and you may discover a thing or two about how this country is progressing.
Here, you make the drinks yourself and donate the amount you feel is worth your experience. Don’t worry about the recipe, beautiful detailed instructions are ready to guide you. There are workshops for the local community, usually held on the weekend, that focus on DIY techniques of living green. Most interestingly, the VSS team has selected a wide range of Vietnamese products that are produced with a sustainable business model. All profits from sales are put toward the scholarship fund that helps disadvantaged students.
If you want to know more about what they are doing, or simply hope to visit their charming space, it’s easy because it’s right in the ancient town area!
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Address: 8/1 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai street, Hoi An city
Opening hours: 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM
Site: Khong Gian Ben Vung Vietnam
Price: Donation-based
The Chef
The Chef is actually a restaurant, but it has various types of drinks on the menu. Coffee is served on the second floor, where you can encounter the dark wooden walls, offering an ancient space of East Asia. The top floor is decorated with lanterns, non la, and bamboo. From here, you will get a magnificent view of Hoi An ancient town. The dark-red roofs and sunlight combine to create an old but romantic scenery.
Sometimes, you will see photographers and models in The Chef using the wonderful scenery here as artistic material. The Chef is also an ideal place to read a book. A little sunlight, a little wind, a little tranquillity, a cup of coffee, and a fantastic book can make your trip more colorful.
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Address: 166 Tran Phu street, Hoi An city
Phone number: +84 901 020 882
Opening hours: 8 AM – 10 PM
Price range: 50,000 – 300,000 VND
Gemstone Art Museum
It took more than 20 years to complete this precious stone collection, and a lot more effort to put all these treasures into a personal art museum. The same goes for the cafe.
The space welcomes you with one warm, large room showcasing over 600 gemstones and sculptures that were collected by Duong Nga – an owner – and her father. Today, Duong Nga and her Italian husband run the exhibition area, a lovely cafe at the back, and a charming wine bar on the second floor. Sometimes it’s hard to choose between a cup of coffee and a glass of wine but maybe this just means you need to visit twice. You will also have the chance to meet and talk to Duong Nga about the stones, and probably her invaluable journey in collecting them.
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Address: 130 Nguyen Thai Hoc street, Hoi An city
Phone number: +84 235 3938 468
Opening hours: 9:30 AM – 11:30 PM
Price range: 30,000 – 50,000 VND
Cocobana
Cocobana is one of the spotlights on the coffee shop map in Hoi An. This cafe occupies a small corner which combines simplicity and colorfulness, tradition and creativity. Bamboo ladders, non la (conical palm-leaf hat), and special furniture together create a cozy but lively space. You can observe the traditional tools made of all different types of bamboo that decorate the shop such as fish catchers, chairs, and hammocks.
The arrangement of these things may seem arbitrary, but in general, the space is harmonized and comfortable. The coolest part about Cocobana is there is an area dedicated to producing handmade paper! You can learn! In addition, this cafe has a small garden with a tiny lake and pretty fish.
From the main door, you go through the garden and then reach the tea room. The design of Cocobana makes you feel comfortable, as if you could spend your whole day enjoying the tranquil environment, sipping your coffee or tea, and floating with your book.
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Address: 16 Nguyen Thai Hoc street, Hoi An city
Phone number: +84 90 388 26 88
Opening hours: 9 AM – 6 PM
Price range: 30,000 – 50,000 VND
Hoi An Roastery
Hoi An Roastery is the common name of seven coffee shops located in different places in Hoi An city. These shops are unique because they roast and grind their own coffee beans, so don’t worry about the coffee quality and taste. I guarantee that it’s hard to find another cafe in Hoi An with better tasting coffee. As such, you can see the staff grind and make coffee on site.
Although there are seven branches, Hoi An Roastery’s most well-known location is 47 Le Loi street. This shop is preferred by many people because of its traditional and spacious design. You may love the wooden pillars and the chandeliers made of bird cages, which will bring you back to Hoi An of the 19th or 20th century.
Address: There are seven locations:
- Roastery Japanese Bridge, 135 Tran Phu Street
- Roastery Temple, 685 Hai Ba Trung Street
- Roastery Center, 94 Le Loi Street
- Roastery Riverside, 95 Bach Dang street
- Roastery Market, 31 Tran Phu street
- Roastery Lantern Street, 117 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street
Phone number: +84 235 392 7772
Opening hours: 7 AM – 10 PM
Price range: 30,000 – 50,000 VND
Cocobox
Cocobox is an integration of selling coffee and organic agricultural products. In this shop, you can buy flavors and specialties such as Phu Quoc salt, pollen grains, fruit jam, and Marou chocolate made in Vietnam.
Cocobox has a classical European design, but it easily harmonizes with the conventional East Asian atmosphere of Hoi An. They offer European breakfast and a diversity of drinks. The signature of Cocobox is its menu of smoothies from fresh fruits and vegetables with many cool names like Relax Thu Bon (Thu Bon is the name of a river), Good Morning Hoi An, and An Bang Colada (An Bang is the name of a beach in Hoi An).
Cocobox has a balcony, so you can enjoy the beautiful view of Hoi An from above while sipping your healthy smoothie.
Address: Cocobox has four locations for you to choose from:
- 94 Le Loi Street
- 3 Phan Boi Chau Street
- 95 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street
- 42 Bach Dang Street
Phone number: +84 235 3862 000
Opening hours: 7 AM – 10 PM
Price range: 20,000 – 50,000 VND
Le Fê Cafétéria
The charming Le Fê Cafétéria rests in a small quiet alley, so many travelers may miss this wonderful place. From Phan Chu Trinh street, after turning onto Alley number 69, you will see an old wooden sign signalling the name of this amazing cafe.
Le Fê Cafétéria is divided into three spaces. The first and the last are open spaces, where the freshness from green trees, flowers, and sunlight gently remind you of nature’s love for her people. The middle space is decorated in an old style with books, old-fashioned televisions, and a rotary dial telephone.
Pro tip: Every Sunday starting at 8 PM, Le Fê Cafétéria holds an acoustic music performance. Don’t miss it!
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Address: 69/3 Phan Chu Trinh street, Hoi An city
Phone number: +84 909 096 002
Opening hours: 6:30 AM – 10:30 PM
Price range: 30,000 – 50,000 VND
Rosie’s Cafe
Located in the same alley that houses Vietnam Sustainable Space, Rosie’s Cafe is a peaceful and silent corner of this ancient city. If you are in love with the elegance of the rose, Rosie’s will bring you double the joy. The area welcomes you with an open space which receives as much sunshine as possible.
Under the porch is the perfect seat if you long to inhale the fresh air while sipping your beautiful coffee. Make your way here in the quiet early morning to contemplate your journey before you embark on a new day.
Address: Alley 8/6 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai street, Hoi An city
Phone number: +84 905 312 433
Opening hours: 7 AM – 7 PM
Site: Love Rosie Cafe
Price range: 30,000 – 50,000 VND
Ca Phe Pho Co (The Cafe of the Ancient Town)
It’s a bit tricky to find this cafe using GPS, since there are little to no advertisements about their business. For this reason, a morning at this cafe is truly a local experience. Inhale the fresh air blowing off the bank of the Thu Bon River and take a few much deserved sips of your coffee.
Every morning, at 6:30 AM, Thao opens her business and works until roughly 9 AM, when the sun is high and its radiant light is a little too strong for guests. For this reason, do not come during the rain either since it is all outdoors.
Sitting on the sidewalk and sipping the bitter taste of coffee is a norm in Vietnam. Not all travelers agree that this is the best way to drink coffee, but it is truly the most Vietnamese so you must try it at least once. At Pho Co Cafe, everything is casual, and it is for either the locals or travelers to enjoy this city in its most honest way.
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Address: Bach Dang street, Hoi An city (nearby An Hoi Bridge)
Opening Hours: 6:30 AM – 9:00 AM
Price Range: 15,000 ~ 30,000 VND
When we travel, we are eager to explore. Yet, the most amazing experience can come from the most unexpected situation. I remember reading a story in Chicken Soup for the Soul, when the American traveler happened to sit down with a group of local South Africans in a cafe, they started to chat about their way of life. And in the end, although seemingly separated by the entire earth, they formed a meaningful brotherhood.
You really should visit Hoi An at least once in your life to witness this beautiful heritage that has been there through wars and peace for half a millennium! And besides the many wonderful relics that tell you great stories of time, there are amazing cafes that, who knows, might bring you a very remarkable relationship that bridges the distance.
