Cafés in Ratchada & Huai Khwang

Along the MRT Blue Line

The Blue Line runs under Ratchadaphisek with stations at Phetchaburi, Phra Ram 9, Thailand Cultural Centre, Huai Khwang, Sutthisan and Ratchadaphisek, and the Yellow Line touches the area at Phawana.¹ Thailand Cultural Centre, built with Japanese funding and opened on 9 October 1987, has two auditoriums and an outdoor stage, and Central Rama 9 and The Esplanade are the nearby malls.¹

On Rama 9, Alto Coffee Roasters is at 9/9 Rama 9 Road and Kafeology at number 6. 123 Bangkok House & Coffee, on Phetchaburi Soi 47 Yaek 3, opens daily at 06:30.

Pracha Rat Bamphen, the new Chinatown

Since 2013 about 7,000 young Chinese migrants have moved to Pracha Rat Bamphen for business and property, and the strip is known as the New Chinatown. Unlike Yaowarat it has no clan associations or temples. New migrants often call the area Huai Khwang, which sounds like 辉煌 (huīhuáng), "glorious."⁵ The restaurateurs come mostly from China's interior and colder north, and signs are often in neither English nor Thai.⁴

Sift Bake Shop & Cafe is at 243 Pracha Rat Bamphen Road, a short walk from Huai Khwang station, and Brewer's Hub Cafe at 74. Further east, Flow Coffee Roasters began in 2010 with a backyard roaster and now supplies other shops and trains baristas.⁶ Its shop at 2118 Soi 20 Mithuna opens daily 09:00–17:00. หลงแฟ Slow Bar is on Pracha Rat Bamphen 26/8.

Sutthisan and Soi Sabai Chai

Soi Sabai Chai, north of Sutthisan Winitchai Road, has a run of small cafés. Reviewers describe Poonypoonycoffee, at 85 Sabai Chai Lane 4, as a home café run by a former Melbourne barista, with an Australian-style menu.⁷ ตื่น Tuen Home Cafe, at 104 Soi Sabai Chai Yaek 3, opens daily 07:00–21:00, and MITTA X SABAIJAI is at number 330.

On Sutthisan itself, Mother Roaster has a branch at number 269. At the road's western end, Grind Coffee Co. occupies a renovated white house with a wooden terrace on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road near the junction, serving specialty coffee and baked goods.⁸ Deed Coffee, close to Ratchadaphisek, opens at 06:30 on weekdays, and Café Milieu is at 6 Soi Rung Rueang.

Din Daeng and Pracha Uthit

Din Daeng is densely built, in part because the National Housing Authority put up apartment blocks along Din Daeng and Pracha Songkhro roads.² BASED Coffee Roaster is at 246/3 Pracha Songkhro 27 and Begin Coffee & Bistro at 246/1 on the main road. The First Espresso sits on Vibhavadi Rangsit Soi 2.

Across Ratchadaphisek, Pracha Uthit Road runs east toward Ramkhamhaeng. Y'EST WORKS Coffee Lab is at 540/3 and Symmetry BKK, which pairs specialty coffee with all-day breakfast, is at number 653, a few doors apart. Palate Coffee Roaster bkk is at 543/9 Ratchada Niwet Road.

Late hours on Ratchada and RCA

The entertainment strip on Ratchadaphisek runs from the Rama 9 junction to the Sutthisan junction, and parts of it, along with Royal City Avenue, are designated entertainment zones with later closing times.³ Some cafés keep pace. Future Cafe and Restaurant, at 82/8 Ratchadaphisek Road, trades from 07:00 until 03:00, and Korean Dessert Cafe closes at 01:00. The Trade Cafe, at 212 Pracha Suk Road, shuts at midnight, and My'Mile Cafe is on RCA at 21/127.