Imagine a balmy afternoon, and you’re sitting at one of your favourite coffee roasters. As you sip your coffee, you look around at the beauty that surrounds you. Sound familiar? Here are 10 of the most beautiful coffeeshops around the world that you should know.
Offering versatile places to hang out, coffeeshops are one of the best options for any kind of an outing — whether it’s a date, a meet-up with friends or a solo outing.
Coffee shops pack the perfect punch with their heavenly decor and fresh brews, making it a hot-favourite amongst many. These places have an old-school charm about them, which is sometimes accompanied with vibrant themes and designs that will sweep you off your feet.
Here are 10 of the most beautiful coffee shops from around the world and what sets them apart in terms of design.
[Hero Image Credit: Arabica Philippines via Facebook; Featured Image Credit: St Aymes via Facebook]
Beachwood Cafe, Los Angeles, California, US
A lively mix of canary yellow and turquoise welcomes you to the Beachwood Cafe. While the geometric design sprawls the floor, the walls are adorned with multi-coloured wallpaper.
The rest of the café, too, liberally uses the shades of yellow and blue. The exquisite woodwork and chalkboards (to write the menu) add to the otherworldly vibe of the place.
To jazz up the café, an assortment of bulbs and lights, including an Akari ceiling lamp, have been used.
Once you break away from the arresting decor of Beachwood, be prepared to be enchanted by the aroma of freshly brewed coffee. The café also has an outdoor seating arrangement.
Eden’s, Bangkok, Thailand
Located in Bangkok’s Old Town, Eden’s boasts an old-world charm with a vintage set-up.
Beloved for their homemade cakes, people flock here to enjoy an afternoon tea or coffee, but also to take plenty of photos against the exposed brick, classic paintings, and floral accents.
A must-visit for those who enjoy a more classic style of coffeeshop, that feels like it may take you back to mid-century Europe.
Trois Cafe, Wan Chai, Hong Kong
This café is everything dainty and delightful. Painting a striking picture with bubble gum pinks and pastel greens, the artsy spaces of Trois take your regular coffee experience notches higher.
The circular windows and chalk-white lines are Nelson Chow’s homage to Hong Kong’s housing estates and basketball courts.
Leveraging geometry to create aesthetics that are not only Instagrammable but also soothing is another highlight of Trois’ decor.
NOC Coffee Co., Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
With “Coffee is our soul” as its motto, this Hong Kong café sure serves some of the best coffees in the region. And the rugged interiors of the place add to its charm as well.
Apart from providing tasteful blends and food that can accommodate vegans, pescatarians and meat-lovers, NOC Coffee Co.’s steel and concrete interiors offer both long table seating for group outings and cosy space for solitary repose.
The floor-to-ceiling windows ensure that there is enough sunlight flooding the area.
Freeing two birds with one key, the floor is marked with coffee-themed pictographs to enhance the industrial look of the coffee house and direct customers to specific areas.
Greem Café, Seoul, South Korea
Once you step into Greem Café, you know that you have entered a different world altogether — a two-dimensional realm.
Inspired by the Korean series W, each detail has been paid attention to — from the walls and furniture to the forks and knives, almost everything is designed to resemble two-dimensional drawings.
Observant visitors won’t be able to miss the black outlines and matte white surfaces used to make the coffee shop look like nothing but drawings on paper. The use of only the two colours creates an optical illusion that diminishes volume.
The name of the café, Greem, is Korean for cartoon or painting and staying true to its name, the interiors of this Instagram sensation do look as if it’s drawn with a pencil.
This place is also known by its street address Café Yeonnam-Dong 223-14.
Saint Aymes, London, UK
For those who like florals, Saint Aymes in London is unmissable.
With flowers adorning the exterior of the coffeeshop, the London haunt is beloved for lovers of a garden theme and anything that is pink. The cafe serves adorably matching dishes and drinks to suit, from rose ‘teapuccinos’ to unicorn milkshakes. Pink not your thing? Indoors, the walls are lined with velvet green seating, for a more relaxed setting. Either way, there’s definitely always something to ‘gram here.
Merchant’s Lane, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The peeling paint, exposed ceiling, Pernakan cushions, rattan furnishing, Malay-Chinese knick knacks, plants and wooden furniture — each and every feature blends seamlessly to make this quaint café.
Enjoy a cup of hand-crafted coffee with desserts as you admire the beauty of the trees in the central courtyard. The place, which now houses the coffee shop, was once a brothel. The artsy café didn’t do away with the old-world charm and has made the old shine and Instagrammable.
% Arabica, Manila, Philippines
With 97 branches in the world, % Arabica continues to spread its coffee magic. Founded by Kenneth Shoji in 2003, the brand is known for emphasising on the use of white and complementing it with clean lines.
The café’s Manila branch transports one to the future with the use of light and reflection. Visitors can see the coffee-making process as they sit comfortably in the amphitheatre-like seating area, which is quite similar to Banaue’s iconic rice terraces.
The glass facade and lightened up ceiling ensures that the coffee shop can be seen even from the streets.
Swan Café, Cape Town, South Africa
As you enter Swan Café, you will find a little piece of Paris at this Cape Town crêperie. The vibrant café, designed by Haldane Martin, showcases its French design and lays an emphasis of feminine symbolism through bistro furniture pieces and romantic imagery.
Swan Café’s avian-inspired interiors are flushed with the colours of the French flag: deep blue, white and red. The copper and brass pieces complement the red and pink hues. Thin and delicious crêpes are the “pièce de résistance” of this eatery and the coffee is sourced from the “best micro artisanal roaster on the False Bay Coast.”
Toki, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Scandinavian minimalism meets Japanese efficiency to create a cosy corner. Get yourself a moment’s peace as you find yourself soothed by the calm environs of this coffee shop.
The colour palette heavily relies on whites with a touch of warm accents here and there. The terrazzo seats add the necessary pop of colour to the seating area. Enjoy the view outside as you choose from a variety of options offered in the menu.
Priyanka Lamba
It was while pursuing her degree in computer applications, when Priyanka decided to set her sights on content writing (talk about realisation and serendipity). In her spare time, she is either found immersed in books or movies.
