The best cafés for coffee in Kuala Lumpur

Believe it or not, it used to be a tall order finding specialty coffee in Bukit Jalil. Not anymore. Afloat is a café and micro-roastery helmed by the husband-and-wife team, Jimmy Leong and Loo Choy Leng. Behind a black bar, baristas offer espresso and filter coffees, rare finds spotlighting competition coffees and exclusive coffee lots, signatures such as Irish coffee, and more. Everything is roasted weekly on-site. 

Pair a cup of coffee with a bagel sourced from Kona Bakehouse topped with blueberry and cream cheese or something savoury, like smoked duck. The caramel pudding with earl grey gelato is a sweet treat. Keep an eye out for Afloat’s collaborations with other buzzy food friends in the scene; previous partnerships have seen Universal Bakehouse’s bakery-on-wheels roti van set up at the café entrance and a Le Petit Four Patisserie pop-up featuring dainty desserts and confectioneries.

Keith Koay, a three-time Malaysian Barista Champion, is well-practiced at opening cafés in Kuala Lumpur. He’s responsible for a few of the city’s cult-favourite coffee spots of the last decade, including Dou Dou Bake and Transparent Coffee. One Half is his first, and longest-running; in 2016, it popped up at BRATS, then at Random Food Store, finally settling in the curated lifestyle store Ilaika in Taman Paramount, where One Half occupies, well, one-half of the space.

Only a ten-minute drive away, One Half Roastery is a new chapter in the One Half story. It’s a specialty coffee hub and roastery focused on accentuating origin character. Keith and his team source coffees that express terroir, showcase variety, and are purposefully processed; the resulting espressos and filters are a celebration of their favorite aspects of specialty coffee: aromatic, clean, sweet, and acidity-forward. Here, a cup of Longboard’s Misty Mountain hand-brew can set you back RM150; pick your jaw up from the floor, that’s the price of award-winning organic luxury coffee. If you’re not quite up for that experience, “default” coffees start from RM10.

At 103 Coffee’s Sri Petaling flagship, founded in 2014, stop in for an espresso or linger over a latte or a specialty coffee, like a cold brew with honey and yuzu, topped with oat milk foam. In 2017, the team established its roastery. Its beans are sourced from the best farms, and then hand-roasted at 103 Coffee to coax out each bean’s aroma and flavour, resulting in a range of roasts from espresso to filter, drip bags, and more.

The food, which is Japanese-leaning, is as good as the coffee; brunch items to start your day off and sweets to end with are excellent, and so are the savoury stuff in between. Think a hearty bowl of stir-fried udon topped with Angus beef steak; pan-seared chicken chop with charred kale and sweet pineapple salsa; and unagi pizza for sharing. The award-winning specialty coffee powerhouse now has outposts in APW Bangsar, Chow Kit and Desa Park City.

Coffee and pastries. Enough said. Contour’s founder, Jason Loo, is a four-time Malaysia Barista Champion (and co-owner of Yellow Brick Road), who got his start in pastry-making. He couldn’t quite decide what he liked doing best, but that’s all the better for us: Contour is more than baker and brewer, it’s also a roaster. If you can draw your gaze from the café’s front-of-house interiors, that is, with its beautiful display of pastries at the bar and pops of green, you’ll find its roaster at the back. Contour’s beans are available for sale in-store or online at Shopee.  

Pop in for espresso-based coffees, filter coffees, and more. What we love: it’s free to upgrade to oat milk here (please, coffee shops, stop punishing us for developing a lactose intolerance in our 30s). As for food, don’t miss flaky, perfectly-laminated croissants, blueberry danishes, and everything from banana bread and scones to almond sponge cake topped with fresh figs and cream cheese.

Located on Jalan Sepadu, a few minutes’ walk from Pearl Shopping Gallery, Yunshu Coffee is the sole café on a street more known for automotive workshops and neighbourhood grocery stores. The café’s founder, Coco Tan, happened upon an old terrace house in need of some love — and turned it into a specialty coffee spot. Her focus is on coffee and its infinite possibilities, like espresso soda brightened with Penang nutmeg syrup, or luo han guo slow-cooked with sugarcane then mixed with frothed espresso. For something hot and sweet, order a cup of salted caramel latte topped with a bit of burnt sugar. Of course, if you prefer your coffee more straight-forward, there are also espresso-based coffees and filter coffees. On munchies, there are bagels and sourdough sandwiches, plus mazesoba, rice bowls, cincalok fried chicken, truffle fries, and more.

Perched atop a spiral staircase, Curio is a micro roastery café with a down-to-earth zen attitude. Small and sun-lit, it’s an efficient operator firmly focussed on helping coffee lovers (and the coffee-curious) find new ways to appreciate coffee — from coffee omakase to workshops on how to roast your own beans. Here, find single origin coffee, special blends, and signature drinks including coffee cocktails and mocktails. Try the Silky Black, which has a beer-like mouthfeel. Curio sells its roasts in-store (there are sampling packs, perfect for when you can’t make up your mind) and online.

Meanwhile, on the pared-back food menu, there are cakes, waffles, and a small range of pastries and pies to choose from.

If you’re ever in need of stellar coffee in downtown Kuala Lumpur, Stellar is a heavy-hitter. It’s a buzzing spot pumping out espresso and specialty coffee for creative types in the area and tourists, who come in throngs. The staff are quick on service but eager to make specialty coffee accessible for everyone who wanders in: from the crowd favourite pink tonic of espresso and strawberries puree to ‘black coconut’, a refreshing concoction of espresso, fresh coconut water and pandan garnish. There’s also cold brew, pourover, and more straightforward (but no less excellent) black and white options, plus kombucha and cakes. Stellar currently sources coffee from select roasters, but in October 2024 it will launch its own coffee roastery on-site at REXKL.

For all the pageantry surrounding the coffee, the pared-back menu and the matching understated architecture make Stellar approachable for anyone, no matter what they think about coffee. Plus, the café has stretched its brewing hours all the way to 10pm — perfect for night owls craving a cup of joe.

Kopenhagen, you probably guessed it, is inspired by all things Scandinavian. There are three Kopenhagens (already!), but the one on Jalan Kapas is the newest and our favourite; it comes with a killer view of the city skyline and if you’re curious, views of the central kitchen and coffee roastery where the magic happens, plus indoor and outdoor seating. From the mountains in Colombia to plantations in Ethiopia, Kopenhagen sources top-quality beans from farmers committed to sustainability; the resulting roasts, from bespoke blends to single-origin, are served in-house and sold at its cafés, available as a subscription and even wholesale. 

Coffee is only one part of Kopenhagen’s dominance in the city. Food is another. For brunch, you can’t go wrong with the smørrebrød (pronounced smuhr-broht): open-faced sandwiches built atop house-baked rye bread, topped with everything from chicken slaw to smoked salmon to striploin roast beef. If you prefer, you can build your own breakfast board; choose from bread slices, waffle, or vegan pancakes, or upgrade to bagel or croissant, and then there are a dozen dizzying options for eggs, protein, dairy (granola, oats, yoghurt and so on), fruits and greens. Other menu highlights include beef meatballs; roast chicken; and grilled eggplant with basil mayo, sun-dried tomato tapenade, tahini and herbs. Gluten-free, lactose-free, vegan, and vegetarian items are available.

Housed in a converted townhouse within Bukit Bintang, Feeka Coffee Roasters is named for the Swedish word ‘fika’. Spelt the way it is pronounced; the name embodies the cultural concept of taking a coffee break within a social setting. It is said that one cannot have coffee and cake by oneself - that would just be taking a break, not having a ‘fika’. The space is rustically designed with ‘unfinished’ walls and the many windows provide an abundance of natural light.

Their coffee menu includes options from local roasters to the other coffee-producing nations, allowing their patrons to curate an experience suited to their moods. Whether you feel like a cold brew or espresso, there is a synergy to be felt when one sips on a cup of Joe in Feeka while munching on something from their extensive menu. Choose from the all-day breakfast options such as French toast and porridge, or the usual suspects like pastas and burgers. If dessert is what gets you going, feel free to try their range of house-made mille crêpes, cakes and pastries.

ICYMI: This long-time favourite cafe and roastery has found a new home in Menara Mudajaya, Mutiara Damansara. Step through the giant wooden door and you’ll be greeted by floor-to-ceiling windows, allowing plenty of natural light to shine through (perfect for that Instagram shot). Upstairs is where you’ll find the kids play area, curated by wooden playset builders Modle Play, where the young ones can enjoy playtime while the adults chow on brunch fare. Very thoughtful of the Red Beanbag team. 

Fans will be happy to hear that staples like the signature baked eggs are still around, and now we can look forward to their specials plus a solid kids menu at their new space. For drinks, grab a cup of coffee fresh from their in-house roastery – the no-fail iced black boasts a clean body with fruity notes. And if you’re a fan of their beans, check out their retail space for a bag or two.

Wizard of Oz fans would surely perk their ears up at the name of this quirky café. Yellow Brick Road serves as the home of four-time Malaysian Barista Champion and winner of Time Out KL Food Awards for ‘Best Café’ (2015 & 2017). Rightly so, we might add – as their food and drink does not leave for wanting. The intricacies of Asian herbs and spices can be tasted in their rather extensive menu – it includes a long list of desserts as well as the beverages to pair them with. Get your fill of filtered coffees or your regular espresso shots here.

PULP is a dream for those who play with coffee toys. A small space is dedicated to the café where you can sample top-notch brews, but a chunk of it is designed as a coffee retailer and cupping centre, so if you’re an avid coffee consumer, questions about beans, coffee machines and brewing methods can be directed to the well-informed team.

Coffee connoisseurs in town are bound to know this brand by its abbreviations: CMCR. Founded in Singapore in 2013, this coffee establishment made its way to Malaysia, in TTDI where it serves speciality grade Arabica coffee. They’ve got a roasting facility (as well as a coffee academy) in Singapore where they roast their own beans – but the beans themselves are scoured from around the globe. Patrons of CMCR KL get to choose from a menu that includes all-day brunch options, house-made burgers, their infamous pancakes and such. They do filtered coffees, cold brews and have roasted beans that you can take home to sate your caffeine needs.

The folks behind Artisan Roast have come a long way since their humble RAW days. This breezy café in Sentul’s airy D7 building is a testament to their maturing style and quality. We suggest you lock your spot at the outdoor patio where vines entwine around thick ropes; for a precious while, you’ll feel completely disengaged from the city buzz.

A Three Little Birds coffee blend is in the making, but take temporary refuge in a punchy Mandheling roast or other rotating single origins. Meanwhile, hot chocolates here are made using single-origin Kalingo 65 per cent Valrhona, superbly expensive French-imported chocolate buttons.

You may wonder why it's called Transparent Coffee: the café is transparent with its coffee trade whereby coffee beans here are directly sourced from farmers, giving you the best coffee quality. With a selection of white, black and filter coffee, a must-try is the good old Iced Latte – milky, thick and simply satisfying your coffee fix. Order a sandwich to go with your coffee, an option of three cheese or chicken and aubergine sandwich made with home-baked sourdough.

Wedged into half a shop lot in Damansara Uptown is this little takeaway coffee bar that serves arguably the cheapest coffee in PJ. Using their own house blend of beans from India, Papua New Guinea and Brazil, Baristar serves drinks with prices that start at an affordable RM5.

For its size, Baristar has an extensive menu. On top of your usual espresso (RM5) and long black (RM5), cappuccino, flat white, hot chocolate and chai, taro or matcha latte (RM7 each), there are also Korean teas at RM8 and flavoured coffees like hazelnut latte and salted caramel coffee for RM9. More interestingly, you’ll also find creative coffee drinks here, such as the Black Tonic (espresso on ice with tonic water; RM10), Coffee Cubes (creamy milk over frozen coffee ice cubes; RM10), and iced latte with gula melaka agar (RM10). Selected drinks come with an upsize option for an additional RM2.

While Baristar is essentially a take-away coffee bar, there are three small counter seats indoors. If you’re feeling peckish, choose from a small selection of cakes and pastries.

Artisan Roast uses the Loring Smartroast coffee roaster, one of the world’s best and the only one of its kind in Malaysia. But that’s hardly the point:

The recipe for Artisan Roast’s success lies in their total involvement in the entire production chain, from the sourcing of the beans to the roasting and the training of the baristas. While they experiment with different blends and roasts, a signature Artisan Roast coffee is one that’s slightly acidic, bold in flavour, and leaves a fragrant bitterness on your palate.

VCR isn’t just a café for discerning coffee drinkers; as a bonus, it’s also starkly attractive. Remodeled from a building on-site, the café retains much of its original charm and old-world feel while an airy, breezy, rattan-chaired setup dominates the first floor. Owner Andrew Lee and business partner Lee Ee Han strive tirelessly to make ideal cups of coffee from single-origin beans and unique blends. On a hot day, sneak in a cup (or pitcher) of cold brew, only enhanced by a slice of Frost & Flourish’s peanut butter-banana cake.

Café and coffee roastery Cream is exactly what its name implies: a serene space, airy and light-filled, swathed in palettes of pale wood and off-whites. It’s almost too zen for a coffee roastery – but that’s only because all the action takes place in a room closed off behind the coffee counter, where the machine is located. Cream is an evolution of The Roast Things, one of the city’s earliest micro-roasters, founded and run by Chiam Tow Jin and Ving Lim. Ving, an expert at pourovers and siphon brewing, is the lead roaster while Jin is the resident cupper, buyer and certified coffee judge.

Like all specialty coffee roasters, the beans are roasted medium to medium-dark to avoid burning their natural flavours, a quality best sampled through Cream’s innovative way of serving filtered coffee. There will be two versions of your drink, hot and iced, and you’d be surprised how the temperature can highlight the different characteristics of the beans. It’s a testament to the roasters’ craft and skill that they’re able to bring out those nuanced flavours. Here at Cream, their roasts are a good balance of fruit acidity and sweetness.

For filtered coffee, you can choose from a selection of single-origin beans. Highlights include the Tanzania Kanji Lalji Peaberry, which has a dense body with hints of blackcurrant, and the Kirinyaga Kiangoi from Kenya, noted for its crisp acidity. While filtered coffee might take on an almost tea-like body, go for the espresso-based coffee if you prefer something more robust. Their coffee menu rotates, so do call ahead if you’re looking for that specific blend you’ve been hankering for.

Cream also serves cold brew coffee two ways – you can choose either black or milk-based brew. You’ll also find premium loose leaf tea (oolong, raw puer, puer and white tea), along with a small selection of cakes and sandwiches.

Craft Origin proudly displays its coffee roaster in a position of prominence in the café. There are two types of coffee served here: pour-over and espresso-based, with the blend for the former changing every week, and the blend for the latter every month. The espresso-based coffee blend is well balanced: bold without being too hard-hitting, with a little acidity to make it an all-round pleaser.