The best cafés in Kuala Lumpur

Since its Jalan Galloway debut on the cafe scene in 2013, VCR has built a repertoire consisting of more delicious dining spots including a bakehouse, sandwich shop and restaurant doling out handmade pastas. We, however, keep coming back to the OG location in KL for the classic breakfast and brunch fare – must-orders include the VCR big breakfast and the Turkish-style eggs. Ask the friendly baristas what’s in the hopper to pair with your meal. We personally enjoy the more acidic bean selection it carries which you can opt to have as an espresso-based coffee or a filter brew. Find its second outlet in Bangsar offering a broad menu, including dinner with hearty dishes like lamb stew and semolina spaghetti. Best to wash that down with the smooth soy panna cotta.

Since debuting more than 10 years ago by the folks behind Butter + Beans at Seventeen and Food Foundry, Feeka retains its distinctly raw yet warm aesthetic. It’s still one of the top brunch spots in town – be it the original location in downtown Bukit Bintang or newer locations at KLCC, The Five, or Happy Mansion. After years in operation, Feeka confidently commands throngs of digital nomads on weekdays and a relaxed crowd on weekends, and the reason is simple – the coffee here is seriously good. More than that, the all-day brunch service has been fine-tuned over the years too. From classics – French toasts, smashed avocado with dukkah and ricotta, to unique offerings like housemade almond butter toast and panko portobello mushroom tacos, Feeka’s menu has everything you need to start your day on the right note.

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.

Run by specialty coffee industry veterans, 103 Coffee started as a Sri Petaling institution, serving up great coffee and satisfying all day Japanese-inspired dishes and desserts - pizzas, tacos, panna cottas, salads and dons. Not only can you get your standard curry katsu don or a bacon and egg taco, you can even get a comforting grilled onigiri to start your day right. We loved the fluffy tosuto truffle and eggs, their riff on the classic Malaysian breakfast. What sets 103 Coffee apart is still their commitment to specialty coffee. They have blends catering to all coffee drinkers, with one being chocolatey and nutty and another being more acidic and fruity. The Sunrise Coffee was our favourite, a deft combination of citrus with coffee in a light and zesty brew reminiscent of the energising freshness of a new day. With all the acidic flavours, the coffee still retained some nuttiness, making it a perfect balance and a testament to the team’s creative genius.

Cheras is home to this gem that’s worth braving the notorious city traffic for. Reservations are not available, so we recommend coming bright and early to get first picks of the sweet treats lining Ebony’s wooden counters. Classics like the marble cake and tiramisu are solid crowd favourites, but we’re big fans of their unique offerings such as sticky toffee pudding with poached grapes and the pandan layer and coconut mousse – you just might end up bringing another slice home with you. Hot food at the family-owned Ebony is just as satisfying - the simple yet well-executed minced pork scrambled egg rice which sports fluffy eggs blanketing a bowl of hot rice, topped with minced pork and bonito flakes is a comforting dish that we’re constantly dreaming of. Both food and dessert menus are updated regularly, so keep an eye on their Instagram stories to see what’s the latest. Coffee is a serious business here too with an array of brews using beans from local roasters including Artisan Roastery. On a hot day, the Plum Garden is a real winner. Made with cold brew coffee, homemade plum syrup, osmanthus and lime juice, this is the drink to sip on as you take in Ebony’s cosy vibes.

Tucked in bustling Damansara Jaya is this Melbourne-inspired cafe providing coffee, sourdough goods and hearty brunch fare for the neighbourhood. You can’t miss its bright terracotta frontage which has become a famed photo-op spot. We’re big fans of the signature wholemeal sourdough bread and housemade kaya, a delicious, modern take on the kopitiam staple. If you’ve come with an appetite, we recommend the grilled cheese and tomato soup that pairs excellently with their lattes, perfect to help cut through the richness. Baked goods and pastries are lined up on display, and one must-have is the kaya doughnut – think fluffy shokupan dough fried and stuffed with creamy kaya. On coffee, you have two blends to pick from; – the rotating seasonal blend highlights various local micro-roasters while the neighbourhood blend possesses a nutty flavour. If it’s your first visit, don’t leave without getting a bottle of the honey latte – it’s the perfect cure for KL’s sweltering weekends.

We’re not sure we can call Dou Dou a cafe. Sure, it serves up classic sourdough-based brunch items along with some baked goods, but Doudou has high aspirations. Thanks to Penang-based plantscaping studio Sputnik Forest Labs, the design forward space is more refined than anything we’ve seen in town. It’s been described as a Shinto shrine, an oasis of calm, an ashram – anything but a cafe. At the entrance, a wild, austere garden sets the mood, and stepping through the bronze doorway, the venue’s benches (made from wood rescued from old houses in Penang), an understated bakery counter with corrugated concrete, and massive glass windows come together to create a raw, neutral palette that allows the heaping pastries to take centrestage. When Dou Dou first opened, travel-starved KLites swarmed the bakery to experience a place that doesn’t quite feel like home. Now that the fervent crowds have ebbed to a more manageable volume, Dou Dou has emerged for what it really is – one of the best bakery cafes in KL. As it also serves as the central kitchen for sister cafe One Half, Dou Dou churns out some serious sourdough (they use organic milled flours from UK-based Shipton Mill), croissants and pastries (don’t miss the tie guan yin chocolate tart!). While their seasonal baked goods like pear milk frangipane tarts, yuzu apple eclairs, and apam balik danishes keep us coming back for more, Dou Dou’s coffee also sits above the rest.

ŌNO checks all the boxes – a fine curation of matcha, coffee, pastries, inventive drinks, sandos, all in a lovely sunlight filled space. If you find yourself in PJ looking for coffee or matcha, be sure to drop by ŌNO. Nestled in a quiet corner of PJ, ŌNO was opened in late 2021 by Malaysia’s top matcha purveyors (Niko Neko) and coffee baristas-turned-roasters Curate Coffee Roasters. Behind the slightly confusing swinging front door and an intimidatingly minimalist interior, ŌNO serves up great Japanese-inspired sandos and exactingly brewed drinks. Customers get a view of the bar, where the small team works on brewing matcha and coffee. Try the ceremonial matcha, or go for rotating Champion reserve single-origin beans brewed with the method of your choice. The menu sports some standouts like juicy chicken katsu sando, ichigo sando or dashi tamago sando, but for us, the unassuming winner is the houjicha ogura sando - made with fluffy Japanese shokupan, homemade red bean paste, and hojicha cream.