Bonfire Restaurant & Bar — Photo: Bryan Ong

Damansara Utama area guide

Discover the best restaurants, cafés, shops and things to do in Damansara Utama

Monday 9 January 2017

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Damansara Utama is home to Damansara Uptown, the land of hard-to-find parking spots and more cafés than you can shake a stick at. We say park in the new Starling Mall and walk about the area before you eventually step in to an eatery. Here are our picks of restaurants, cafés, shops and things to do in the area. PS: If your favourite spot isn't featured here, let us know in the comments.

Cafés in Damansara Utama

Restaurants

Battery Acid Club

Here’s another ‘hidden’ café to look out for the next time you’re in the Damansara Utama area. Battery Acid Club’s minimalist façade makes it hard to...

Restaurants

Random Food Store

price 2 of 4

Located right next to Village Park (winner of Best Malay/Malaysian of the Time Out KL Food & Drink Awards 2016) is Uptown’s latest eatery, Random...

Restaurants

Cottle Coffee

Located on the same row as the police station at Damansara Uptown, this tiny café is the first Asian outpost of Melbourne-based artisan coffee roaster Cottle...

Restaurants

Departure Lounge

price 2 of 4

As one of the first cafés in KL to bring in speciality coffee, Departure Lounge has stood the test of time (and competition) with their consistently...

Restaurants

Fat Spoon Café

price 2 of 4

September 2011 The only thing worse than going to Uptown is going to Uptown at lunchtime. Like Pudu, the area has always invoked an inveterate fear in me,...

Restaurants

Frisson Coffee Bar

price 2 of 4

If you prefer your pasta selection varied and extensive, Frisson Coffee Bar in Damansara Uptown should be your next brunch spot. Pick from a list of 14 types...

Restaurants

The Good Batch

price 2 of 4

This new one is owned by former manager of The Bee, Andrew Tan. The setup is less cluttered and more spacious than most new cafés, and focuses more on food...

Restaurants

Tea Press

After a wave of specialty coffee bars in KL, it's tea's turn in the limelight. For a good dose of Zen, head to Japanese tea house Tea Press at Damansara Uptown...

Places for dessert in Damansara Utama

Restaurants

Beans N Beans

For premium Korean desserts, the Damansara Uptown café offers bingsu, waffles and sandwiches, but focus on the bingsu and choose from flavours such as green...

Restaurants

Hail's Soft Serve

price 1 of 4

The once-minimalist menu (two soft serve flavours and a variety of toppings) at Hail's Soft Serve is now replaced with a dessert spread featuring waffles,...

Restaurants

Miru Dessert Café

price 2 of 4

Joining the ranks of dessert joints in Damansara Uptown is Miru Dessert Café, a cosy spot that specialises in Shibuya honey toast. The thick, fluffy slice of...

Restaurants

Shugatori Dessert Café

price 2 of 4

If you’ve exhausted all the dessert options in Damansara Uptown, there’s the new Shugatori Dessert Café. The menu is simple – stacks of pancakes, waffles and...

Restaurants

Softsrve

price 1 of 4

The Damansara Utama area is ripe with cafés like The Good Batch, Wondermilk and Fat Spoon. When you’re done with brunch, head down to...

Restaurants

Tsujiri

Straight from green tea dessert central Kitayama-dori in Kyoto, tea dessert institution Tsujiri has arrived on Malaysian shores. Known for their matcha-based...

Places to eat in Damansara Utama

Restaurants

Bonfire Restaurant & Bar

price 2 of 4

Located in Damansara Uptown’s new The Starling mall is the new restaurant and bar Bonfire serving up modern Australian cuisine. The space boasts a rustic lodge...

Restaurants

Village Park

price 1 of 4

March 2009 In the three years I’ve been frequenting Village Park I’ve not once tasted its widely touted nasi dagang, a delicious (or so I’ve heard) rendition...

Restaurants

CurryLeaf Restaurant

While Damansara Uptown isn’t exactly a haven for Indian food, CurryLeaf is a decent option when cravings kick in. The restaurant claims to specialise in...

Restaurants

Capital Nasi Dagang Kelantan

4 out of 5 stars
price 1 of 4

I’m a huge fan of nasi dagang. Sadly, you can’t really find the popular East Coast staple in KL as much as you can find nasi kerabu; nasi dagang is a rarity...

Restaurants

Nara Kitchen & Co

price 2 of 4

Damansara Uptown has a good mix of places to eat – you have your cafés, your hawker stalls and your dessert joints. Run by the same team as The Good Batch and...

Restaurants

Brother John Burger stall

Home of the famous Master Burger (two Ramly beef/chicken patties with egg and cheese), the stall has been manned by Abang John (whose real name is Kahar) for...

Restaurants

Little Mums

price 2 of 4

Folks familiar with Malaysian restaurant Mum’s Place at Damansara Perdana would be pleased to find out about Little Mums, an offshoot touting the same...

Restaurants

Udon Kobo Min Min

Headed by Chef Nakajima (formerly of Kura and Minori), the small Japanese restaurant in Damansara Uptown specialises in homemade udon. Perfect for a rainy day,...

Things to do in Damansara Utama

Art

Minut Init Art Social

Minut Init welcomes both aspiring and established artists alike regardless of the artistic discipline practised. So whether you do pop, street, or abstract...

Shopping

Objekt-Object

Situated at the back of Battery Acid Club, Objekt-Object is a cool place to check out once you’re done with coffee or a cendol cake from the café. Vintage...

Health and beauty

The Oven Cuttery

Barber-musician multi-hyphenate Kevin Tan – formerly of OTHRS barbers – has his own salon space now: The Oven Cuttery, located inside Battery Acid Club. First...

Shopping

The Starling Mall

Damansara Uptown now has a brand new ‘eco lifestyle’ mall within its vicinity, with retail shops and restaurants aplenty. The Starling mall is named after the...

Bars in Damansara Utama

Bars and pubs

61 Monarchy

The space at 61 Monarchy is reminiscent of a holiday resort, what with the wooden accents (like rattan stools and furniture) and flora and fauna motifs...

Restaurants

BonVivant

price 2 of 4

Located in Damansara Uptown’s new The Starling mall is the new restaurant and bar Bonfire serving up modern Australian cuisine. The space boasts a rustic...

Bars and pubs

The Great Beer Bar

The Great Beer Bar is very easy to like, not least because it has on rotation up to eight craft beers on tap at any point in time. More importantly, a majority...

Bars and pubs

Hyde

Finally, another speakeasy in KL – well, in PJ to be precise. Andrew and Caroline of The Good Batch are the duo behind this new joint. It’s hiding on the...

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Things to do

Bangsar

Bangsar has gone through many phases – unobtrusive residential area, clubbing haven, arts and culture quarter, and now, café district. From the...

Things to do

Hartamas

Populated by expatriates and upper middle class families, Hartamas is fancy – even its name says so (‘harta’, treasure; ‘mas’,...

Things to do

Damansara

The wide land that is Damansara has the privilege of being both KL and Selangor. It can be confusing – Bukit Damansara for example, is not exactly near...

Things to do

KL City

Your cheat sheet to all the best restaurants, shops and things to do in the main areas of the city centre including Bukit Bintang, Petaling Street and Pudu.