Kota Kinabalu's Cafe Scene, Beyond the Kopitiam
Most food guides to Kota Kinabalu point you to kopitiam, night markets and tank-to-table seafood, and rightly so. Alongside them sits a younger, Western-leaning cafe scene: pour-over and flat whites, sourdough brunch plates, Dutch baby pancakes, matcha bars and French patisserie. This list covers that scene only. For beef noodles, Sabah curry laksa, Tuaran mee and hinava, see our kopitiam guide.
All eight cafes were re-checked on 15 Sep 2026 against their own Instagram or Facebook pages, published menus and Google Maps listings. Opening hours below come from the cafes' own channels, and several have changed since this list first ran in August. On 24 Oct 2026 we confirmed all eight cafes' official Instagram, Facebook or resort pages are still live, with no closure notices.
How to Choose a KK Cafe
- Check the closing time first. This is the most common mistake visitors make. Half of this list shuts by 7pm or earlier, and Anomaly Café is closed all day Saturday.
- Cluster by area. Lorong Dewan, a lane beside Gaya Street, holds four of the eight within a few minutes' walk. Everything else needs a Grab ride.
- Match the cafe to the job. A serious coffee, a full brunch, a dessert stop and a family meal point to different cafes on this list.
- Budget for service charge. Nook's menu prices exclude service charge. The resort cafe's prices are nett and roughly double the city-centre ones.
Lorong Dewan and Gaya Street: The Walkable Cluster
1. October Coffee Gaya at 13 Lorong Dewan is the coffee-first stop on the strip, with a vintage, wood-heavy room and a 4.6 Google rating from more than 1,500 reviews. Its current menu prices an Americano at RM10.50, a cappuccino at RM11, a flat white at RM13 and its October Cold Brew at RM13.50, with pour-over made from beans the baristas rotate. Snacks are cheap for the area: scones (two pieces, with butter, jam and whipped cream) at RM12, French toast at RM12.50, scrambled eggs on sourdough at RM15 and the Australian-beef October Sandwich at RM15.50. On 10 Sep 2026 it announced new hours of 8am to 10pm daily, last order 9.30pm.
2. Nook Cafe at 19 Lorong Dewan is the all-day brunch pick, built around bread it bakes in-house. Its June 2026 menu lists Nook's Big Breakfast (house bread, eggs, hash brown, chicken sausage, beef bacon, grilled tomato, mushrooms and greens) at RM35, Flamenco Eggs baked in a tomato and pepper ragout at RM28, egg on toast at RM12, and a bread basket of three breads with three spreads, including kaya, at RM26. Prices exclude service charge. It opens 7am to 7pm daily and has outdoor seating.
3. Woo! at 21 Lorong Dewan, in the Hotel Pertama building, is known for Dutch baby pancakes and runs its own bake house. Google reviewers most often mention its matcha tart and carbonara. Its Instagram lists 9am to 5pm Tuesday to Sunday and 10am to 5pm on Monday, so it is a breakfast or lunch stop, not an afternoon one.
4. Daily Coffee (Gaya Street) at Shop No. 4, Ground Floor, Jalan Gaya, in the Hotel Sixty3 building, is the local outlet of the Daily Coffee chain. It has the longest hours on this list, 7am to midnight. It is more a dessert-and-drinks lounge than a brunch cafe: reviewers single out the cheesecake bingsu and sweet coffees, and its 3.9 Google rating is the lowest of the eight. Come here for a cool late-night seat, not a serious espresso.
Sutera Avenue, Taman Far East, Sutera Harbour and Dah Yeh Villa
5. Matcha Studio by GDC at B-1-05, Block B, Sutera Avenue is one of the few KK cafes built around matcha rather than coffee. Reviewers point to the matcha choux, hojicha drinks and pistachio basque cheesecake, and it holds a 4.7 Google rating. The Sutera Avenue studio opens 11am to 10pm. Its Facebook page (checked 24 Oct 2026) lists three more branches: Gaya Street (8am to 9pm, the earliest-opening one, handy if you want matcha before a Sunday market walk), Foh Sang (8.30am to 10pm) and Suria Sabah (10am to 10pm).
6. Haru Cafe (Hilltop Branch) at 7 Lorong Gunung Juo, Taman Far East, near Lintas and Luyang, is a Korean cafe serving all-day brunch. The room is spacious, with plenty of seats and power points, which makes it the best laptop stop on this list. Bulgogi and latte art come up often in reviews. It stays open until 11pm. The original Cafe Haru at Kolam Centre on Jalan Lintas opens daily 7.30am to 11pm.
7. Muffinz Deli Cafe in The Magellan Sutera Resort at Sutera Harbour is the family option, pitched by the resort as a place with something for the little ones. It opens daily 11am to 8pm and takes WhatsApp reservations on 017 813 0299 (9am to 5pm). The menu is resort-priced but nett: lattes and cappuccinos at RM20 hot or RM22 iced, muffins at RM10, cakes such as Biscoff tiramisu and Sacher torte at RM25, sandwiches from RM55 and a 220g wagyu burger at RM65.
8. Anomaly Café at Lot 44, Lorong Kenawai 4, Dah Yeh Villa is KK's dedicated French dessert cafe, serving patisserie, whole cakes, specialty coffee and a light brunch menu. It serves no pork and no alcohol. Its July 2026 seasonal drinks were Berry Peachy, an espresso-based fruit drink; Quiet Amber, with yuzu cold foam, Okinawa black sugar espresso and coffee caviar; and London Velvet, an earl grey and chocolate blend. It opens Sunday to Friday, 9am to 6pm, and is closed on Saturday.
Worked Budgets
- Coffee and a snack at October Coffee Gaya: flat white RM13 + scones RM12 = RM25.
- Full brunch at Nook Cafe: Big Breakfast RM35 + egg on toast RM12 to share = RM47, plus service charge.
- Coffee and cake at Muffinz: latte RM20 + one cake RM25 = RM45 nett, about double the city-centre equivalent.
How to Pick Between Them
- You want the best coffee for the money: October Coffee Gaya.
- You want a proper brunch plate: Nook Cafe, any time before 7pm.
- You want pancakes or pastries: Woo!, before 5pm.
- You want matcha instead of coffee: Matcha Studio at Sutera Avenue.
- You need to work for a few hours or want a late coffee: Haru Cafe's hilltop branch, open until 11pm.
- You have kids with you or are staying at Sutera Harbour: Muffinz Deli Cafe.
- You want a French dessert, any day but Saturday: Anomaly Café.
- It is past 10pm: Daily Coffee on Gaya Street, open until midnight.
What We Left Out
- Chopping Block (6 Lorong Dewan), a long-running Western cafe on the same strip, is now listed as permanently closed on Google Maps.
- Fook Yuen Cafe & Bakery on Gaya Street is a bakery-kopitiam known for roti kahwin, and Kopi Ping Cafe at Sutera Avenue is a modernised old-school kopitiam, so both belong in our kopitiam guide.
