Kuching's food scene usually gets talked about two ways: the kopitiam institutions (Choon Hui Cafe, Top Spot Food Court, Green Hill Corner and the like) and the kolo mee / Sarawak laksa specialists that locals argue about endlessly. Both of those are covered in our other Kuching pieces on the site — this one is neither. This is the third-wave, Western-style side of Kuching's café scene: specialty coffee roasters, all-day brunch cafes and dessert-forward spots serving flat whites, pour-overs, bagels and waffles rather than kopi-O and kolo mee. Think the Kuching equivalent of a "best cafes in KL" list.
We web-searched and cross-checked each cafe below against its own Facebook, Instagram or website page to confirm it is currently trading in Kuching as of this update. Prices are described qualitatively — none are invented — since we couldn't independently pull a live, dated menu figure for every outlet this run.
Old Bazaar & Chinatown: Sarawak's Own Coffee Bean
Black Bean Coffee & Tea Co. on Ewe Hai Street is where the Sarawak specialty-coffee story really starts. Roasting since 2001, it's the pioneer of Sarawak Liberica — the rare "elephant bean" grown in the hills south of Kuching — and one of only two Malaysian cafes to have made Lonely Planet's global coffee-tour list. It's also one of the few places in the world where you can taste-compare Arabica, Robusta and Liberica side by side, poured by the founders themselves. Go here first for context before the rest of the list.
Kuching Waterfront: Brunch With a River View
James Brooke Bistro & Cafe sits right on the Sarawak River promenade on Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, with colonial-era "White Rajah" theming and views across to Fort Margherita and the old Chinese shophouses. The menu leans Western brunch — chicken chop, beef stroganoff, grilled fish — brewed with Sarawak-grown coffee, making it the easiest single stop to pair a scenic river-view coffee with a proper sit-down meal.
Jalan Song & Tun Jugah: Kuching's Café Row
This stretch near CityOne Megamall has become an unofficial café row. The Coffee Clinic at Song Plaza runs a rustic brick-and-timber "clinic" theme with plenty of power outlets, fast wifi and occasional live acoustic sets — a genuine laptop-and-latte spot rather than a photo-op cafe. A short walk away, Sukha Cafe at Brighton Square has been a Kuching hipster-cafe fixture since 2015, known for its recycled-bicycle-wheel light fittings and a waffle-heavy brunch menu alongside its coffee bar. Round the corner on Jalan Song Thian Cheok, The Bagel Man is Kuching's dedicated bagel counter — small-batch bagels paired with specialty coffee, popular enough to draw a weekday-morning queue.
Padungan & Beyond: The Multi-Outlet Reliable
Bing! Coffee has been running in Kuching since 2004 and now spans several outlets — Padungan, Green Heights/The Hills, Premier 101 and a garden branch at Rikett Estate — making it the easiest name on this list to find close to wherever you're staying. Expect consistent specialty coffee and an all-day Western food menu across branches, though it's worth checking which specific outlet is nearest since not every original location has stayed open over the years.
Saradise & SOHO: The New-Wave Roasters
Kuching's newer commercial strips have their own dedicated roasteries. Elementary Coffee Roasters at Saradise (Jalan Tabuan) runs a minimalist, almost Muji-style space with fresh-roasted single-origin beans and a quiet, work-friendly vibe. Out at SOHO on Jalan Wan Alwi, Earthlings Coffee Workshop has been considered Sarawak's original specialty-coffee roastery since 2012 — hand-brewed single origins, house-roasted beans from local and overseas farms, and even barista workshops for visitors who want to go deeper than a single cup.
What We Left Out
- Beurré — a French-leaning coffee-and-bagel spot that had opened on Jalan Song, but its own Facebook page posted a farewell message ("thank you for growing with us"), indicating it has since closed.
- The Green Cottage — a lovely garden-set restaurant, but its standout dishes (Mee Mamak, Cantonese Tomato Mee) and general menu skew local-Malaysian rather than Western specialty coffee, so it didn't fit this list's angle.
- Rainforest Garden Cafe — a multi-stall garden-nursery dining space where the standout dish is Sarawak Laksa; it reads closer to an open-air hawker centre than a Western coffee/brunch cafe.
- Kopi & Bread — a well-reviewed brunch spot at TT3/Northbank, but it markets itself explicitly as a modern "kopitiam," putting it closer to our existing kopitiam-institutions piece than to the third-wave cafe scene.
- Odiya Cafe — a solid coffee-and-cake spot, but it's built around a Korean food menu rather than a Western brunch/specialty-coffee identity.
