Kota Bharu Has A Café Scene Beyond Nasi Kerabu

Most write-ups of Kota Bharu food stop at the heritage dishes — nasi kerabu, nasi dagang, ayam percik, laksam, akok — sold at markets and stalls that have run for decades. That reputation is well earned, but it also means Kota Bharu's newer café culture rarely gets mentioned. Over the past decade, a small but real cluster of specialty coffee bars, a working roastery, and dessert-forward cafés has grown up around the town centre, Kubang Kerian, and the roads leading out toward the airport — serving pour-overs, house-roasted beans, and brunch plates alongside the usual kopitiam scene.

Where Kelantan's "Third Wave" Coffee Actually Started

The Bold Lab, which opened in Taman Kenangan back in February 2015, is generally credited as Kota Bharu's first third-wave café — the place that introduced hand-brewed methods like pour-over, AeroPress and siphon to a town where kopi-O and teh tarik had long ruled. That opening effectively seeded the scene: cafés like KB Brewster and Kopi Mesin followed over the next few years, each building their own regulars around espresso-based drinks, and eventually a dedicated roastery, Drum & Desk, opened inside a co-working space in Taman Sari — the first (and still only, as far as this research found) café in Kota Bharu roasting its own beans in-house.

A Wider Mix: Dessert Cafés, Theme Cafés And An Airport Stop

The scene isn't limited to serious coffee geeks. Yoohoo Dessert Café built a following on kakigori and bingsu-style shaved ice, Tiny Elephant pairs soft-serve with coffee and plant-based milk options, and Ghibli Coffee leans into a Studio Ghibli-inspired theme with globally-sourced beans. Even Kota Bharu's airport has a proper café now — Leaven, inside the new terminal at Sultan Ismail Petra Airport — meaning a decent coffee is possible on the way in or out of Kelantan, not just in town.

Getting Around

These cafés are spread across a few pockets: the town centre and Taman Kenangan area, Kubang Kerian near the hospital and university belt, Taman Sari, and the airport road out toward Pengkalan Chepa. None of them are within easy walking distance of each other, so a rented car or Grab is the practical way to string together a café-hopping day — most are open through the afternoon, with a few running into the evening.

*Cover image: B adger1, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons*