I love coffee, and for the last month I have set it as my mission to find the best coffee shops in Yogyakarta. This simple goal is a combination of needing to find a good space to do some work combined with my love of coffee. After almost four weeks in the city, I can safely say that I’ve visited most of the coffee shops in Yogyakarta. So here is my guide to the best coffee shops in Yogyakarta.
Ministry of Coffee
Located on Jalan Prawirotaman is the nice and airy Ministry of Coffee. The cafe/ hostel is spread over two floors and there is a small garden. The downstairs is a nice open space with plenty of light and good air circulation. The decor is restrained and simple and the coffee is pretty good. The food however is pretty unremarkable. Still, this is one of my favorite coffee shops in Yogyakarta.
Cokelat Monggo Restaurant
Cokelat Monggo Restaurant is on Jalan Tirtodipuran. Though the cafe that I visit is called … and not Cokelat Monggo (Chocolate Monggo sells chocolate, the other half of the building is a restaurant). Anyways, I digress… This is by far and away my favorite of the numerous coffee shops in Yogyakarta.
Wood is a key feature of the restaurants decor. The walls, benches and tables are all highly polished hardwoods. The building is part restaurant part exhibition space. The old photos and other decorations are all for sale (there is even a scale statue of the Eiffel Tower, just in case you wanted to buy one). However, it is the food and especially the deserts that are the real highlight of this place.
Via Via
Via Via is located on Jalan Prawirotaman and is a firm favorite with foreigners. While the food here is nice and it’s a great place in the evenings to meet people and socialise, it’s actually not that great a place to work in, because the seats are not really comfortable and the place is always busy! (I probably shouldn’t be including it on the list of best coffee shops in Yogyakarta…) However, it does have a great little bakery and like I said, it’s a great place to meet people in the evening…
Cafe Cokelat
Cafe Cokelat is located on the other side of Yogyakarta from these other cafes on Jalan Cik Diktiro. It’s a nice cafe with old comfy sofas and the constant sound of running water. Unlike the other places on this list, I have never seen a backpacker at Cafe Cokelat. Instead, the cafe is filled up with students and locals who come here for a cheap coffee in a nice environment.
Dixie
Dixie is a chain coffee shop located on Jalan Gejayan. The cafe is pretty large and like Ministry of Coffee, it is spread over two floors. The top floor has plenty of sofas and light flooding in from the large windows, while the downstairs is split up into seperate seating areas. The crowd here is a mixture of foreigners and locals and the coffee is tasty and cheap.