Top Local Coffee Shops in Da Nang Worth Seeking Out

Photo by  Kazuki Taira

17 min read · Da Nang, Vietnam · local coffee shops ·

Top Local Coffee Shops in Da Nang Worth Seeking Out

NT

Words by

Nguyen Thi Lan

Share

Advertisement

I have been drinking coffee in this city since I was old enough to sit on a plastic stool without sliding off, and I can tell you that finding the top local coffee shops in Da Nang requires you to look past the beachfront smoothie bars and walk a few blocks inland. The real pulse of this city beats in its independent cafes, where the owners know the farmers, the roasting is done in small batches, and the ice is never an afterthought. If you want to understand Da Nang, you do not start at the Han River bridges at sunset. You start at 6 a.m. with a cup of robusta so strong it rearranges your internal clock, sitting on a low stool while motorbikes hum past your knees.

The Old Quarter Soul of Hai Phong Street

Hai Phong Street runs parallel to the river and carries the weight of Da Nang's older commercial history, a place where printing houses and family traders once dominated the sidewalks. Walking down this street in the early morning, you will notice that the coffee culture here is not about aesthetics. It is about endurance. The cafes that survive on Hai Phong have been here for decades, serving factory workers, taxi drivers, and retired teachers who have sat at the same table since before the city rebranded itself as a tourism hub. What makes this corridor worth your time is the density of unpretentious, family-run operations that still brew using traditional phin filters and charge prices that have barely moved in five years.

Advertisement

1. Cafe Hai Phong (No. 183 Hai Phong Street)

This is the kind of place where the owner remembers your order after one visit and judges you silently if you ask for anything with whipped cream. The interior is tiled floor, fluorescent lighting, and wooden chairs that have been repaired so many times they are more glue than wood. Their drip coffee comes out thick, almost syrupy, with a bitterness that lingers in the back of your throat in the best possible way. I have been coming here since I was a university student, and the woman who runs it still asks me why I am not married yet every single time.

What to Order: Ca phe sua da with extra condensed milk and a slow pour of hot water on the side so you can adjust the strength yourself.
Best Time: 6:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m., before the motorbike traffic thickens and the regulars claim every seat.
The Vibe: Functional, warm, and completely uninterested in impressing anyone. The Wi-Fi password is written on a piece of tape near the counter, and it changes every few weeks without warning.
Local Tip: Ask for the back room if you want to sit for more than an hour. It is quieter, has a small fan, and the owner's mother sometimes brings out fresh banh bo nung from a neighbor's kitchen.

Advertisement

The Rise of Da Nang Specialty Coffee in Thanh Khe

Thanh Khe District sits west of the city center and has quietly become the neighborhood where Da Nang specialty coffee is evolving fastest. This is not the Da Nang that appears in travel magazines. It is a residential grid of narrow streets where young Vietnamese entrepreneurs are opening small roasting operations and experimenting with single-origin beans from Lam Dak and Quang Tri provinces. The rents are lower here than near My Khe Beach, which means the owners can afford to spend money on quality green beans rather than interior design. What you will find in Thanh Khe is a generation of baristas who trained in Saigon or Hanoi and came home to build something that reflects Da Nang's own identity, not a copy of what works elsewhere.

2. Roastery Coffee (Nguyen Van Linh Street, Thanh Khe)

Roastery sits on a corner of Nguyen Van Linh where the traffic noise is constant but somehow becomes background after ten minutes. The space is small, maybe eight tables, with exposed brick walls and a roasting machine visible through a glass partition in the back. They source directly from farms in the Central Highlands and roast on-site, which means the smell hits you before you even open the door. I watched them pull a batch of Lam Dak Catimor beans last month, and the owner explained his roast profile with the kind of intensity most people reserve for discussing football.

Advertisement

What to Order: Their single-origin pour-over using beans from a farm in Krong Nang district. It comes in a glass carafe with a small ceramic cup, and the flavor has a chocolate undertone that most robusta drinkers do not expect.
Best Time: Weekday mornings between 9:00 and 11:00 a.m., when the roasting is usually finished and the space smells incredible.
The Vibe: Serious but not snobby. The baristas will talk to you about the beans if you ask, but they will not lecture you. The outdoor seating on the sidewalk gets hot by noon, so plan accordingly.
Local Tip: They sell 250-gram bags of freshly roasted beans at prices that are roughly 30 percent lower than what you would pay for equivalent quality near the beach. Buy two bags. You will finish the first one on your trip and regret not having the second.

The Beach Adjacent Scene in An Thuong

An Thuong is the neighborhood just east of My Khe Beach where the foreign resident community has clustered over the past decade, and the independent cafes Da Nang is known for among expats have multiplied here. The streets are narrow, the signage is a mix of Vietnamese and English, and the coffee quality is generally high because the customer base demands it. This area has a different rhythm than the city center. Things open later, close later, and the conversation at the next table might be in Korean, Russian, or English. What makes An Thuong worth exploring is the density of options within a few blocks. You can try three different cafes in a single morning and have three completely different experiences.

Advertisement

3. Moc An Thuong (An Thuong 4 Street)

Moc is a two-story wooden house with a garden in the back that feels like it belongs in Hoi An rather than Da Nang. The owner is a Da Nang native who spent years working in hospitality in Da Lat and brought back a love of slow coffee preparation. Their egg coffee is the best version I have had outside of Hanoi, with a custard-like foam that holds its shape for several minutes. The upstairs balcony overlooks a row of bougainvillea, and on weekday mornings you might be the only person there.

What to Order: Ca phe trung (egg coffee) served in a small ceramic cup set inside a bowl of warm water to maintain temperature.
Best Time: 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. on weekdays. Weekends get crowded with families from other districts who have heard about the garden.
The Vibe: Calm, green, and slightly romantic. The wooden floors creak, which adds to the atmosphere but means you will hear every footstep from the kitchen. Service can be slow when the owner is the only person working, which happens more often than the posted hours suggest.
Local Tip: The garden has a small fish pond with a stone bench. Sit there after your coffee and you will understand why people pay premium rents in this neighborhood.

Advertisement

The University District Energy of Xuan Thuy

Xuan Thuy Street runs along the eastern edge of the Da Nang University of Technology campus, and the coffee shops here cater to students who need caffeine, Wi-Fi, and a place to study for less than 25,000 VND per cup. This is where you find the best brewed coffee Da Nang has to offer at student-friendly prices, served in spaces that prioritize function over form. The competition is fierce, which means the owners are constantly adjusting their recipes and their hours to capture the after-class crowd. What I appreciate about this area is the honesty. Nobody here is trying to create an Instagram moment. They are trying to keep a hundred students caffeinated through exam season.

4. Highland Coffee (Xuan Thuy Street)

Yes, Highland is a chain, and I know that might seem like a contradiction in a guide about local coffee shops. But this particular location on Xuan Thuy has been here longer than most of the independent spots nearby, and it serves as a reliable baseline for what Vietnamese coffee culture looks like at scale. The staff are efficient, the air conditioning works, and the iced milk coffee is consistent in a way that smaller cafes sometimes struggle to match. I include it because sometimes you need a predictable cup at a known price, and this location delivers that without any surprises.

Advertisement

What to Order: Bac xiu da (white coffee with ice), which is lighter on the coffee and heavier on the condensed milk, perfect for the afternoon heat.
Best Time: 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., when the lunch crowd has cleared and students are settling in for study sessions.
The Vibe: Bright, air-conditioned, and functional. The music playlist leans heavily toward Vietnamese pop ballads from the early 2000s, which I find oddly comforting. The power outlets are limited to the wall seats, so arrive early if you need to charge a laptop.
Local Tip: The second floor has a quieter section that most customers do not know about. Take the stairs past the restrooms and you will find four tables with a view of the street below.

The Riverside Quiet of Tran Cao Van

Tran Cao Van Street runs between the Han River and the city center, and it has a different character depending on which block you are on. The section near the river has older buildings, smaller storefronts, and a pace of life that feels closer to Da Nang of twenty years ago. The coffee shops here tend to be family operations where the owner lives upstairs and the cafe is essentially their ground floor living room. This is where I send friends who want to experience Da Nang without the tourism infrastructure, and they always come back surprised by how much they enjoyed it.

Advertisement

5. Ca Phe Ong Tao (Tran Cao Van Street)

Ong Tao is named after the owner, a retired mechanic who opened this cafe fifteen years ago because he was bored and missed the social routine of going to work. The space is narrow, maybe four meters wide, with a long wooden counter and stools that face the street. He roasts his own beans in a small drum roaster on the premises, and the smell of roasting coffee fills the entire block every Tuesday and Friday morning. His robusta blend is dark, almost charred, and it is the kind of coffee that makes you sit up straighter after the first sip.

What to Order: Ca phe den (black iced coffee) with no sugar. The roast is strong enough that adding anything would be a waste.
Best Time: Tuesday or Friday mornings around 7:00 a.m., when the roasting is happening and Ong Tao is in his element, explaining his process to anyone who will listen.
The Vibe: Intimate, loud in the best way, and deeply personal. Ong Tao will talk to you whether you want him to or not, and his stories about Da Nang before the bridges were built are worth the price of the coffee alone. The seating is limited to about ten people, so you will be sitting close to strangers, which is part of the experience.
Local Tip: Bring cash. Ong Tao does not accept mobile payments, and the nearest ATM is a five-minute walk away on Le Duan Street.

Advertisement

The Modern Minimalist Wave in Cam Le

Cam Le District is south of the airport and has seen rapid development in recent years, with new apartment complexes and a growing population of young professionals who work remotely. The coffee shops here reflect that demographic. They are cleaner, more design-conscious, and more likely to serve specialty drinks alongside traditional Vietnamese coffee. This is where Da Nang specialty coffee is heading, and the quality is high even if the atmosphere can sometimes feel a bit sterile compared to the older neighborhoods.

6. The 8th Cafe (Nguyen Phuoc Nguyen Street, Cam Le)

The 8th Cafe occupies a converted ground-floor apartment with white walls, concrete floors, and a small courtyard with a single banana tree. The owner is a young woman who studied graphic design in Ho Chi Minh City and returned to Da Nang with strong opinions about latte art and pour-over technique. Their menu includes both traditional phin drip and V60 pour-over, and they source beans from a cooperative in Kon Tum province. The coffee is excellent, but what keeps me coming back is the quiet. This is one of the few cafes in Da Nang where you can sit for three hours and not feel rushed.

Advertisement

What to Order: V60 pour-over using their Kon Tum Typica beans, served at a drinkable temperature rather than scalding hot.
Best Time: Weekday afternoons from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., when the light comes through the courtyard and the space feels like a private studio.
The Vibe: Minimalist, calm, and slightly self-conscious about its own aesthetic. The music is always instrumental, always at the right volume, and the staff speak softly. The Wi-Fi is reliable but the connection drops occasionally near the courtyard, so pick an interior table if you are working.
Local Tip: They close at 6:00 p.m. sharp, which is earlier than most cafes in Da Nang. Plan your visit accordingly and do not show up at 5:45 expecting a leisurely experience.

The Night Owl Culture of Phan Chau Trinh

Phan Chau Trinh Street is one of Da Nang's main east-west arteries, and the coffee shops here cater to a different crowd than the morning-focused operations in other districts. Many of the cafes on this street stay open until 11:00 p.m. or later, serving a mix of students, night shift workers, and people who prefer to socialize after dark. The coffee is still the main attraction, but the atmosphere shifts in the evening. Conversations get louder, the lighting gets dimmer, and the snack options expand beyond the usual sunflower seeds and dried squid.

Advertisement

7. Ca Phe Dem (Phan Chau Trinh Street)

Ca Phe Dem, which translates to "Night Coffee," has been operating on Phan Chau Trinh for over a decade, and it is one of the few places in Da Nang where the evening coffee culture feels as established as the morning routine. The space is open-air, with plastic chairs and metal tables set under a corrugated tin awning. At night, the street comes alive with food vendors selling banh xeo and grilled corn, and the smell of charcoal mixes with the coffee. Their salted coffee is a local invention that sounds strange but works surprisingly well, with a savory foam that cuts through the sweetness of the condensed milk.

What to Order: Ca phe muoi (salted coffee) served hot, not iced. The salt foam loses its texture when it melts into cold coffee.
Best Time: 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., when the street food vendors are set up and the temperature has dropped enough to sit outside comfortably.
The Vibe: Lively, unpolished, and genuinely social. This is where you come to meet people, not to sit alone with a laptop. The noise level can make phone calls difficult, and the plastic chairs are not designed for comfort over long periods.
Local Tip: Order a plate of banh trang nuong (Vietnamese pizza) from the vendor two doors down and eat it at your coffee table. The owner of Ca Phe Dem has an arrangement with the vendor and will not mind.

Advertisement

The Heritage Block of Le Duan

Le Duan Street is one of Da Nang's oldest thoroughfares, named after the French colonial-era politician and lined with buildings that date back to the mid-twentieth century. The coffee shops here carry a sense of history that is harder to find in the newer districts. Some of the storefronts have been operating since the 1990s, and the owners have watched the city transform from a quiet provincial capital into a major tourism destination. What makes Le Duan worth visiting is the continuity. These cafes have survived economic shifts, urban development, and the arrival of international chains, and they are still here because the coffee is good and the regulars keep coming back.

8. Ca Phe Le Duan (No. 45 Le Duan Street)

This is not the flashiest cafe on Le Duan, but it might be the most consistent. The owner, a man in his sixties named Mr. Tuan, has been running this spot for over twenty years, and his phin technique is flawless. He uses a medium-dark roast from a supplier in Bao Loc, and the resulting cup has a nutty sweetness that does not require much condensed milk. The interior is simple, with wooden tables and a television that is always tuned to VTV3. I have been coming here for years, and the only thing that has changed is the price, which has gone from 8,000 VND to 18,000 VND per cup.

Advertisement

What to Order: Ca phe sua nong (hot milk coffee with condensed milk) made with Mr. Tuan's standard roast. Ask for it "ngot voi" (slightly sweet) and he will measure the condensed milk precisely.
Best Time: 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., when Mr. Tuan is behind the counter himself and the coffee is at its most consistent. His son handles the afternoon shift and the technique is slightly different.
The Vibe: Steady, familiar, and rooted in routine. The television is always on, the same four or five regulars occupy the same seats, and the conversation rarely strays from local news and football. The bathroom is around the back and requires asking for a key, which is attached to a large wooden block.
Local Tip: Mr. Tuan keeps a small notebook behind the counter where he writes down customer preferences. If you visit three times, he will remember your order without asking.

When to Go and What to Know

Da Nang's coffee culture operates on a schedule that is different from what most international visitors expect. The morning rush starts early, around 6:00 a.m., and the best traditional cafes are at their peak between 6:30 and 8:30 a.m. After that, many of the older spots slow down or close entirely until the afternoon. The specialty cafes in neighborhoods like An Thuong and Cam Le tend to open later, around 8:00 or 9:00 a.m., and stay open into the evening. If you are looking for the best brewed coffee Da Nang has to offer, aim for the morning at the traditional spots and the mid-morning at the specialty roasters, when the beans are fresh and the baristas are not yet rushed. Cash is still king at most independent cafes Da Nang residents frequent, though the newer specialty spots in Cam Le and An Thuang generally accept Momo and bank transfers. Tipping is not expected but rounding up the bill by a few thousand VND is appreciated, especially at the family-run places where the margin on

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Share this guide

Enjoyed this guide? Support the work

Filed under: top local coffee shops in Da Nang

More from this city

More from Da Nang

Top Museums and Historical Sites in Da Nang That Are Actually Interesting

Up next

Top Museums and Historical Sites in Da Nang That Are Actually Interesting

arrow_forward