Saigon (aka Ho Chi Minh City) is known for its popularity as a coffee town where you can find hundreds of coffee shops from small to big ones. They are located on the main roads/ alleys or the old rustic condominiums. With a variety of choices, you can easily pick a place to have a chat, work… (See more: best working cafes in Saigon). How about in Da Nang? You probably wonder how the cafe culture is like in this beautiful city. Does it have the many choices offered like Saigon?
Da Nang, being on a smaller scale than Saigon, with the population being equivalent to 9% of the total Saigon’s population (Saigon’s population in 2020 is estimated at 13 million). As a beach city, you will easily find more restaurants than coffee shops in Da Nang; and cafes that are suitable for working, are even harder to find. Fortunately, I got a chance to visit 5 cafes that, in my opinion, are the best working places for digital nomads.
Note: This article is written based on my own travel experience, and is not a paid review by any 3rd party.
Brewman coffee concept
If you like a small and cozy cafe, Brewman coffee concept is a good choice. It’s located in an alley near Tran Phu Street, not so easy to find but once you get there, it’s worth it.
What I like here is the overall architecture and interior design. Despite the small area, they split half of the space to make a front yard with a cute tiny aquarium. The best part of this cafe is the filled-with-light space on the inside, as ¾ of the house is covered with glass. What a perfect way to get some tan skin while doing your work, but not so hot thanks to the air conditioner.
The must try drink here is coconut coffee. I bet the locals really love coconut, I got offered to try this kind of drink at almost every cafe I went to in Da Nang. In my personal experience, I think you can get the best coconut coffee at Brewman coffee concept. This drink has a rich taste from a combination of fresh coconut and vietnamese coffee, not so much sugar or too sweet like I tried at other cafes. Plus, they have a brilliant idea of putting coffee in a small jar, the act of pouring coffee gives you a sense of being a barista in 5 seconds, totally love it!
What’s more? They also sell Robusta coffee bags and a set of colorful Phin to choose from (Phin is a Vietnamese style coffee filter that has a size of a small cup, a good idea to save space for a coffee machine). Priced around 85,000 VND for 1 coffee bag and 95,000 VND for Phin filter. Of course if you buy a combo of 2, they will happily give you a generous discount!
Price: 30,000 – 60,000 VND
Is it a good place to work: 4/5
Address: k27a/21 Thái Phiên, Phước Ninh, Hải Châu, Đà Nẵng 550000
Opening hours: 7:00 AM – 10:00 PM
Ibasho coffee and hostel
Located not so far from My Khe beach is Ibasho Coffee and Hostel.First impression is the uniqueness of its white color houses, reflected well under the direct sunlight on a hot summer day. Thankfully I have my sunglasses on, all good! 😎
They have all kinds of drinks you wish for on a hot day, from soda to fruit tea, cake if you’re hungry; and coffee, of course! The cafe has 2 houses as seating places, I love how they designed big windows to look out the gardens, so easy to get distracted and daydream.
This cafe is good to visit during the day, but I’m not sure about night time, because of mosquitoes!! Urghhh…! I’m not a big fan of them for sure, more of a lifetime enemy xD. Unfortunately, they happen to be there a lot when the sun comes down. I had to leave real quick. Overall, this cafe is quite good for working with fast wifi and delicious peach tea drinks. I would rate a ⅘ plus 1 minus point for the mosquitoes. Hopefully they’re gone next time I come back.
Price: 25,000 – 45,000 VND
Is it a good place to work: 3.5/5
Address: 65 An Trung Đông 7, An Hải Bắc, Sơn Trà, Đà Nẵng 550000
Opening hours: 7:00 AM – 10:00 PM
43 Factory Coffee Roaster
If you are a big fan of architecture, you shouldn’t miss this place. So far, I think 43 Factory Coffee Roaster is the best designed cafe in Da Nang, for both interior design and architecture design. I found this place while wandering around the expat area. It’s located near a cross road and will shortly catch your attention.
What I love here is the aquarium bordering the main house. The aquarium is divided by 4-5 spots designed as coffee tables that can sit up to 4 people. Surrounding yourselves with fish and water by sitting there definitely gives you a feeling of calm and relaxation.
Walk inside, you will find a tree planted in the middle of the coffee house. This brilliant idea in architecture design makes the cafe a work of art. Being in a space that is filled with natural light thanks to the glass walls, the sound of water, the green color of trees, the sound of a coffee machine making fresh coffee for the new arrivals, is a mind-blowing experience.
Another factor that makes 43 Factory Coffee Roaster special is the coffee roaster at the back, where you can witness how a cup of coffee is made. The process includes beans being roasted, making their way to the coffee machine, then turning themselves to the delicious cup of coffee you are holding. Perhaps it’s one of the reasons why they named the cafe this way. I had a short conversation with one of the staff working there and was quite impressed with their passion to deliver the best coffee to their dearest customers. Not only do they use coffee beans from Vietnam, they also make coffee from beans that are imported from Africa, South America etc. I ordered myself a cup of cappuccino made from Brazillian coffee beans. If you want to try something new than just vietnamese coffee, give this place a try.
Overall, even though the price is quite high compared with other cafes in Da Nang, it’s an absolute worth visit if you are a coffee lover. How cool is that when you can drink a nice cup of coffee, learn how it’s made in an outstanding architecture space!
Price: 55,000 VND – 200,000 VND
Is it a good place to work: 5/5
Address: Lot 422, Ngô Thi Sỹ, Bắc Mỹ An, Ngũ Hành Sơn, Đà Nẵng 550000
Opening hours: 6:30AM – 10:30PM
The Hideout Cafe:
One more worth visiting cafe is The Hideout Cafe. This cafe is located in a small alley in between Han river and My Khe beach.
The Hideout, just like its name implies, this cafe is a perfect place to get away from the noise of the busy town. With the cute tiny garden in the front yard, the glass window to look out the garden, it’s a good place for cozy conversations or just simply reading books. The price here is quite cheap, a cup of cafe only costs you about 30,000 – 45,000 depending on your choice of coffee bean.
Is it a good place to work: 4/5
Address: 72/24 Nguyễn Văn Thoại, Bắc Mỹ Phú, Ngũ Hành Sơn, Đà Nẵng 550000
Opening hours: 7:30 AM – 9:00 PM
Breadn Salt Cafe:
Last but not least, located in the expat area, no wonder why Breadn Salt Cafe gets a lot of visits from expats. However, is it really a good place to visit? Let’s find out!
My first impression is the friendliness of the staff. Smiling is always a good way to welcome customers, and they do it well. If you are wondering what is the best drink/ food here, don’t hesitate to ask them. I’m quite impressed with the knowledge of coffee the staff deliver. After some sort of conversation, I chose myself a cup of egg coffee (egg coffee?! Sounds weird right? if you don’t know what egg coffee is, check it out here).
From the first sip, I totally fell in love with the greasy, rich taste of the fluffy egg mixture on top combined with the sour – winey taste of arabica coffee bean. If you are used to the original taste of robusta egg coffee made by Giảng cafe in Hanoi, you will find it a little bit strange to drink an egg coffee made from arabica coffee beans. Though, that was quite an interesting experience. I’ve tried a lot of egg coffee from Saigon to Da Lat, and the original Giảng egg coffee in Hanoi… They are all made from robusta coffee beans. If you want to try a completely new experience, pay a visit to Breadn Salt Cafe.
Another thing that makes egg coffee here different from the traditional egg coffee is the latte on top, they add an extra of cream cheese, making its flavor even more delicious.
Aside from tasty drinks and food, if you are a digital nomad, you would love to be here to get the work done. Unlike other cafes that play loud music, making it hard to concentrate, you can perfectly focus on your work or do an online meeting without scaring off the clients. Combined with a strong wifi connection, Breadn Salt Cafe is definitely a good working place for digital nomads.
Price: 40,000 VND – 95,000 VND
Is it a good place to work: 5/5
Address: 84 Hoàng Kế Viêm, Bắc Mỹ Phú, Ngũ Hành Sơn, Đà Nẵng 550000
Opening hours: 6:30AM – 10:30PM
See more: Best cafes to visit in Da Nang
