Before diving headfirst into the topic of “the best cafes in Tsim Sha Tsui” (TST for short, my friends), I’d like to give you a couple of unsolicited but very quick tips on Hong Kong’s geography.
For reasons I’ve yet to fully understand, probably by chance, my first week in Hong Kong I stayed in the Yau Ma Tei neighborhood, on the Kowloon peninsula.
This area, as I’ve written in other articles, is relatively more popular than the playground of wealthy Sotheby’s auction enthusiasts that is Central. Yau Ma Tei, TST, and Jordan have vague boundaries, partly because they aren’t clearly defined administrative entities. In any case, YMT, TST, and Jordan are part of Kowloon, but I didn’t list the best cafes in Kowloon because the area would be much larger and would include other cafes (such as the New Territories) that would certainly deserve a mention, but that I’ve not visited.
That said, one of my goals as a tourist/traveler is to find decent places to get a good coffee or cappuccino in almost every neighborhood I live in (I’m a bit of a millennial, I know, not really an explorer). Of course, in TST/Kowloon, I’ve found some excellent places to have breakfast or a snack. Because you know, especially abroad, a good café is a great place to do a thousand things: post on Instagram, study, prepare the next blog post, or take a break while waiting to explore the next tourist destination. In short, a good café is almost like a second home.
Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, let’s get back to the topic.
The best cafes in Tsim Sha Tsui. A café to relax in: Kubrick Café
The name normally should say it all, but in this case, no, it doesn’t. The Kubrick café has ties to cinema; in fact, it’s located in the same building as a cinema that primarily shows arthouse films (if you’re interested, the cinema is called Broadway Cinemateque, the French is a hint).
Kubrick, however, focuses on quick lunches, coffees, and cappuccinos, and shares space with a lovely bookstore. You can browse the books (which, unfortunately, are 90% in Cantonese) and grab a bite to eat or a drink. The type of establishment attracts a clientele that would be an understatement to call very relaxed, and on average, it takes an hour to drink an Americano and a couple of hours for a cappuccino.
Not that this is a criticism, mind you, a nice chat with friends and a good coffee can work wonders.
This relaxed pace, however, makes the place rather crowded, almost always, but don’t be discouraged if you are in this area of Yau Ma Tei (yes, the neighborhood is more Yau Ma Tei than TST, but anyway, back to what I said above, let’s not complicate our lives too much, let’s not turn geography into a prison).
This bar/café is located in a traffic-free area, a square, where you’ll find a Welcome supermarket (one of the supermarket chains you can find in Hong Kong, but unfortunately, Hong Kong supermarkets are very expensive and relatively small) and a McDonald’s that basically serves as a neighborhood café (this one is always busy too; I shared a table with a cheerful local family for lunch).
In short, good coffee, a relaxed atmosphere, books, and decent options for a light lunch. If you’re in the area, give it a try. Don’t expect fireworks, but you won’t be disappointed.
The best cafes in Tsim Sha Tsui. A café for espresso and cappuccino: Studio Caffeine
A coffee heavyweight in the TST/Kowloon area, Studio Caffeine focuses on one thing: caffeine and coffee, without too many frills.
In this case, we are very close to Kowloon Park and not far from Kowloon’s main artery, Nathan Road, which is full of things, people, and shops at all times of the day and night.
Studio Caffeine is extremely focused on coffee; they offer a lot of varieties of coffee and take utmost care in their preparation. The space is relatively small: wood and metal dominate the sitting area, but they don’t give the place a minimalist feel. It’s decidedly warmer and more welcoming than, say, Soft Thunder (a place I mentioned in my post about Wan Chai cafes).
Besides the excellent coffee, you can also get croissants (unfortunately, distant relatives of our type of croissant if I have to be honest), bagels, cakes, and burgers. Prices for an espresso range from 30 to 40 HKD (3.50 to 5 euros), a croissant costs 50 to 60 HKD, but you can get a discount if you go during certain hours or if you order a combo of products that vary from day to day.
Finally, I’d like to mention that Studio Caffeine also has a website where you can order your favorite ground coffee (Indonesia, Panama, Ecuador, Colombia, Ethiopia, and many others). If you live in Hong Kong, you can also subscribe and have 168 grams of coffee delivered to your home for the monthly price of 128 Hong Kong dollars (15 euros). They also offer a consulting service. In short, they’re coffee experts.
The best cafes in Tsim Sha Tsui. A coffee for a sweet or savory break, Slow walker
I wanted to help you out in this post. No rushing around town, Studio Caffeine and Slow Walker are right next door. I think that the fact that two excellent cafes are right next door to each other should be a testament to the quality of the caffeine scene in this Chinese city.
I confess that at the end of a day of walking and researching, I decided to go for a coffee at Studio Caffeine, which first appeared in my Google Maps search. Studio Caffeine, however, was fully booked, while Slow Walker had a seat overlooking the street. I didn’t need to be told twice: in Hong Kong, the crowds are often so high that queuing or waiting for a seat is normal, and getting a table right away was a stroke of luck.
As sometimes happens, this fortuitous choice was a good one. I ended up choosing Slow Walker over Studio Caffeine for breakfast, for a couple of reasons.
The first is related to sweets. Slow Walker offers freshly baked croissants and chocolate cakes, but above all, excellent scones served with jam. The second reason is that, at least on some days, it seemed like they were offering a sweet breakfast package for 70 HKD (8.30 euros), which is something to be taken seriously in Jordan (we’re officially outside the TST area, but again, let’s not get hung up on the neighborhood issue).
The best cafes in Tsim Sha Tsui, conclusion
Once again, we caffeine-slicked-back addicts, we’ve reached the end. Once again, I have to point out a couple of things that should already be obvious, but I’ll say them anyway so we can avoid the barrage of emails. This list is born out of pure and simple personal taste.
There are no objective scores or values that determine if one coffee is better than another (unless you’re a professional taster or have been in the business for a long, long time) or the place with the most relaxing/fun/cozy atmosphere.
I would also add that none of the places in question offered me anything.
This post on the best cafes in Tsim Sha Tsui is over. If you’d like to read more, just follow the links below:
The best cafes in Wan Chai, another district of Hong Kong
What to see in San Marino, the fascinating story of the second smallest country in Europe
