Best Cafes in JB: 2026 Edition

The best cafes in JB are no longer all in one place. Taman Melodies has become the city’s café street, the old town around Jalan Tan Hiok Nee and Jalan Trus mixes heritage shophouses with serious coffee, Taman Pelangi hides small roasters, and Mount Austin does matcha and desserts. This 2026 edition groups our picks by neighbourhood, so you can plan a café crawl that doesn’t waste half the day in traffic.

Every café below appears in at least two food guides published in 2025 or 2026 and was trading at time of writing. JB cafés open, move and close fast, so check each one’s Instagram or map listing for current hours before you set off.

JB cafés at a glance

Area	Cafés	Best for
Taman Melodies	Nimmies Pastry Cafe, Keijometo, OTTO cafe, Hiritsu Coffee Roastery	Pastries, brunch, Japanese-style matcha, hand-brew coffee
Old town (Bandar JB)	Sunday Morning Coffee Shop, The Replacement – Lodge & Kitchen, Roast & Coffee, Bev C, Hiap Joo Bakery	Heritage shophouses, kopi, a short ride from the checkpoint
Taman Pelangi	Sweet Blossom Coffee Roasters	Single-origin coffee and beans to take home
Southkey	Antipodean (The Mall, Mid Valley Southkey)	Brunch combined with shopping
Taman Ekoflora	Morihana Pastry	French-style cakes in a house-shaped café
Mount Austin	Slow Day Cafe, The Blue Door Coffee House	Matcha, desserts, then a food crawl

Taman Melodies: JB’s café street

Taman Melodies is a short drive from the city centre, near KSL City Mall. Jalan Chengai and Jalan Beringin are lined with cafés, which makes it the easiest place to visit two or three in one morning.

Nimmies Pastry Cafe

Nimmies, on Jalan Beringin, is the bakery café that many Singaporeans name first. The draw is the pastry counter: croissants and other bakes in flavours you won’t find at home, plus coffee and savoury plates if you want a proper meal. Arrive early on weekends, as the best-selling pastries go quickly.

Keijometo

Keijometo became famous online for its bare concrete, industrial look, and it still draws a queue. The menu leans Japanese, with matcha drinks the main reason people come. Expect a wait at peak times and go on a weekday morning if you can.

OTTO cafe

Also on Jalan Chengai, OTTO is a brunch spot with a modern European menu that mixes in local flavours, such as pasta tossed in a kam heong-style sauce. It suits groups who want a sit-down meal rather than a quick coffee.

Hiritsu Coffee Roastery

For coffee first and photos second, Hiritsu on Jalan Beringin roasts in-house and has a hand-brew bar where you can watch the baristas work. Ask what is on the pour-over list that day.

Old town: cafés near the checkpoint

The old town is the closest café area to the Causeway, and the streets around Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, Jalan Trus and Jalan Dhoby are pleasant to walk in the morning before the heat builds. It pairs well with a heritage stroll; our things to do in Johor Bahru guide covers the sights nearby.

• Sunday Morning Coffee Shop (Jalan Trus): a quiet, Japanese-inspired café on the upper floor of a shophouse, with made-to-order drip coffee and simple brunch plates.
• The Replacement – Lodge & Kitchen (Jalan Dhoby): an all-day brunch café and small lodge in a restored 1940s shophouse. Good when you want a full breakfast and somewhere airy to sit.
• Roast & Coffee (Jalan Tan Hiok Nee): a modern take on the Nanyang kopitiam, serving traditional kopi styles in a heritage building. It also has outlets in other parts of JB.
• Bev C (Jalan Tan Hiok Nee): coffee and desserts in a stylish shophouse, handy for an afternoon break.
• Hiap Joo Bakery (Jalan Tan Hiok Nee): not a café, but one of JB’s oldest bakeries and famous for its banana cake. Many visitors pick up a box to take home, so go early for the best choice.

Taman Pelangi and Southkey

Sweet Blossom Coffee Roasters

Taman Pelangi, close to the city centre, is a residential area with a growing number of small cafés. Sweet Blossom on Jalan Maju is the one coffee lovers seek out: it rotates single-origin beans and sells bagged coffee, so you can take some of the trip home with you.

Antipodean at Mid Valley Southkey

If your day is built around shopping, Antipodean at The Mall, Mid Valley Southkey serves brunch and all-day comfort food with specialty coffee. Southkey has plenty more cafés and restaurants under one roof; our Mid Valley Southkey guide breaks them down floor by floor.

Taman Ekoflora: Morihana Pastry

Morihana Pastry is a little out of the way in Taman Ekoflora, but it is worth the drive for pastry fans. The café is built like a small house, and the counter is full of petit gâteaux, delicate French-style cakes, with flower teas to go with them. Order a few to share and take photos before you cut in.

Mount Austin: matcha and dessert cafés

Mount Austin has more cafés per street than anywhere else in JB, and the scene changes every few months. Slow Day Cafe is a favourite for matcha, and The Blue Door Coffee House mixes coffee with desserts. Since you will probably eat a meal there too, read our Mount Austin food guide for where locals go for breakfast, zi char and supper.

How to plan a JB café crawl

• Pick one or two areas, not five. Taman Melodies and the old town are usually 10 to 15 minutes apart by car, traffic permitting; Mount Austin and Taman Ekoflora are further out. Grouping cafés by area saves a lot of time.
• Go on a weekday if you can. Weekend queues at the famous names can be long, especially from late morning.
• Check hours on the day. Many cafés close one day a week, and some open late or close early. Their Instagram or map listing is usually the most current source.
• Check halal status if it matters. Many JB cafés are not halal-certified even when they serve no pork. Look for the Malaysian halal certificate at the counter.
• Bring ringgit and a card. Most cafés take cards and e-wallets, but smaller bakeries and kopitiam-style shops may prefer cash.
• Mix in a proper meal. Cafés are best between local meals. Pair a morning café with a bak kut teh lunch or a dim sum breakfast for a fuller food day.
• Plan your trip home. Sunday afternoons and the eve of public holidays bring the longest queues back into Singapore. Our Woodlands vs Tuas guide helps you pick the better crossing.

Getting around JB’s café areas

JB’s best cafés are spread across neighbourhoods that are close by car but awkward on foot, and parking in Taman Melodies or Mount Austin on a Saturday can take longer than your coffee. A private car keeps things simple. With Luxway SGMY, your driver picks you up anywhere in Singapore, everyone stays in the car through immigration at both checkpoints, and you are dropped at the café door. Fares are per car, cover tolls, checkpoint fees, fuel and parking, and start from SGD 100 one way in a Toyota Innova, the same price in either direction.

Planning to hop between several areas? Our Day Trip Service keeps one car and driver with you for 8, 10 or 12 hours, so you can move from Taman Melodies to the old town to a mall without waiting for rides.

Book your JB café day

See vehicles and fares on our Singapore to Johor Bahru private car page, then Whatsapp us with your date, pick-up point and group size, or use our online booking page. There is no deposit; you pay the driver on arrival.

Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: 14 October 2026