JOHOR BAHRU · THE DAWN JOURNAL
10 Underrated Cafés in Johor Bahru (That Most Travellers Have Never Heard Of)
Ten small, independent Johor Bahru cafés — cross-checked against Google Maps and review aggregators to confirm they're currently open — for travellers who've already done the well-known café circuit and want somewhere quieter.
Why look beyond the usual list
There's nothing wrong with the well-known JB cafés — they're popular for a reason. But if you've already been to the big names, or you'd rather find a quiet corner than queue for a window seat at a viral spot, Johor Bahru has a decent spread of smaller, independent cafés that rarely get written about. Most are a short Grab ride from each other, and a few cluster along Jalan Tan Hiok Nee in the old town — one of the more walkable parts of JB if you're coming from JB Sentral.
This list isn't curated off vibes alone. Every café below was cross-checked against Google Maps listings and review aggregators (Wanderlog, TripAdvisor, Burpple) to confirm it's a real, currently operating business. Two names that appeared on early versions of this list didn't survive that check — one has since closed, one couldn't be verified at all — a useful reminder that small independent cafés open and close more often than malls do. Treat addresses and hours here as a starting point, not gospel: always give a café a quick Google Maps check before you make the trip.
The 10 cafés
1. Sunday Morning Coffee Shop — Bandar Johor Bahru
Johor Bahru's first film-photography-themed café, tucked on the second floor of a shophouse on Jalan Trus in the old town. It roasts its own beans, sells them by the bag, and the space is quiet enough that you can hear the espresso machine over conversation.
Must-try: hand-drip coffee (ask for the Costa Rica Jaguar Tarrazu if available), mentaiko baked rice, the pudding.
Address: 124, Jalan Trus, Bandar Johor Bahru, 80000 Johor Bahru.
2. Kafuka Cafe & Music Studio — Taman Ungku Tun Aminah, Skudai
Part café, part working music studio. It doesn't fit neatly into either category, which is probably why it doesn't show up often in mainstream food content. Expect musicians between sessions and students doing homework alongside the usual café crowd.
Must-try: the pork burger, Earl Grey muscat grape cake, Key Lime cheesecake.
3. PanKour Coffee Roastery — Taman Setia Indah / Eco Cascadia
About as under-the-radar as it gets: a second-floor pour-over specialist with a small, loyal following and one of the highest review scores on this list (4.9 stars, off a small base of roughly 50 reviews, so treat that number with the right amount of caution). The owners will talk you through flavour notes for each bean, including Malaysian-grown Liberica.
Must-try: hand brew coffee, chocolate cheesecake, rose latte.
Address: Jalan Eco Cascadia 6/1, Taman Setia Indah, 81100 Johor Bahru.
4. Flowers in the Window — Bandar Johor Bahru
A dried-flower-and-greenery brunch spot tucked into the old town on Jalan Dhoby, easy to walk straight past if you're not looking for it. Ranked in the top 30 of over 1,100 JB restaurants on TripAdvisor — a solid sign for a place that still isn't a household name among Singapore visitors.
Must-try: croissants, salmon salad, beetroot toast.
Address: 9, Jalan Dhoby, Bandar Johor Bahru.
5. Bev C'afe — Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, old town
A second-floor café above an independent clothing label, in one of the most photogenic pockets of JB's old town. Easy to walk past the ground-floor shopfront without realising there's a café upstairs, which is probably why it stays quieter than its neighbours.
Must-try: charcoal croissant, gula melaka coffee with condensed milk.
Address: 54, Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, Bandar Johor Bahru.
6. 初·Origin Cafe — Kulai
Fully vegetarian, and far enough from central JB (about 30–40 minutes' drive) that it barely registers with Singapore day-trippers, even though it's well regarded locally. Traditional wood interior, and a Russian honey cake that doesn't show up on many other JB café menus.
Must-try: beetroot-potato burger, Thai-style tom yum noodle soup, Russian honey mousse cheesecake.
Address: 41, Lorong Ismail, Taman Kulai, 81000 Kulai, Johor.
7. Atelier Bean Coffee — Permas Jaya
A Korean-studio-style café in a residential pocket of Permas Jaya, well outside the usual JB CIQ / old-town tourist track. Clean, minimal styling, and a menu that leans into pairing rather than sheer size.
Must-try: the Atelier Breakfast set, green tea latte, corn-flavoured cake.
Address: 45, Jalan Permas 10/5, Bandar Baru Permas Jaya, 81750 Masai, Johor.
8. Smol by Qayla's — Jalan Trus, old town
A small, softly-lit container-style café tucked into the old town near Bazaar Karat, easy to miss unless you know to look for it. Minimal decor, quiet enough to work in, and open into the late evening — a useful option if you want an old-town coffee stop after the daytime cafés have closed.
Must-try: hot coconut latte, chocolate black forest frappe, almond crème croissant.
Address: Lot 7070, Jalan Trus, Bandar Johor Bahru, 80000 Johor Bahru.
9. Craftea — Mount Austin
A Muji-style minimalist café known more for its tea-based drinks than coffee, which already sets it apart from most of this list. Mount Austin has plenty of café options, but Craftea tends to get overshadowed by louder, more heavily marketed neighbours.
Must-try: strawberry matcha latte, hojicha latte, tea-poached rice bowls.
10. A Bread & Coffee Place — Taman Pelangi
The most low-key entry on this list — a small breakfast-and-coffee spot with only a handful of public reviews, which is either a sign it's brand new or simply a sign it's never been the subject of a food-blogger visit. Either way, it's a genuine find rather than a curated "hidden gem" that's actually well known.
Must-try: Supreme Breakfast Set, cold brew coffee, soufflé pancake.
Address: 208, Jalan Sri Pelangi, Taman Pelangi, 80400 Johor Bahru.
Getting there — and why this isn't a walking itinerary
Unlike our usual coverage of staying near JB CIQ, where the whole point is that you don't need a car, this list isn't walkable as a single trip. These 10 cafés are spread across old town, Skudai, Permas Jaya, Mount Austin, Taman Pelangi and Kulai — some over 30 minutes apart by car.
- The old-town cluster (Sunday Morning Coffee Shop, Flowers in the Window, Bev C'afe, Smol by Qayla's) is genuinely walkable from each other and from JB Sentral — the one sub-group you could realistically do as a half-day, on foot, if you're already staying near JB CIQ.
- Everything else — Kafuka in Skudai, PanKour in Eco Cascadia, Atelier Bean in Permas Jaya, Craftea in Mount Austin, A Bread & Coffee Place in Taman Pelangi, and Origin Cafe in Kulai — needs a Grab, rental car, or your own transport. Don't plan on visiting more than 2–3 in a single day if you're relying on ride-hailing between each stop.
- Kulai is the outlier on this list — far enough out that it only makes sense if you're already heading that direction, not as a standalone café trip.
Who this list is for
Repeat visitors to JB who've already worked through the well-known café lists and want somewhere different to go. People who dislike queueing — smaller review counts generally mean smaller crowds, though that can change fast if a café gets a viral moment. Anyone road-tripping or Grab-hopping around JB anyway, who can slot one or two of these in without a dedicated trip.
When to skip this list
If you're on a short day trip and haven't yet tried JB's genuinely famous café strip, start there first — this list assumes you're past that stage. If you don't have a car or don't want to spend on Grab fares between stops, stick to the old-town cluster only rather than trying to string all 10 together. And if a specific café here has gone quiet on social media or has unusually few recent reviews when you check, that's often an early sign it may have closed or changed hours — verify before making a special trip.
Before you go: a quick checklist
- Check each café's Google Maps listing the same day you plan to visit — hours and operating status can change with little notice for small independent businesses.
- If you're combining a few of these with a JB CIQ stay, do the old-town cluster on foot and treat the rest as separate car/Grab trips.
- Bring cash as backup — some smaller independent cafés in Malaysia still don't take cards or e-wallets consistently.
- If a café has very few reviews (under ~20), check their Instagram/Facebook activity in the past week before making a special trip out to it.
If you're staying near JB CIQ for a car-free weekend and want the old-town café cluster within easy walking distance, our guide to staying near JB CIQ covers exactly that kind of stay:
https://dawnstay.my/journal/where-to-stay-near-jb-ciq
Frequently asked questions
Are these cafés actually still open?
As far as we could verify at the time of writing, yes — all 10 were cross-checked against live Google Maps listings and review aggregators. Two cafés that appeared in earlier research for this list were dropped because one had closed and the other couldn't be verified. Always do a same-day Google Maps check before visiting any small independent café.
Can I walk to all of these from JB CIQ?
No. Only the old-town cluster (Sunday Morning Coffee Shop, Flowers in the Window, Bev C'afe, Smol by Qayla's) is realistically walkable from JB Sentral. The rest require a Grab or your own transport.
Which one is best for coffee specifically, rather than food or ambience?
PanKour Coffee Roastery and Sunday Morning Coffee Shop are the two most coffee-focused entries — both roast or hand-brew with more intention than a typical brunch café.
Is Kulai worth the drive just for Origin Cafe?
Only if you're already headed that way, or you're specifically looking for vegetarian options — it's the furthest entry on this list from central JB.
Do any of these take reservations?
Most don't formally, being small independent operations — but for weekend visits to the smaller spots (PanKour, A Bread & Coffee Place), a quick Instagram/Facebook message ahead of time is worth it given limited seating.
Where to stay if you're planning a JB trip
Still looking for somewhere to stay in JB? Let R&F Princess Cove be your home base — just a short stroll from JB CIQ, and perfectly placed for slow mornings before you set off on your café rounds.
In short
If you've done the well-known JB café circuit and want somewhere quieter, these 10 spots — from a film-photography-themed coffee shop in the old town to a vegetarian café out in Kulai — are worth seeking out specifically because they don't get much Singapore-facing coverage. Stick to the old-town cluster if you want a walkable, car-free half-day; treat the rest as separate stops on a longer JB trip.
For a car-free JB CIQ stay that puts you within walking distance of the old-town cluster, see our guide to staying near JB CIQ:
https://dawnstay.my/journal/where-to-stay-near-jb-ciq
Dawn Stay is not affiliated with any of the cafés listed here. Addresses, hours, menus and operating status can change without notice — always verify directly with the café (or via their current Google Maps listing) before making a trip, especially for the smaller, less-reviewed spots on this list.
Photo credit: Bev C'afe storefront photo by Chongkian, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. No changes made other than resizing.
A note on images: Some images in this article are sourced from the web. If any copyright issue arises, please contact us and we'll address it promptly.