Kota Kinabalu is known for its waterfront views, fresh seafood, and easy access to Sabah’s natural attractions, but the city also has a cafe scene worth exploring. Around Gaya Street, the city centre, and neighbourhoods such as Sutera Avenue, you’ll find everything from specialty coffee roasters to relaxed cafes serving local comfort food.

For travellers who enjoy discovering a destination through its food and drinks, cafe hopping can be an easy way to experience another side of Kota Kinabalu. To help narrow down the choices, these 10 cafes have been selected for their strong current ratings and positive customer feedback, while also offering different reasons to visit.

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Rather than grouping the cafes only by type, this list brings together different experiences. Some are ideal for serious coffee drinkers, others are better for breakfast or dessert, while a few offer a distinctly local touch that makes them especially interesting during a Sabah trip.

For travellers who take their morning coffee seriously, Drip is a promising place to start. Located inside Hilton Kota Kinabalu, the cafe combines a hotel setting with a more focused coffee experience, making it convenient if you are staying nearby or exploring the city centre.

The cafe currently holds a 4.9 rating on its Google business listing, while Tripadvisor lists Drip at 5.0 based on dozens of reviews. Coffee is naturally the main attraction, but its breakfast and pastry options make it suitable for starting the day with something more substantial too. You can find Drip along Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman in Asia City, with the location available on Maps.

Looking for somewhere that goes beyond the usual coffee and pastry combination? Boucake A cafe that combines accessible prices with a broad drinks menu can be particularly useful when travelling with friends, and Chapter Two Coffee fits that role nicely. Its Gaya Street location also puts it close to one of Kota Kinabalu’s most popular areas for exploring local food and city sights.

The menu ranges from espresso based coffee to matcha, tea, ice blended drinks, and pastries. The Matcha Latte and Strawberry Matcha Latte are among the popular choices, while its Spanish Latte is another option for those who prefer something sweeter. Chapter Two currently carries a 4.8 rating on its business listing, and you can find it at 76, Ground Floor, Jalan Gaya on Maps.

Small, cosy, and tucked along Gaya Street, mizumizu coffee is a good match for a slower cafe afternoon. The cafe focuses on specialty coffee alongside premium matcha and houjicha sourced from China and Japan, giving it a more distinctive drinks selection than a standard neighbourhood coffee shop.

Its menu also includes croffles, cakes, and pastries, so there is plenty to pair with your drink. The cafe currently has a 4.7 rating from its business listing, with more than 300 reviews, making it one of the stronger rated options around Gaya Street. Drop by 115, Jalan Gaya, and use Maps to find the cafe.

October Coffee Gaya is a natural choice if you want your cafe stop to be part of a walk around Kota Kinabalu’s historic city centre. Its location on Lorong Dewan puts it within easy reach of Gaya Street and several other popular food and cultural spots.

Coffee takes centre stage here, but the appeal also comes from its relaxed atmosphere, making it suitable for catching up with friends or spending some time working. Its current business listing shows a 4.6 rating from more than 1,500 reviews, while Tripadvisor lists it at 4.5. You can find the cafe at 13, Lorong Dewan, Pusat Bandar, with Maps providing directions.

Kong Yan offers something particularly interesting for travellers who want to connect their coffee break with a local Kota Kinabalu business. Established in Sabah in 2018, the brand combines specialty coffee with its premium bird's nest products, while the Gaya outlet focuses on freshly brewed coffee.

Its coffee is made to order using curated beans, giving the cafe a more specialty focused identity. The Gaya branch is located along Jalan Pantai in the city centre and currently carries a 4.9 business rating. If you are already exploring Gaya Street, it is an easy addition to your route. Find it through Maps.

Woo! is worth adding when the priority is a cafe where coffee and food can share equal attention. Located on Lorong Dewan, it sits in one of Kota Kinabalu’s most convenient areas for cafe hopping, making it easy to combine with a morning or afternoon around the city centre.

Its menu includes cafe style food and desserts, while its drinks selection gives coffee lovers plenty to choose from. The cafe has a 4.5 rating from more than 1,200 reviews on its current business listing, giving it a substantial base of customer feedback. Stop by 21, Lorong Dewan, and check Maps for the exact location.

If your idea of a good cafe involves learning more about coffee itself, Decrypt Coffee Roaster is one to consider. The Sabah based roaster focuses specifically on espresso and filter coffee, with seasonal beans sourced from different origins and roasted locally.

That focus makes Decrypt different from cafes where coffee is simply one part of a much larger menu. It is a better fit for travellers who enjoy tasting different beans and paying attention to the characteristics of each cup. The cafe operates from the mezzanine of Citisuper at Sutera Avenue, and its current business listing gives it a 4.8 rating. You can find the spot on Maps.

For something more rooted in everyday Malaysian cafe culture, Kopi Ping Cafe is an easy choice. Rather than focusing only on specialty coffee and Western brunch, its menu covers a much wider selection of familiar local dishes, making it suitable when your group wants a proper meal alongside drinks.

Popular options include fried kuey teow, fish sauce mee hoon, Hainanese chicken rice, nasi lemak ayam berempah, and ngiu chap. The Sutera Avenue branch has more than 2,000 business reviews and a current rating of 4.4, giving it a substantial amount of customer feedback. Find the outlet at Sutera Avenue on Maps.

Sometimes the best cafe is simply somewhere you can settle in without rushing, and STAY CAFE lives up to that idea. Located in Lido Plaza in the Penampang area, it offers a neighbourhood cafe experience away from the busiest parts of central Kota Kinabalu.

The cafe currently has a strong 4.9 rating from more than 600 business reviews, making it one of the better rated options on the current list. Its location also works well if you are exploring the southern side of Kota Kinabalu rather than staying around Gaya Street. You can find STAY CAFE at Lido Plaza through Maps.

For a cafe experience with a more local coffee shop feel, Kopi Nguek Nguek offers another interesting stop along Jalan Gaya. Its current business listing shows a perfect 5.0 rating, although it has a smaller review base than some of the more established cafes on this list, so it is worth viewing the rating in that context.

The cafe is particularly appealing for travellers who want to explore beyond the more polished specialty coffee names. Its Jalan Gaya location also makes it easy to combine with a walk through the surrounding city centre. Find Kopi Nguek Nguek at 108, Jalan Gaya via Maps.

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Whether you are spending the morning around Gaya Street or exploring Kota Kinabalu's city centre, there is always another cafe worth discovering. Plan your next Sabah escape with Traveloka, where you can book flights, hotels, attractions, and other travel essentials. 

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