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By Louise
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By Louise
Click on one of the following images to go go either the Audio Podcast Episodes, Video Podcast Episodes, or the Photo Tutorial Episodes. Alternatively, scroll down to see the latest episodes.
By Louise
I love finding new cafes to work at or to just hang out at for a few hours. Here are some of my favorite cafes in Lisbon (mostly with free wifi) as well as their wifi speeds.
I’ll be updating this post throughout the next year (2016-2017) as I find new places. But I have found tethering my phone to be a great way to expand the places I can work at. There are kiosks in every park and square with outdoor seating, which makes them great places to work when the weather is nice (which is most of the time!).
R. do Poço dos Negros 1, 1200-335 Lisboa
Opening Hours:
Monday – Saturday 08:00 – 23:00
Sunday: 09:00 – 17:00
http://themill.pt
Opened in late 2016, this place has good coffee, excellent breakfast options, and tons of outlets to charge your computer. There’s also always a seat available and the wifi is fast. It’s open all day long and well into the evening (they serve wine as well).
The cafe is opened by an Aussie, so there’s long blacks, flat whites, and vegemite… Come during the daytime and your coffee will be made by an Aussie as well. They usually have 1 gluten-free dessert (an orange and almond cake).
R. Nova da Piedade 10, 1200-298 Lisboa
www.cphcoffeelab.pt
This is definitely a popular haunt for those of us who love good coffee, good decor, and fast internet. However, it’s often a bit packed at peak hours – so I like to go either super early e.g., at 8am when they open or else wait for after 2pm.
They serve pretty decent Third Wave Coffee, and even their Americano tastes really good. For those of you not into coffee, try their fresh ginger and lime tea – it’s made with fresh ginger and lime, and you can get it hot or cold.
On Mondays, many places in Lisbon are closed, but this place is open, which makes Copenhagen Coffee Lab my regular Monday haunt 🙂
If you’re planning to make this place your regular work cafe in Lisbon, then get their Loyalty card and save 30%. You basically prepay 25 Euros and then you get to spend 35 Euros there.
The decor is very clean and they serve some foods (mostly Danish pastries, granola, and yogurt).
Here’s the menu at Copenhagen Coffee Lab:
This is definitely my go-to spot to work.
Internet Speed: There’s free wifi, and it’s pretty fast (one of the fastest free wifis I’ve found in Lisbon)!
Rua da Cintura do Porto de armazém A, nº20,, Cais do sodré, 1200-450
This cafe is located just behind the Cais do Sodre train station (which takes you over to Cascais for a couple of Euros). It’s got seats indoors with cool artwork hanging on the walls or you can sit in the outdoor section and enjoy the view of the river.
Menu:
Internet Speed: Free and pretty fast.
A friend found this great care and told me about it because the internet speed here on their free wifi is so good you can take Skype calls here! I definitely found their wifi to be pretty good even sitting outside. My speed test is a bit slower than what my friend experienced (probably inside the cafe).
R. do Poço dos Negros 103, 1200 Lisboa
Hours: Monday-Friday 9am-6pm
This is a super cute cafe with some gluten-free bread and cakes (get their avocado toast if you’re hungry). They serve good coffee and have free wifi too. I would go here more often if it wasn’t always so packed. I’ve gone there many times only to walk on by and head to The Mill instead because there isn’t space. It’s also only open until 6pm Monday-Friday.
Wifi is ok and there are some outlets (the 3 tables by the wall are the best to get). Otherwise, you’ll need an extension cord to reach the outlets well.
R. São Bento 102, 1200-816 Lisboa
I’d been walking past this cafe for months and finally stopped in for a coffee. It’s cute shop as well as cafe. They sell some vegetables and fruits but also lots of prettily packaged foods that are good as gifts. They also have 1-2 gluten-free dessert options in the cafe.
The coffee isn’t great – very typical of Lisbon. But it’s a centrally located spot that most expats or tourists don’t frequent. While they do have free wifi, it’s not super fast.
Rua do Loreto 15
Situated above Cinema Ideal and inside of a small bookstore, this quiet, spacious, and not very crowded cafe overlooks the popular Rua do Loreta and is next to the highly touristy Luis de Camoes square.
Drinks are cheap (1 Euro for an Americano, and they even serve food, including salads and sandwiches for under 5 Euros). And you can sit there for hours – everyone else has a laptop too.
The only downside to this place is that it’s only open 3pm-10pm (and closed on Mondays).
This place is a hidden gem in a very touristy area of Lisbon.
Internet Speed: There’s free wifi, but it’s a bit slow.
Rua da Escola Politécnica 4, 1250-096 Lisboa
This is actually a chocolate shop but they have a few seats you can rest at. It’s a great place to read a book for 20-30 minutes over a good coffee and some dark chocolate. Or choose this place if you’re meeting someone for coffee.
It can get busy on weekends as it’s a popular tourist spot. If it’s too busy, you can always go across the street to Principe Real park – there are 2 kiosks and a cafe (Esplanada) with free wifi in the park. I’ve reviewed Esplanada below.
Internet Speed: There’s no wifi that I’m aware of. Just chocolate.
Cruzes da Sé 29, 1100 Lisboa
www.cruzescredo.com
This place looks more like a touristy drinks and snacks place, but it’s also a great spot to chill and work. There’s free wifi (not super fast) and the food is really delicious! The staff there are really nice and they’ve got some great seating in the shade outside.
Perfect spot to catch up on emails or read a book and grab some lunch.
Internet Speed: There’s free wifi but it was a weak signal since I was sitting outside pretty far away from the actual restaurant.
R. de São João da Praça 93-95, 1100-521 Lisboa
www.poiscafe.com
Just down the street from Cruzes Credo, this place is another hub for digital workers. They serve pretty healthy food inside this cafe, and there’s tons of seating (at large tables, small tables, or sofas).
Internet Speed: Internet is ok, but not very fast.
R. da Madalena 121, 1100-319
www.fabricalisboa.com
This place has really interesting “old” decorations inside, but it’s a bit cramped to sit there for long. (Note that this is a different place to the other Fabrica on this list!)
Internet Speed: Internet is ok, but not very fast.
R. de Santa Cruz do Castelo 45
Decently place to sit at if you’re near the Castle (perhaps if you have friends who want to visit the castle and you need to do a spot of work). There’s seating outdoors (although not much of a view) or else inside where they have decorated it to look like a tram! They also serve a large selection of foods and drinks (although prices are quite high since it’s a touristy location).
Good place to sit and work if you are near the Castle.
Internet Speed: There’s free wifi, but it’s slow.
do, Tv. Carmo 4, 1200-095 Lisboa
Mon-Sat: 10:30 am – 7:00 pm
This is a new find and it’s just around the corner from my place in Lisbon. They serve food (including a late breakfast since they only open at 10.30am). There are simple salads on the menu as well as sandwiches and omelets. There’s even a gluten-free chocolate cake! They serve Kusmi teas, which you can get iced or hot. And they do have free wifi and I’ve never seen it packed so you can always find a seat as well as other people on their laptops.
The wifi speed isn’t great, but it works (better than tethering your phone here as the reception isn’t great).
24, Praça do Príncipe Real 23, 1250-096 Lisboa
This place has free wifi, food and drink, and outdoor and indoor seating. It’s right in the middle of Jardim França Borges (Jardim do Príncipe Real) so you get to enjoy the shade of the trees in the park while sitting outside and working. Perfect for a hot day.
The downsides to this place is that the food is expensive and the internet is rather slow (but it’s not bad for being outside).
This place was quiet and non-touristy. Just locals enjoying their day. There’s free wifi (decent download speed but slow upload).
R. Ribeira Nova 36, Lisboa
I remember reading about this place as a good place to work before I got to Lisbon, and the recommendation has proved to be very true. This cafe is really close to the Time Out Market, so you can work here for a few hours in the morning (I think they only open at 10-11am and closed on Mondays) and then grab lunch at Time Out. Or Tati also serves lunch (pretty healthy too).
Their espresso coffees are very cheap (under 1 Euro) like most places in Lisbon, and their teas are around 1.50-2 Euros. Wifi is decent, but not great, but they are open til 11pm most days.
And here’s the menu at Cafe Tati:
Internet Speed: There’s free wifi, and it’s ok (not super slow).
There are 2 Starbucks in the center of Lisbon. One is inside the Armazéns do Chiado mall (this is a great place to get your SIM by the way as they have 3 of the mobile carriers all on the same floor (just go down one floor)). This is a pretty small starbucks and there are no windows in there.
The other Starbucks is much bigger with outdoor seating and tons of indoor seating.
Here’s the map for this larger Starbucks:
Internet Speed: There’s free wifi either with FB sign in or food purchase (you can do both – each sign in is for 80MB of use). The speed isn’t very fast, but it’s workable.
Located across the street from Copenhagen Coffee Lab, Tease is more of a bakery/lunch place than a cafe. However, you can always find a few people in there with their laptops out. They’re mostly famous for their cupcakes, so if you’re into baked goods, then this might be a good place to stop in.
Internet Speed: There’s free wifi.
This place is worth a visit even if you don’t plan to work there! It’s a stunning view. And you can pick up some books in English too (but most of the books are in Portuguese or Spanish). Here’s a photo of the inside of the bookstore with its walls of bookshelves.
This bookstore is located in LX Factory, so it’s a bit of a walk from the center of town. There’s also a great Third Wave coffee shop (called Wish Slow Coffee House) next to the bookstore as well as a co-working spot (http://www.coworklisboa.pt).
And here’s the menu at Wish Slow Coffee House:
And if you’re looking for food, then there are a ton of restaurants in LX Factory!
Portugal, R. das Portas de Santo Antão 136, 1150-265 Lisboa
fabricacoffeeroasters.com
If you don’t need wifi or if you have your own wifi device, then this cafe is amazing. There’s great outdoor seating in the shade by the street so you can watch people passing by, and they serve great Third Wave coffee! But sadly, no internet.
And here’s Fabrica Coffee Roasters’ menu:
Rua das Flores 63, 1200-193
Fabrica opened a new second location in the center of Lisbon really close to Praça Luís de Camões. There’s tons of seating and the decor is very cool. Unfortunately, there’s still no wifi.
Rua da Cintura do Porto de Lisboa, 1200-109 Lisboa
While this place is a gym (and it’s not marked yet on Google maps, so the location is its sister complex, a dance studio that’s next door), it’s not a bad place to work if you exercise a lot. They’ve got tables, a cafe that serves lots of healthy foods (protein shakes, bars, grilled salmon) as well as coffees. And they have plenty of seating near the front desk and upstairs near the cafe. The internet is usually stronger near the front desk though.
It’s a great gym if you’re into working out – super clean, has a pool, tons of classes throughout the week, a sauna, squat rack, lots of weight-lifting equipment, and even an outdoor lifting area where you can lift and flip tires.
Internet speed:
By Louise
Box cafe is a pretty new and modern looking cafe on Huaykaew road not too far from the KSK (old) mall. The cafe is also part of a hostel.
I ordered an Americano, and while it was a bit weak, it wasn’t that bad in taste. The also serve a long black, which is good for Australians.
It’s very quiet and there’s not many people at the cafe so you get to all to yourself. There are 2 tables outside and bar seating and table seating inside. The coffee is decent and there’s free wifi. Not too bad altogether!
While it’s not fast, it is usable since there’s no one else there using the internet.
By Louise
Positioned in old town Chiang Mai near some of the popular Wats (like Wat Chedi Luang Worawihan) as well as SP Chicken, this branch of Akha Ama Coffee is a great place to rest when you’re out and about.
By Louise
No. 17號, Wuxing St, Xinyi District, Taipei City, 110
Open Times: 7am-6pm
Internet Speed At Syphon Cafe:
How is the coffee?
The americano was not good.
What’s Good at Syphon?
It’s a quiet, small cafe located really close to Taipei 101 on a street filled with restaurants and food stores. It seems they do pourovers and tea as well as americano, espresso etc. It is a small place though – with just 5 tables and 1 small bar. And they also close early (at 6pm).
106, Taipei City, Da’an District, Lane 60, Taishun St, 8號, 1樓
Open Times: 1pm-midnight
Internet Speed at Insomnia Cafe – use Insomnia2 as it’s faster
What’s Good at Insomnia?
It serves food (pizza, pasta mostly – nothing GF except maybe the fries) and drinks (on Tuesdays they have $99 cocktails and wines) and they serve some smoothies, teas, and coffees. So their selection is pretty good. They’re also open pretty late and often do movie screenings. It’s on a quiet street in a cute area of town filled with students, but when I’ve been to Insomnia at night, it’s been pretty empty.
No. 38號, Lane 308, Guangfu S Rd, Da’an District, Taipei City, 106
Open Times: – 4am
Internet Speed At 4am Cafe
What’s Good at 4am Cafe?
It’s a nice working atmosphere – everyone there was working with a laptop including the owner of the cafe, so it felt like a great atmosphere to get things done. There are also electrical outlets handy if you need to charge your computer. The drinks are a bit pricey ($160 per drink), but I guess that’s the price for having somewhere to sit and work. The wifi is also pretty fast there.
The only downside is that it’s a quiet cafe, so it’s hard to have skype calls (although there is an outdoors area you could sit in).
No. 12, Songshou Rd, Xinyi District, Taipei City, 110
Open Times: – 9 or 10pm
The entire building has free wifi and the speed is pretty good. There’s a ton of cafes on the fourth floor (4F) to work from.
Internet Speed at ATT 4 Fun
No. 7, Section 5, Xinyi Rd, Xinyi District, Taipei City, 110
The food court at Taipei 101 Mall has food, drinks, lots of tables, and free fast wifi. The only downside is that there are no electrical outlets handy.
Internet Speed at Taipei 101
No. 6, Xinyang St, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, 10047
Internet Speed at Notch Cafe
This is perhaps my new favorite cafe for when I don’t need super fast internet. It’s cute, has really great coffee, and fat cats that laze around. It’s also got a nice student atmosphere. But watch out, it gets super crowded on weekends and the coffee is not cheap!
Menu at Coffee Lab in Taipei
Internet Speed at Coffee Lab in Taipei
No. 15, Yijiang St, Zhongshan District, Taipei City, 104
I think this is a place where people come to grab coffee on their way to work. There’s a nice outdoor bar area as well as some indoor seating. There is wifi though – it’s not fast, but not a bad place to sit for a bit while waiting for friends. There’s a good Taiwanese restaurant around the corner (My灶) that I’ve been to a few times now.
Menu at 寄杯咖啡 in Taipei
Internet Speed at 寄杯咖啡 in Taipei
(Dun Nan Store near MRT Zhongxiao Dunhua stop)
106, Taipei City, Da’an District, 敦化南路一段245號2樓
The Eslite bookstore is 24 hours and the cafe is open until 1.30am. The tables in Eslite (apart from those in the cafe) are unfortunately only for those reading books from the bookstore, so you can’t use them for work. But the cafe is warm, has decent wifi, and a good selection of drinks, food, and desserts. And if you like coffee, then they have single origin drip coffee.
Menu at the Eslite Cafe (Dun Nan Store)
Internet Speed at Eslite Cafe (Dun Nan Store)
No. 42, Guanqian Rd, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, 10047
This is a great cafe to work in with lots of seating, outdoor seating, pretty good wifi, hand-drip single-origin coffee, and electrical outlets to plug your devices into.
Internet Speed at Helen Coffee in Taipei
No. 300, Section 3, Zhongxiao E Rd, Da’an District, Taipei City, 106
This is a huge mall with a huge food section (3 basement floors). There are also 2 restaurant floors at the top of the building. There’s plenty of seating although it does get very busy at meal times especially during the weekends. There’s tons of food and drink, but you don’t have to buy anything to sit and work there. And the wifi is pretty fast (it’s a bit slower than the numbers state because of how many people are on the wifi at peak hours).
Internet Speed at Sogo Mall in Taipei
No. 253, Songjiang Rd, Zhongshan District, Taipei City, 104
This is more of a diner than a cafe. They serve sandwiches, wings, a few salads, and breakfast items before 10.30am. While nothing is that amazing here, it’s a convenient stop to grab some food. Wifi works but is a bit slow.
Internet Speed at Check Cafe in Taipei
104台北市中山區農安街53號
Good coffee, lots of seating, reasonably fast wifi, and offers food. This cafe is a good option if you’re in the Zhongshan neighborhood – it’s also one of the few cafes with a website. They also roast their own coffee and sell the beans at the cafe.
I tried a decent Ethiopian hand drip coffee.
The menu at Lotty Cafe
Internet Speed at Cafe Lotty in Taipei
Not super fast, but pretty good wifi speed.
104, Taipei City, Zhongshan District, Lane 115, Section 2, Zhongshan N Rd, 33號號 1 樓
This is a super cute cafe serving a range of different caffeinated drinks as well as foods (desserts, pancakes, paninis). There are only 2 potentially GF option on the menu (not surprising for most cafes here) and they involve a plate of ham or hotdogs.
However, moaning about their food aside, this is a really nice cafe to work at. The decor is really nice, there’s tons of light that comes in through the windows, and there’s a lot of comfy seating. A lot of students come here to study so you won’t feel left out if you sit there on your mac for several hours.
And for Aussies, yes, they do make a long black and have plenty of Australian knickknacks on the wall, although I don’t think the owner is Australian. Sometimes a cute dog lies around the place waiting to be petted by guests.
No. 74號, Shida Rd, Da’an District, Taipei City, 106
I’ve found the internet speed at every single Starbucks in Taipei I’ve tested (around 3 of them) to have very slow internet speeds. You also need a mobile phone to set up an account and receive a text message with the code (if you ask the barista, they also have a general account login you can use if you don’t have a mobile, but they don’t tell people that). The wifi also kicks you off every 90 minutes or so.
Internet Speed at Starbucks in Taipei (Shida)
No. 268, Liancheng Rd, Zhonghe District, New Taipei City, 235
This seems to be a pretty business financial area in New Taipei City with lots of business meetings and corporate people on laptops. Sadly, the internet speed is super slow, but there are 1 or 2 electrical outlets.
Internet Speed at Starbucks in New Taipei City (Yonghe)
No. 210, Songjiang Rd, Zhongshan District, Taipei City, 104
This is a pretty big starbucks with lots of seating and lots of people sitting and reading on their phones or working on laptops so it doesn’t feel odd to hang here for several hours. There are also some electrical outlets on the walls and under the big table.
Starbucks in Taipei (Zhongshan)
No. 631, Zhongzheng Road Zhonghe District, Taipei, 新北市235
This is a business-oriented hotel. It’s not a very convenient location since it’s pretty far from the MRT (subway) stations.
Internet Speed at Four Points by Sheraton Hotel in New Taipei City
By Louise
On my third visit to Wat Chedi Luang Worawihan, I stopped through the Monk Chat section of the temple grounds and spent 30 minutes chatting to Bin Bin, a Buddhist monk.
One of the main things I learnt from Bin Bin was to focus on the present and not dream about the future. A very wise comment 🙂
By Louise
We visited a hill tribe in rural Thailand (several hours outside of Chiang Mai) a few weeks ago to celebrate Children’s Day (they were also celebrating New Years’ at the village).
It was a fascinating insight into the village’s celebrations although we were fairly confused what was happening most times.
Here are the photos (and video) from that day:
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By Louise
I found this interesting Thai dessert in Thailand. It’s basically just sticky rice, coconut milk, and sugar cooked in a hollow bamboo stick. I found it very mildly sweet, but it can be made sweeter. The thicknesses of the bamboo sticks also vary – the ones I tried had pretty thin bamboo so that I could break open the bamboo with just my fingernails.
If you’d like to try making it yourself, then check out this recipe here.
By Louise
Chareon Suan Ake is located in a small village not too far from Maya (around 10 minutes scooter ride).
We went after reading about Andy Ricker’s recommendation of the place:
For those looking to go deeper into authentic Northern Thai cuisine, this is Ricker’s top pick, located in a small village off the Irrigation Canal Road.
This is definitely worth a vist – but if you have a Thai friend, then it’s way better to bring them along as there is no English menu and no server speaks any English!
San Sai Khlong Ngam 2, T. San Phi Suea (GPS: 18.8254913, 98.9701973)
053 852 778
The entire menu is in Thai unfortunately, so it’s best if you can translate it before getting there.
One of the other customers at the restaurant ordered a selection of dishes for us, so I’m not too sure what I was eating! Just beware that everything is quite spicy. My favorite dish (we ended up ordering 3 plates of it) was the pork jerky with crispy deep-fried lime kefir leaves.
Pork jerky with deep fried lime kefir leaves.
Stir-fried vegetables
Banana blossom curry
By Louise
Located on a quiet road in old town Chiang Mai, Graph Cafe is one of my favorite places to spend 30 minutes while savoring their nitro coldbrew coffee!
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By Louise
Set slightly back from a busy side street off Nimman, Librarista offers a pleasant garden to sit and reflect in.