Hi everyone!
Bangkok is always my favorite city to visit to eat and shop, but in my previous trips I usually maximise my time shopping. But, now that I shop on Taobao so much, I can’t really find much to buy in Bangkok anymore 😐 So in my most recent trip to Bangkok in August 2016, I made it a point to hit all the most raved about cafes and eating spots!
Here is a round-up of my favorite animal/ pet-themed cafes in Bangkok:
1) Caturday Cat Cafe
So in case you didn’t know, I am totally a cat person. The question is not: will I be a cat lady when I’m old? It is: will I have 30 cats or 40 cats? 🐱 So we absolutely had to make a trip to Caturday Cat Cafe!
Located right next to Ratchathewi BTS (which is right in town), it was super accessible and easy to find. Take Exit 2 from the BTS station down the stairs, make a u-turn at the bottom and walk till you see a cluster of cafes on your left. Caturday is situated at the far side of the square compound, facing a side road.
The photo on the left is the street Caturday is on and the photo on the right is the exterior of the cafe. Strangely there’s already a lot of stray cats wandering around outside. It’s so sad it’s like the cats inside the cafe are the chosen ones and the ones outside are lower caste citizens ☹ just wanna scoop them all up and bring them home!!
Would you just look at the kitty-shaped tap on the sink!!!! We had to wash our hands before going in, to protect the cats from our germs.
I would recommend visiting Caturday around 2 to 3 pm on weekdays; the cafe is much less crowded around that timing. As a result, we had more photo and cuddle opportunities with the fluffies 🤗
We strategically picked a table right next to a very sleepy Persian sprawled on a cushion and so, she sat with us through our whole meal, too lazy to move. PERFECT for my incessant photo-taking 😍
The menu available was pretty simple but surprisingly, the lasagna and pasta we ordered was quite yummy. I loved their drinks too I think we ordered salted caramel milk and thai milk tea. Check out the whimsical coaster and cup designs!!
You will realise the cats aren’t too bothered with the people and cameras. They will walk away haughtily when you sit next to them or try to selfie with them, so I had a hard time trying to snap a photo with this beautiful maine coon – BUT I GOTCHA YOU LITTLE MINX ~
I basically spent all my time chasing cats. And eating furballs with my lasagna LOL because the hygiene in the place… let’s just say NEA will flip the shit out. My clearest selfies are with Mr. Fluffy-Grumpy here, because he could not give a shit about my photoshoot.
He only cared about our food. Don’t worry, we didn’t give him any, he was just curious.
The whole cafe was filled with so many different breeds of cats, sleeping in just about any corner. Every nook and cranny was also tastefully designed to fit the kitty theme.
Can you spot the cat-mouflage? (I tried.) Not quite sure what R2D2 is doing there…
There was a particularly active cat prancing around on the kitty playground – probably how all the furballs dropped into my lasagna.
I really appreciated the attention to detail. 😍 Everytime I see a cafe that is so thoughtfully and meticulously decorated, I can really feel the owner’s passion and love for the business – so much so that every little facet of customer experience is taken care of.
And that’s how I finally caught the elusive maine coon 🙂 Lured him into a little basket and then picked the whole basket up into my lap. His face: “Kill me now.” But no, trust me he was very happy to be in the basket.
A poignant photo displaying the status divide of Kitty Kingdom… I think the white cat is a stray because I left the door open for it to go back in, thinking it must have gotten out by accident, but it didn’t dare to step in. But don’t take my word for it, I’m just a sucker for dysfunctional societies.
All in all, I loved Caturday’s cozy atmosphere, quirky little decor surprises and its fantastic location near Platinum Mall and Siam 🙂 Don’t forget to pop by after a day of shopping for some lovely grub and fluffy therapy the next time you are in Bangkok ☺️
2) Little Zoo Cafe
My next recommendation is actually a little out of central Bangkok towards the north, so be prepared to travel! But this unique cafe is definitely worth the journey. In fact it is about 30 mins from Don Mueang Airport so if your flight happens to leave from DMK, you can consider a trip to Little Zoo before checking in!
We visited on a weekday afternoon to avoid the crowds but on weekdays, they would bring out less animals for customers to play with. We missed out on the owls and fennec foxes, but all the other animals were so lovable, so we didn’t really mind.
This is the really chubby, hyperactive prairie dog hehe the in-house corgis kept chasing it around the poor thing! I scooped him up in my arms for a photo but he was squirming way too much.
I’m not too sure what bird this is but it looks like a budgie/ parakeet and it was so docile and sweet. If you put it near your chin, it would actually rub its little head under your cheek – I melted 😍
It is mandatory to order one main dish per customer but the food was unexpectedly delish 🍝 I really loved the classic carbonara and grilled cheese sandwich – simple but so flavorful!
I was so surprised I actually enjoyed the food (cos’ usually when you are forced to order, the food is sub-par). I do miss being able to enjoy affordable western-style cafe grub at such affordable prices in Bangkok, usually not spending more than 200 baht!
And how can I forget my dearest little meerkats!
They had an enclosure all to themselves, so just sit right down and soon you will have 3 meerkats squirming all over you. I noticed one was wearing a glittery neck chain – it turns out they love shiny objects, so one was trying to figure out how to scrap off my friend’s shiny nail polish on her toenails. So just be careful with your jewellery and nail polishes!
My favorite animal was a majestic lynx cat who had its own house and area in the second level. It looked so bored and lonely when we first went up, but it was so so affectionate! Check out my video to see how it would kiss and nuzzle me hehehehe I was absolutely in love 💖 The little corgi followed us up to the second level but didn’t dare to go back down the stairs HAHA so it had to be coaxed down by the staff. Apparently, it wags its butt when it gets stressed!
All in all, I loved the great food and unique experience with the exotic but affectionate animals. My only qualm is that it is a little out of town and not many people use DMK airport, but if this seems like something you would really enjoy, it is definitely worth the trip!
3) True Love Husky Cafe
True Love Cafe is situated in a residential neighbourhood, reachable via tuk-tuk or taxi from Ari BTS. Don’t attempt the walk; you will probably melt under Bangkok’s heat first. It cost us 50 baht via tuk-tuk but I’ve learnt in Bangkok that many times, hailing a metered taxi would probably be cheaper because the flag down rate is only 38 baht and the meter jumps so slowly and cheaply, while most tuk-tuk negotiations tend to be capped at a minimum 50 baht.
One thing to note is that taxis/tuk-tuks may not recognize the English name of True Love Cafe. Some blog I read said that if the drivers don’t understand English, just go ‘woof woof’ at them and they should know its the husky cafe (if they frequent the Ari BTS area). So I obediently barked at the tuk-tuk driver, who looked at me like I was crazy. Don’t do that.
Another helpful tip would be to get a Thai local (from your hotel or your Airbnb host) to voice record the Thai names of places you want to go. If not, just walk around till you find a driver who understands you or use Google Maps to direct them.
After the hassle in getting there, we were pleasantly greeted by the quaint, lovely exterior of True Love Cafe!
So utterly Instagrammable 😍 Perfect for your OOTD shot!
Each entry ticket into the cafe costs 350 baht, which is payable at the counter just before the main door and it entitles you to a cake and a drink of your choice.
Totally cute cup and coaster designs 💕 I liked the cake selection and drinks that came with the entry ticket. You just need to pop in and select your cake from the display. I remembered they had red velvet, black forest, matcha, rainbow and a few more common flavours – not too shabby!
However, we made the mistake of ordering the food there (paid separately) because we were starving, but I wouldn’t recommend it. The pasta tasted like it was cooked in a primary school canteen 😒 not inedible, but just disappointing for cafe standards.
We chose to sit outside, nearer to the doggies and because I loved the lush, leafy outdoor settings – I felt like I was eating in a safari cafe! Exploring the interior, I also found a huge box of husky plushies next to the counter that the staff said I could bring back to the table and take photos with 😁 So I gleefully took like 8 plushies. They also had plushies for sale, but ain’t nobody got money fo dat.
Perfect for photo opportunities while you are waiting for playtime to start! I may have gone a little overboard…
Finally, they began screening the introductory video, narrated by the resident shih-tzu Momo, detailing the rules of playtime with the doggies. It was really cute and a nice touch!
Then it was time to play with the REAL HUSKIES! 😍
Get ready for lots and lots of selfies! The doggies are super excited at the start, so just wait about half an hour and they will calm down enough for selfies 😎
Naughty doggy! We had to wear cute little blue booties in the enclosure – not very nice in photos so I tried to cut them out of most of my photos.
Overexcited doggies when their food comes! They can be quite boisterous so just approach them with care when they are bouncing about.
Surrounded by fluffiness 😍 After a while they start to lie down on the ground and find corners to lepak (relax) in. I think my energy ran out a little too HAHA so I lay sat down with them.
Some ice for snack time to cool the huskies down in the Bangkok heat, like ice kachang for dessert 🙂
N’aww sleepy husky on my lap 🙂 I didn’t dare to move for the longest time cos’ I didn’t want to wake the cutie up.
✨Important: There are timings for the doggy playtimes, so do arrive about 1 hour before, so you can get the best seats and finish your food (and take plenty of selfies with the plushies) before heading into the enclosure for playtime.
Mondays: CLOSED
Tuesdays – Thursdays: 12.30 pm and 3.30 pm
Fridays – Sundays: 12.30 pm, 3.30 pm and 6 pm
I appreciate the whole crafted experience at True Love, from the soft toys for photo-taking and the adorable introductory video, and I had a great time! The food wasn’t too fantastic and it is a little more troublesome to find the cafe in the residential area BUT it’s an iconic pet cafe not to be missed when you are in Bangkok ☺
This concludes my recommendation for pet/animal cafes to visit in Bangkok 🙂 If you are looking for a place to stay, check out the airbnbs available in Bangkok (you can get a pool and gym at the price of a hostel stay) and get $40 off your first Airbnb stay!
Happy travelling ~ 😘
Love,
Sally