With the increasing number of cafés and restaurants in the capital city of Bhutan, locals now enjoy and explore a variety of cultures through new food and cuisines. Among all the different establishments that serve food and beverages in Thimphu, I prefer the following places to café hop:
1. Tough Cookie Express
If you’re a pastel gal or anyone who likes softer colours and is looking for an aesthetically pleasing place with good food and coffee, Tough Cookie Express is the right place for you. The recently opened café has a cosy and casual atmosphere with food and drinks at reasonable prices and interior designs that are worthy of your Instagram or Snapchat feed and stories. You can take your family, besties, significant other, or even your little cousin for a quick snack. The place also has a Volkswagen Van-themed counter which just makes the entire place extremely cute and unique from all other cafés in Bhutan. It is open from Tuesdays to Sundays from 9:30 AM to 8:00 PM.
One of my favorites from the menu: Sandwiches with pumpkin fillings
The café is owned and run by Kuenga Lhaden a 28-year-old Model who won the titles of “Miss Viewer’s choice” and “Miss Congeniality” in Miss Asia 2016 Beauty Pageant.
A Healthy mango smoothie bowl and Mango and Blueberry Chia pudding. Source: @toughcookieexpress
2. Brusnika Café and Bakery
Brusnika was initially located in Langjophakha, Thimphu but they recently moved to the Changlam area, towards the opposite direction of Thimphu plaza. The Russian café and bakery are owned by Natalia and Tashi Wangdi who are married to each other.
The place is open from 9:00 AM to 7 PM every day. Apart from dine-in options, they even have takeaways and home delivery services for the convenience of customers. The place is great for two especially if you are in search of a light snack and smoothies. You can feel the ambience when you enter the warm monotone café.
Source: Instagram: @brusnika_thimphu
3. Moogurt Frozen Yogurt Bar
Moogurt serves amazing frozen yoghurts along with a variety of coffee and hot chocolates. This is one place where I felt like yoghurt was way better than ice cream. It is a great place for people to get chilled desserts and drinks during summer. The shop is located in Changlam Corner, Thimphu, and runs from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM every Tuesday to Sunday. A lot of young people including school-going children are seen savouring delightful treats there. We get to choose our desired toppings and flavours which is the best part of eating there.
The sweet stop opened in 2021 and was run by Tashi Tshogyal who was still a High school student.
Source: Instagram: @moogurt.bt
4. Elsewhere- Art & Café
Sandwiched between buildings that are opposite the huge 5-star hotel, Lé Meridian in Thimphu town resides a small cozy shop called Elsewhere- Art & Café. Just as the name suggests, there’s art and coffee but there are books and food as well. The café opens every Tuesday to Sunday from 9:30 AM to 9:30 PM. If you are in search of a place to work with your laptops, this café is also a perfect space for that. Moreover, there is a variety of food items and beverages that you can dine in or get delivered to your doorstep through the Zhey Go app (which is available on the Google Play Store and iOS App Store).
The place is owned by Chand Moksh Bhattarai and Karma. Chand is an artist who works in Voluntary Artist Studio (VAST) Bhutan. So, we can figure out where all the artwork displayed in the gallery comes from.
Source: Instagram: @elsewhereartcafe_bhutan