This is a list for people who plan their day around where they sit down. Twelve cafes, and their hours already tell you something: Comptoirs de France pours its first coffee at 07:00, Cafe Zarah is still open at 01:00 on Fridays and Saturdays, and one house on 双榆树北路 never closes at all. Some of these places are really kitchens: Cafe Flatwhite serves western breakfasts, Poetry Cafe has pasta and sandwiches, and Corner Coffee moves from coffee to cocktails over the course of a day. We picked them by use rather than by looks, so each paragraph tells you whether a cafe is a breakfast table, a lane-side afternoon, a late seat, or a dependable early cup. Skip the lobby lounges with their hotel prices and recycled playlists. Every address here can be shown to a taxi driver, and every hour is listed so you can plan your day.
-
1 Cafe Flatwhite (平白咖啡厅)
A9-1, 北京, 北京A western breakfast menu served daily from 09:00
Cafe Flatwhite opens at 09:00 every day at A9-1, with a menu that leans western and puts breakfast at its centre. Skip the hotel buffet and its steam-tray eggs: a morning here is a better start to a long day in the city. Service runs until 21:00, so a late lunch or an early supper works as well as the first coffee of the day. The cafe's website is cafeflatwhite.com, worth checking before you go, and the phone line +86 10 5978 9067 is the quickest way to ask about a table. Of all the breakfast stops on this list, it is the one we would send a jet-lagged friend to first.
- western
- breakfast
Hours: Mo-Su 09:00-21:00
-
2 Corner Coffee
3 南下洼子胡同, 北京, 100010Coffee by day, cocktails and beer by night, with cake and pasta in between
Corner Coffee at 3 南下洼子胡同 in the 100010 postal area puts coffee and cocktails on the same menu, with cake, pasta, Chinese rice dishes, and beer sitting alongside them. From 10:00 to 23:00, you can work through the whole arc of a day without switching venues: afternoon coffee, a proper meal, and a nightcap all from one spot. The cocktails are already here, so there is nothing a separate bar adds. For a group, call +86 136 8146 2440 before you arrive. We'd order coffee when we sat down and let the evening take care of itself.
- coffee
- beer
- bar
- cocktail
- cake
- chinese rice
- pasta
Hours: 10:00-23:00
-
3 HEA Coffee
1 前鼓楼苑胡同, beijing, 100010Coffee, tea, beer and cake from a single counter
HEA Coffee at 1 前鼓楼苑胡同 in the 100010 postal area puts cake, tea, beer, and coffee all behind one counter, and that range is the whole reason to come. A tea drinker, a beer drinker, and someone who arrived purely for the cake can sit at the same table and nobody has to settle. Order the cake, whatever else you drink. The hours are 10:00 to 21:00, which suits a slow afternoon far better than a rushed morning. For directions or a quick question, the number is +86 135 2046 3666. Bring a book and stay for a second pot.
- coffee
- tea
- beer
- cake
Hours: 10:00-21:00
-
4 Comptoirs de France (法派1855)
东直门外大街French cakes and coffee from 07:00, every day
Comptoirs de France on 东直门外大街 is already serving by 07:00, with French cooking, coffee, and cake on the menu. If you are heading to an early meeting, skip the convenience-store pastry in a plastic sleeve; a proper cake and a cup here costs you a few more minutes at most. The doors stay open every day until 20:30, so the same table works for an afternoon break or a light end to the day as well. Ring +86 10 6461 1525 if you want to check on a seat. We'd come early and order the cake before the morning crowd works through it.
- french
- coffee shop
- cake
Hours: Mo-Su 07:00-20:30
-
5 He kitchen&Co.
五道营胡同An international menu served from 09:00 to 22:00
He kitchen&Co. sits along 五道营胡同 and keeps its doors open from 09:00 to 22:00 every day of the week. The menu is international, and the word kitchen in the name is a fair warning: come hungry. We'd skip the grab-and-go cup here; sit down for a proper meal, because that is what this place is designed for, with hours spanning breakfast through late dinner and making it a natural base for a whole day of wandering. Call +86 10 5245 1039 ahead if a table matters to your plans. It serves people who want to eat, not just to be seen holding a cup.
- international
Hours: Mo-Su 09:00-22:00
-
6 Umi Yodo daiichi shinjou no ie (海淀第一深情之家)
双榆树北路, 北京市, 北京市 100086A Chinese menu at any hour, open 24/7
Umi Yodo daiichi shinjou no ie sits on 双榆树北路 in the 100086 postal area and never closes, with hours listed as 24/7. The menu is Chinese, which sets it apart on a list otherwise full of cake and espresso. When you need somewhere to sit at 03:00 with real food in front of you, this is a better choice than the all-night fast-food counters. The place runs its own website at shenqing.liukairui.me, worth checking before you go. Show the driver the Chinese name, 海淀第一深情之家, and the 100086 postcode, and you will reach the door at any hour.
- chinese
Hours: 24/7
-
7 LINLEE
BeijingCoffee every day from 10:00 to 22:00
LINLEE pours coffee from 10:00 to 22:00, seven days a week, twelve hours that make it an easy stop on a long day. The mapped address goes no further than Beijing, so plan around that. Ring +8613717729912 and ask for directions before you leave, which is what locals do before crossing town for it. The late opening and late close suit visitors who start slowly and finish late, but we wouldn't build a whole afternoon around it. Treat it as a mid-afternoon refill, open until 22:00, when the rest of your plans run long.
- coffee shop
Hours: Mo-Su 10:00-22:00
-
8 Starbucks (星巴克)
崇文门外大街A predictable cup on 崇文门外大街 from 07:00, every day
The Starbucks on 崇文门外大街 opens at 07:00 every day of the week, which matters when you have an early start and the hotel lobby is still setting up its coffee counter. You know exactly what the cup will taste like before you order it. It works as a coffee shop, not a destination, and you should use it that way: grab the cup, check your route, and get moving. The counter stays open until 22:00, so it covers a late cup too, when the more interesting rooms on this list have closed for the night. Predictability is the reason it is on the list.
- coffee shop
Hours: Mo-Su 07:00-22:00
-
9 Poetry Cafe (诗意栖居咖啡馆)
15 南池子大街Coffee with sandwiches, pasta, cake and tea
Behind the door at 15 南池子大街, Poetry Cafe serves coffee alongside sandwiches, pasta, cake and tea, which is a full menu for a room with a name this gentle. The hours run from 10:00 to 21:00, every day of the week, making it a good place for lunch or a slow afternoon. It beats the generic sandwich counters that fill up with sightseers at midday: here you can sit, order pasta, and rest your feet. Ask for tea if the coffee has already done its work. Give the driver the street number, 15, and the Chinese name, 诗意栖居咖啡馆, and you will be at the door without fuss.
- coffee shop
- cake
- sandwich
- pasta
- tea
Hours: Mo-Su 10:00-21:00
-
10 Spoonful of sugar
59 Tie shu xie jieDaily hours from 10:30 to 20:30, January through December
At 59 Tie shu xie jie, Spoonful of sugar is open from 10:30 to 20:30 every day. No seasonal closures to track: the listed hours run January to December, which matters in a city where winter visits can run into shuttered doors. A 10:30 start suits a slow morning, and the 20:30 close leaves time for an early-evening cup before dinner. The phone line, +86 10 6308 3971, is the way to ask about anything the hours don't tell you. Write down the street number, 59, before you set out, because it is the detail that gets you to the right door.
-
11 Café Cuore
59号 汪芝麻胡同, 北京市东城区A coffee shop open from 11:00 to 21:00
Café Cuore doesn't pour until 11:00, and the counter at 59号 汪芝麻胡同 in 北京市东城区 closes at 21:00. It is a coffee shop, not a breakfast room, and the hours make that plain. That late start does the sorting for you: skip the early-morning caffeine scramble and arrive after a morning on foot, when a cup without a queue feels like something you've earned. The window from 11:00 to 21:00 leaves room for a late-morning espresso, an afternoon refill, or one last cup before dinner. Show the full address, 59号 汪芝麻胡同, to your driver.
- coffee shop
Hours: 11:00-21:00
-
12 Cafe Zarah
46 鼓楼东大街, Beijing, 100007Coffee and sandwiches until 01:00 on Fridays and Saturdays
Cafe Zarah sits at number 46 on 鼓楼东大街, in the 100007 postal area, and runs until 24:00 Monday to Thursday. On Fridays and Saturdays the doors stay open until 01:00, which makes it a workable last stop on a long evening. The menu is coffee and sandwiches, and at that hour that is exactly what you want. If what you need is a seat, something to eat, and a quiet drink before bed, a bar crawl will not serve you as well. The doors open at 10:00, so it works as a late-morning stop as well. If you are planning a Sunday visit, check ahead: the listed hours run Monday to Saturday.
- coffee shop
- sandwich
Hours: Mo-Th 10:00-24:00; Fr-Sa 10:00-01:00
Last verified by automated review (v1.7.2_freshness-window-1011-2399-20261011121747) on . What is automated review?