If you’re looking for a place to nongkrong in Bandung that is both modern and old school at the same time, look no further than Kedai Kopi Bara on Jalan Cibadak.
Located in an colonial building, Kedai Kopi Bara has been given a facelift that brings it into the 21st century. Lots of handmade wooden furniture, a couple of couches and lots of bright natural night make it feel quite modern.
There’s a constant stream of the latest music playing, fast free wifi and a few books to make the place great for hanging out in.
We’ve tried a range of things here and the coffee is top notch. Yes, it does compare with the best in Bandung. Susan likes green tea lattes and the iced one here is pretty much like it is everywhere.
They do a small selection of food here, but last time we visited, the kitchen wasn’t open.
We find it interesting that the coffee shop isn’t that busy. Where is everyone? This is one of the better coffee shops in Bandung and it’s virtually empty!
The great coffee, relaxing ambience and decent food selection make this one of our favourite nongkrong spots in Bandung. Let’s hope they get enough customers to make keeping the business going worthwhile.
Kedai Kopi Bara
Jalan Cibadak 237, Bandung
Opening Hours: daily 07:30 – 22:00
Cappuccino: Rp25.500
Iced Thai Green Tea: Rp15.000
Prices here are spot on, we think. They’re at the lower end of specialty coffee prices in Bandung and that should encourage more people to visit.
This place doesn’t feel like a ruko and that is a major positive. The inside is decorated with wood and metal furniture, large white tiles and a polished concrete floor. The coffee machine is a thing of beauty.
For smokers or those who simply prefer the steamy outdoor temperatures, there are a few outdoor seats which are pretty good. We’re not sure how the air-conditioning compressor units on the wall outside will impact on guest comfort, but we suspect they will make it even hotter on at least a couple of the tables as they pump hot air into covered area.
We really like the murals on the wall, the wifi is fast (20mb/5mb) and the staff pleasant. A worthy new addition to the Bandung coffee and nongkrong scene.
Design-wise, the interior is modern and fresh, but not wildly different to the style of most modern cafes in Bandung. In other words, it’s nice, but it won’t win any design awards.
The baked eggs were a little insubstantial for our tastes and needed something a little more bitey inside like chunks of chorizo or even potato. This is the problem with baked eggs. They can often leave you feeling hungry if they aren’t filled with chunky bits inside. The flavour was nice though.
The cappuccino was super strong which to be honest was a little unexpected. We often find it difficult to know how strong a coffee is going to be in Bandung, so we generally like to order a double shot. The coffee in Old Ben’s is strong and we are OK with that!
The orange juice wasn’t very good to be honest. We actually haven’t had a good orange juice in Bandung, so we have to rate this orange juice as standard only. The only way to make it better is to import better oranges and that is obviously too expensive for Bandung cafes.
So all in all we do like Old Ben’s. It’s certainly a place we’ll be coming back to again when we’re in the Setra Sari area.
The murals are actually one of the favourite spots in the whole place and we saw quite a lot people with their tongsis grabbing that perfect shot.
This is a manual brew coffee shop, so don’t expect to get a proper cappuccino or other Espresso based drink. But do expect to get Turkish coffee, Vietnam drip, V60 and all the other manual brewing methods.
We tried a few drinks here and were quite happy with the quality. But this place is not just about the drinks.
It’s about nongkrong. And Kopi Kodok is a perfect place for nongkrong with its pleasant garden area, rural setting and natural wooden furniture. And because of the altitude of this place, it’s certainly a few degrees cooler than the central parts of Bandung.
You can smoke anywhere here basically because there is fresh air everywhere. Even inside it’s fine because there is always a cross breeze.
Kopi Kodok is the new hip place in Bandung. Come here before it’s overrun by the masses!
Armor Kopi Garden has a massive car parking space out the front which leads up to a familiar wooden building. The building looks similar to the one at TAHURA, but it’s actually a different building. The original TAHURA building has been disassembled and moved to a location nearby.
The drinks and snacks at Armor Kopi Garden are just as you remember them at Kopi Armor. Lots of manual brew coffee in both arabica and robusta, lots of snacks such as pisang goreng and roasted beans packed for you to take home.
We really like the layout of Armor Kopi Garden as it really lends itself to endless nongkrong. A cool open air veranda and a cozy indoor area: it just is perfect for nongkrong.
Prices here aren’t as cheap as somewhere like Warkop Modjok, but they’re not as expensive as modern coffee shops like Noah’s Barn. The cheapest coffee is still Rp10.000, but when you add fresh milk, prices do go up steeply. And that’s normal.
Armor Kopi Garden is in our opinion every bit as good as the previous Armor Kopi in TAHURA. Sure, there are no pine trees here, but you do get the cool breeze, lots of plants and lots of wooden furniture in a wooden building. And great coffee.
A top spot to nongkrong in Bandung.
Kozi Lab is tucked deep inside a series of old military warehouses next to a bunch of other art focused shops such as design studios and fashion designers. It’s so deep inside these warehouses that it’s actually quite difficult to find.
Our best advice is to drive through a small gate and head towards the back of the property. There you will find a warehouse with a bunch of cars and motorbikes parked out the front. Enter this warehouse and have a walk around. You will stumble upon the coffee shop! There is no other way to describe where it is!
The coffee we had was good as is usually the case now in Bandung. To compare it in quality to other places in Bandung is difficult because the standard now is so high.
At Old Bike, they’ve chosen to price their coffees at the lower end of the range with a magic (double shot ristretto with milk) only costing Rp20.000. That’s an absolute bargain.
But of course it’s not all just about price. Quality is important too and we were very happy with our coffees at Old Bike. The magic was strong and punchy and the flat white slightly more milky, but still quite strong.
The fitout here is interesting. They have a really large ruko to play with and they’ve done a good job.
Free wifi is also provided and you will always find a seat because it is so big. A good new coffee shop in Bandung.
What we really love about the shop itself is that it’s not in a ruko. I hate rukos because the shape is always the same. Boring! The no-ruko aspect means that the cafe has an interesting shape to it. It’s a small space with only a few tables, a dedicated smoking area and the tiniest of kitchens.
The menu is simple. Lots of toast, nasi goreng and other cemilan. The coffee range is large because they brew in lots of different ways. The magic we tried was spot on. Strong flavour, well-textured milk and looked good.
The teh tarik was similar to what we know and expect in Malaysia although we’d be happy to see a bit more froth.
So what don’t we like about Kopi Kelenteng? Not a lot! We would like to see a few extra dishes served such as lontong kare or other simple dishes you might see in a kopitiam. But other than that, Kopi Kelenteng is a damn fine example of what a simple coffee shop should be.
Top marks. Check it out if you can.
I hired a car for 4 days and it was the best decision, but not everything went as planned and I would have done a couple of things differently if I knew what was going to happen.
A lot of forums I read stated that you absolutely have to get a 4wd vehicle as 2wd sedans just can’t do these roads. I got a small 2wd car and it was perfect for visiting Laguna Tebinquiche, Laguna Chaxa and Lagunas Miscanti & Miñiques. I also tried to visit Salar de Tara, but was driven back by an immense sand storm which threatened to sandblast the paint on the car to bare metal. At an altitude of about 4800m, I decided to turn the car around as the wind was moving faster than the car and the car was travelling at 100km/h.
The other place I wanted to visit was the geyser, but I just didn’t think I should put the small car through the pain of travelling along that treacherous road. Again, if you must visit the geyser independently, hire a 4wd. If you don’t have enough money for a 4wd, that’s ok. Just visit the lagunas I visited and you will love it.
After visiting about 5 shops, I finally found someone who said he would attempt to repair the wheel. 20,000 pesos later and I was on my way. That day was wasted and Budget refused to help fix the wheel. They just insisted it was my responsibility which sucks really… I would have appreciated them facilitating the repair and me paying for it, but that didn’t happen.
Whatever the case, I kind of wished I had insurance at that time because the potential cost for me was massive. Also, the sand storm incident was scary and insurance would have eased my mind a little. I’m not a big advocate for car insurance generally, but I think the conditions in the Atacama can be so extreme that it’s wise to get insurance even though it’s expensive.
The one night we ate pizza in town we drove. No problem! In fact, I didn’t really like the vibe in the centre of town and I’m glad we stayed a little bit out of the centre. Too many hippies, overly confident guide types and touristy shops and restaurants where prices are exorbitant.
I paid $65 per night at Hostal Desert which included a pretty good breakfast –> Check the current price on 
Climbing it really requires a guide and you can either do it as an overnight hike or a one day hike. The overnight hike starts during the middle of the day and ends in the middle of the next with no night hiking required.
The tea plantations of Pagar Alam line the slopes of Gunung Dempo. BESH hotel actually sits right in the middle of the plantations as do a number of other hotels. BESH at this stage is the only one bookable online.
Cughup Tujuh Kenangan is a large waterfall which is a short but steep hike from the parking area. It’s a good place for a swim and you’ll be the only visitor if you come on a weekday. There is no official entry fee, but because the path to the waterfall goes through private property, you will need to give some cigarette money to the local people. Rp10.000 per person should be enough.
Cughup Mangkok is a pummelling waterfall which barrels out of the forest into a large pool. It’s an ideal place for a swim and you can even test your swimming skills under the actual waterfall. I didn’t get a chance to go for a swim here, but the location is set up for swimming… so yeah, it’s perfect for that really.
When I was there there was a group of kids jumping off rocks into the pool and generally having a great old time. A top place for a swim! A small entry fee is payable at the front. Rp5.000 from memory.