8 Cafes To Visit In Perlis For Your Next Trip North

Myra Y

Perlis Is Small. Its Cafe Scene Is Anything But.

Most people treat Perlis like a checkpoint, somewhere you pass through on the way to somewhere else. And honestly, we get it. It’s Malaysia’s smallest state, easy to underestimate, easy to overlook. But spend a little more time here and you’ll realise Perlis has been building something you’d regret you missed. The cafe scene surprised us from a glasshouse overlooking a paddy field to a rusted zinc building that used to be a hardware shop, every cafe on this list has its own story, and none of them feel like they’re trying to be anything other than exactly what they are. Whether you’re a local who hasn’t explored enough of your own backyard, or a visitor who’s only ever stopped for the mangoes, this list is for you.

A calm seaside view featuring a person sitting on a concrete breakwater, with gentle waves in the background and a cloudy sky above.

CHUACHA

We haven’t been to Chuacha personally, but the pictures alone were enough to put it on our list. White walls, wooden furniture, and a space small enough to feel genuinely cosy without feeling cramped. There’s outdoor seating too, which from what we can tell, sits right in the path of a really good sunset. The menu leans towards pastries and cakes, making it the perfect excuse to order something sweet, find a seat outside, and just let the evening do its thing because sometimes a place doesn’t need to be complicated to be worth showing up for.

Address: Changlun – Kuala Perlis Hwy, Kampung Kubang Arang, 06050 Bukit Kayu Hitam, Kedah

Operation hours: 4PM – 11PM Daily except for Wednesdays

A dessert placed on a wooden plate, featuring a layered cake with a cocoa powder topping and a coffee bean, surrounded by vibrant purple flowers in a garden setting.

Outdoor seating area of a cafe with wooden tables and white umbrellas, beside a building with a wooden door.

^{Image credit:}^@atchuacha

maconis coffee

Maconis Coffee runs across three locations, Plaza Niaga Padang Besar, Kangar Water Front, and Dataran IMAB in Kuala Perlis. But it’s the Dataran IMAB outlet that really caught our attention, and honestly, it’s not hard to see why. Not many cafes can say they open with a clear, unobstructed view of the sea right in front of them, Maconis can. They open at 6pm, which tells you everything about what they’re going for: that window where the sun starts dropping across the water and a cup of coffee in your hand suddenly feels like the best decision you’ve made all day. It works for any occasion, a date, a catch-up, or just a Tuesday where you need somewhere to be. If we were locals in Perlis, we’d be regulars without a second thought.

Address: Dataran IMAB, Kuala Perlis Kuala Perlis, 02000 Kangar, Perlis

Operation hours: 6PM – 8:30PM Daily

A couple sitting on chairs at the edge of a rocky jetty, overlooking the ocean during a calm evening.

A person wearing a hat prepares drinks at a beachside stall during sunset, with bottles and a menu displayed in the foreground.

^{Image credit:}^@maconis_

oven rimba cafe

The name gives it away before you even walk in. Oven Rimba in Kampung Padang Lati looks less like a cafe and more like a house someone decided to open up to the public, wooden accents, warm corners, and that smell of something freshly baked that hits you at the door and immediately makes you hungrier than you were two seconds ago. Yes, they have main dishes on the menu. But we’d be lying if we said that’s what people come for. The cakes are the whole point here, and one look at them and you’ll understand why. We think “oven” ended up in the name for a reason, and everything that comes out of it proves it.

Address: Jalan Santan, Kampung Padang Lati, 02400 Kangar, Perlis

Operation hours: Weekdays 12PM – 9PM, Weekends 12PM – 10PM, Closed on Mondays

A tray holding six dessert cups topped with strawberries and white cream, surrounded by green leaves on a wooden surface.

View of a cozy café interior, featuring a wooden door, a round wooden table, and warm lighting with a woven pendant lamp. Plants are positioned around the space, creating a welcoming atmosphere.

^{Image credit:@syazwanibakhari, @ovenrimba}

kafe rutiyn

An alley in Kangar is probably the last place you’d go looking for a cafe. But that’s exactly where Kafe Rutiyn is, and once you’re there, the whole thing just makes sense. String lights outside, seating out in the open air, and a menu that covers everything. Coffee, matcha, proper meals, desserts, and even chicken tenders for when you can’t decide. It’s the place you bring a group of friends on a night where nobody has a plan, and somehow it becomes the night everyone keeps bringing up after.

Address: NO.1D, STESEN BAS EXPRESS KANGAR, Jalan Bukit Lagi, Pusat Bandar Kangar, 01000 Kangar, Perlis

Operation hours: 9AM – 12AM Daily

Exterior view of Kafe Rutiyn featuring two wooden chairs and a potted plant beside the entrance.

A plate featuring scrambled eggs, two sausages, golden hash browns, two slices of toast, and a small bowl of ketchup, with a cup of coffee in the background.

^{Image credit: @kaferutiyn}

SECHAONE COFFEE

The story of Sechaone Coffee starts in KL, a coffee event that inspired its owner enough to come back to Perlis and build something of his own in Kampung Teluk Kachang. What he built? A glasshouse for indoor seating where you sit surrounded by windows that look straight out onto a paddy field, and outdoor seats for those who’d rather have the open air or the shelter of a tent with the same view. It’s a setup that feels considered rather than accidental. The coffee uses beans from Indonesia, the pasta is the signature food that keeps people coming back, and the whole place carries the spirit of someone who went somewhere, learned something, and came home to share it.

Address: 15, Lrg Muhibbah, Kampung Telok Kachang, 01000 Kangar, Perlis

Operation hours: 5PM – 11PM Daily except for Mondays

A caramel iced coffee drink in a clear cup with a black straw, placed on a brown wooden surface against a pale textured wall.

Wooden table and chairs in a bright, modern space with glass walls, featuring a spherical orange lamp and a potted plant.

^{Image credit: @sechaonecoffee}

peram cafe

Before it was a cafe, Peram Cafe in Kangar sat abandoned for five years, a former hardware shop wrapped in rusted zinc panels and translucent glass windows that most people walked past without a second look. That was exactly the point. The founder saw something in it that others didn’t, and what he built inside is worth the closer look. Exposed bricks, weathered wood, an iron framework holding it all together like a space that wears its age without apology. The coffee matches the concept: Kopi Peram, brewed and then left to ferment in the fridge for 24 hours, resulting in a cup that’s smoother and deeper than anything you’d expect to find on a Kangar street and you’ll start to understand why a building that looked like nothing from the outside became one of Perlis’ most talked-about spots.

Address: 69, Jalan Raja Syed Alwi, Kampung Bukit Lagi, 01000 Kangar, Perlis

Operation hours: 9AM – 11PM Daily, 3:30PM – 11:30PM on Fridays

Five slices of different flavored cheesecake on metal plates, arranged on a wooden table.

Exterior view of a modern establishment called PERAM, featuring a rustic wooden facade, illuminated signage, and decorative plants near the windows, captured during twilight.

^{Image credit: @peramcafe}

ruang oleh balbuk haus

A pondok is a small, open shelter, humble by design, built to let the surroundings in rather than keep them out. That’s exactly what Ruang Oleh Balbuk Haus feels like, sitting in the middle of paddy fields in Kampung Balik Bukit, Chuping, with mountains stretching out behind it. This isn’t just a cafe, it’s an independent creative space built around three things: nature, food, and conversation. Art performances, poetry, music, discussion, they’ve all happened here, which is probably why the National Visual Arts Gallery mapped Balbuk Haus as part of Perlis’ arts ecosystem during Jelajah Seni Malaysia in 2022. Come for the coffee and the view. Stay because the place makes you want to think a little more than you planned to.

Address: Jalan Kampung Balik Bukit, 02500 Kangar, Perlis

Operation hours: 6PM – 11:30PM Daily except Mondays

A rustic wooden building named 'Ruangs' surrounded by lush greenery, with a mountain backdrop and palm trees near a walking path.

A scenic landscape featuring a small shelter with people gathered around, set against towering mountains and a natural backdrop, with greenery and dusk lighting.

^{Image credit: @nvrnaut}

kafe tenang

Kafe Tenang near Jeti Kuala Perlis lives up to its name in the most honest way possible. Wooden accents, furniture that feels like it was picked out for a home rather than a business, and a wooden counter outside where you can sit and watch the baristas work through the glass window, coffee-making as something worth watching, not just waiting for. The menu runs through coffee, matcha, pastries and spaghetti. It’s a small space, but everything about it feels deliberate, like someone spent a long time thinking about exactly how they wanted people to feel when they walked in, and then got it right.

Address: Taman Pertiwi, 49, Jalan Kangar – Alor Setar, Kampung Seriap, 01000 Kangar, Perlis

Operation hours: Mon–Thu: 2PM – 12AM, Fri–Sun: 12PM – 12AM

Exterior view of Kafe Tenang with wooden architecture and bar stools, surrounded by greenery.

A transparent plastic cup with green and white layers of a beverage, topped with whipped cream and crushed cookies, and a straw. The cup is labeled 'Tenang'.

^{Image credit: @kafetenang_ , @zafuanazeman_}

Perlis has always been more than a quick stop on the way somewhere else. These cafes are proof of that, each one built with enough intention and personality to make you rethink everything you assumed about Malaysia’s smallest state. The mangoes are still worth the trip. But now you have eight more reasons to stay.