11 Coffee in Hoi An: A Quiet Cafe with a Retriever

2018-11-30 · Updated: 2026-08-11 · Original (Korean)

This article was translated from the original Korean post with AI assistance. Read the original Korean post →

Most morning scenes are full of life, but mornings in a tourist town are even more vibrant. It's a very meaningful time when tourists, determined to properly explore the neighborhood, and merchants, trying to stop them even for a moment to sell their goods, both start their warm-ups. We also decided to warm up with some coffee before properly looking around Hoi An. Just like splashing a little water on yourself before jumping into a cold pool, we decided to have coffee before diving into Hoi An.

As expected when leaving the hotel, touts from various coffee shops and restaurants looked at us and tossed the words 'massage, coffee, banh mi' into our ears. But what we wanted was a confident coffee shop that didn't resort to touting. The tourist town's warm-up had begun, throwing light jabs to set up a weak but firm punch.

Children in school uniforms are gathered beyond a green iron gate, and two people wearing traditional hats are standing in front of the gate. — No matter the neighborhood or the era, there are always kids who forget their school supplies, and there's always a stationery vendor delivering emergency relief to them. When I was in elementary school, the lady at the stationery store in front of the school was the one who made my worries disappear, and it probably means the same to those kids, right?

Yellow buildings line the riverside, and a person is sitting and resting by the river.

People are walking across a decorated bridge over the river, and people are also passing by on the riverside promenade.

Several small boats are moored by the river, and yellow traditional buildings are lined up on the opposite side.

A street scene lined with yellow buildings, showing shops and outdoor restaurant tables. — Aside from the occasional sound of touting to passing tourists, it's a truly quiet city morning where you only hear the sounds of water and birds.

While walking along the water and casually checking out shops to see which one would be good, I felt certain about this place when we stopped in front of 11 Coffee (11 Cà phê). There was no one out front, as if telling passersby to quietly walk on by, and inside, there were Vietnamese locals typing away on laptops, engrossed in something. The rather young-looking barista brewed coffee without showing a smile, much like a Russian. It was as if he was saying, 'If there's no chicness, there's no flavor in the coffee.' The shop's mascot, a retriever, was lying on the floor sleeping so deeply it wouldn't even notice if someone carried it away, completing 11 Coffee's unique atmosphere.

A man is sitting at an outdoor table of a cafe with a sign reading 11 Cà Phê.

The cafe's inner bar counter and tables are visible, and a dog is lying on the floor inside. — Behind the bread display are the room and kitchen where the shop owner's family stays.

A cafe bar counter with a coffee machine and various tools, along with a menu board.

A barista working at a bar with coffee brewing tools and an 11 Coffee Roastery sign. — He must have learned how to make coffee somewhere around Vladivostok or Siberia.

A Golden Retriever sleeping on its stomach on the cafe floor. — Most customers come into the shop because of this guy, but unless they are kids, he doesn't even give them a glance. They say dogs take after their owners.

An English coffee and sandwich menu placed on a wooden table. — 27,000 VND. For about 1,400 KRW, you can drink a cup of coffee while gazing out at Hoi An.

I visited 11 Coffee twice during the trip. On the first day, I drank an espresso to wake myself up, and on the second day, since I was in Vietnam, I felt it was only polite to drink Vietnamese coffee ~~(a rule of politeness I made up myself)~~, so I ordered an iced Cà phê đen (black coffee). As you might know from my other posts, there are two types of coffee in my life: bitter coffee and sour coffee. This place has bitter coffee. I'm not sure if all Vietnamese coffee is like this, but the bitter taste is strong, making it great for sipping slowly. A unique point is that when you order iced coffee, they serve the ice and coffee separately, which I thought was a really brilliant idea. You don't have to worry about the coffee getting watered down; you can just pour the right amount over the ice to make it cold and take a sip, or conversely, drop a single ice cube into the coffee to adjust the temperature. I was highly impressed and wondering why they don't do this in Korea or other places, but after thinking about it for a moment, I realized there is a very strong disadvantage: it doubles the dishwashing. Even if it means washing twice as many dishes, wouldn't it be nice to serve them separately? ~~I wonder what the national part-time workers' union would say about that...~~

A white coffee cup filled with espresso and water glasses placed on a wooden table.

A glass of ice water and a cup of espresso coffee placed on a wooden table.

A yellow dog sleeping with its eyes closed, lying on a gray cement floor.

A close-up of the face of a sleeping Golden Retriever with its eyes closed and chin resting on the floor. — I didn't even get to ask this cute friend's name. The dog, whom the two of us just called "mutt," would just sleep like this until someone threw a ball that little kids play with, and then he would excitedly run out. If you visit here and want to play with him, you should look for a dirty ball first.

#HoiAnRestaurants #HoiAnCoffee