In 2015, a dude who spent the second decade of his life traveling the world and evaluating the availability of Wi-Fi in each one rated Myanmar the worst. We published a list back then to make life easier for people looking to get connected.
Two years later, the situation has improved a bit, so we decided it’s time for an updated list.
So, for all the digital nomads, visiting business-humans, and university students trying to function on the internet out there, here’s a list of all the best spots in Yangon to suck some caffeine, eat some yummy food, and enjoy a pleasant atmosphere while you get your work done.
Uptown
Misfit Roof Café
Misfit is the perfect place to grab a bite and get some work done. It’s located right next door to the Parami Institute – a liberal arts education center that is training the next generation of Myanmar thinkers and leaders – so it’s often full of young people busily trading ideas.
The Wi-Fi is shared with the Parami Institute and is fast and reliable.
The coffee is made with a big, shiny espresso machine and comes out strong and tasty. The menu is full of “Asian” favorites – Vietnamese spring rolls, Thai green curry, sweet and sour chicken.
The café overlooks the top of the Shwegondine flyover, so it could get loud in the veranda seating area, but it’s quiet enough inside. However, if you sit inside, you may need to ask the staff to close the curtains, shut the door, and turn up the aircon. It gets moist in there during the day.
Misfit Roof Café is located on the third floor of Shwe Gon Plaza, at the corner of Shwegondine Road and Kabar Aye Pagoda Road.
Regional Bistro Bar
Regional Bistro Bar is built for people who want to sit and work somewhere other than the office. It has signs saying “Wi-Fi” around the interior, and the password is pasted onto the utensil holders on every table.
The quality of the Wi-Fi is decent but not super-fast. There are small tables in the front facing floor-to-ceiling windows, as well as shadowy booths in the back, each with its own power outlet – the perfect place to get comfy with a laptop for a few hours.
The coffee is yummy, and the food is unremarkable yet filling. The music is loud and repetitive and better suited to a gym than a café, but headphones are a good solution for those who think it’s a problem.
Regional Bistro Bar is located at the corner of Link Street and Dhammazedi Road, inside the Golden Link Residence complex, in Bahan Township.
The District Coffee Lounge
The District is a Yangon gem – clean, bright, and trendy enough to be anywhere in the world.
When you order a drink or a dish, you’ll receive one or two tokens that allow you to use the Wi-Fi for three hours each. But don’t worry – ask for more, and you shall receive.
According to one regular visitor, the Wi-Fi is generally reliable and strong enough for downloading documents and browsing, but not for heavy uploading. It has also occasionally been down for maintenance.
It’s a great place to hang out and work for a few hours or hold a casual meeting.
The menu is exciting (they have a matcha burger), the staff are professional, and the social media team regularly replies to suggestions on Facebook. In our opinion, that justifies the relatively high prices.
The District Coffee Lounge is located at the corner of Saya San Road and Kokkine Swimming Pool Road in Bahan Township.
Easy Café
Easy Café is definitely fulfilling its mission to “make it easy, take it easy, and have it easy” at its two Yangon locations – one uptown and the other downtown.
The Wi-Fi is super-fast when you’re the only one there, and it slows down as the place fills up.
The café aims to serve as a living room to everyone who walks in and offers an affordable array of coffees, teas, snacks, pastries, and Asian-Western fusion dishes. The music famously consists of acoustic covers of Western pop hits by Asian musicians.
The furniture is comfy, but space is limited, so if you are energized by other people being productive around you, this is the place to post up with your Mac and change the world one spreadsheet at a time.
Easy Café’s uptown location is on Nar Nat Taw Road between Kyun Taw Road and Pyay Road.
The downtown location is on the corner of Bo Yar Nyunt Road and Nawaday Road.
Downtown
Gekko
Gekko has got to be the best place to work in Yangon, and hardly anyone seems to know it. Located inside the historic Sophaer Building downtown, the interior of Gekko is furnished with stylish, comfy places to put your butt. The joint’s jazzy, swingy soundtrack is nice for a few loops, and after that, it’s soft enough to drown out with headphones if you want to.
The lower floor is bathed in natural light during the day, and the upper floor has a cozy, cave-like atmosphere that makes it easy to concentrate on the task at hand. Oh, and the place is freezing by Yangon standards, so bring a sweater if you’ll sit there for a while.
The Wi-Fi is probably the fastest of any restaurant in Yangon, and it’s hardly ever crowded during the day, especially up top. The staff are all friendly and attentive, but not too attentive.
The Japanese-Korean food at Gekko slightly fancy, but if you’re not there to treat yourself, there are dishes for as little as K4,000, and a coffee is under K3,000.
Gekko is located at the corner of Merchant Road and Pansodan Road.
The Phayre’s Gastronomy
Phayre’s markets itself as the home of the revived Pegu Club cocktail, and it’s probably best known as a nice, casual place to socialize. But it also has surprisingly good Wi-Fi and “shockingly fair” prices, according to one reviewer.
If you’re looking for a place to get some work done downtown, it’s worth checking out.
The Phayre’s Gastronomy is located at 292 Pansodan Street, downtown Yangon.
Babett
The new queen of the Yangon food scene is also a super-pleasant place to spend your day doing things on a computer. It has a cozy interior as well as a bright outdoor area, and the Wi-Fi is fast enough to not warrant any complaints.
The restaurant is big, so it’s never too busy during work hours. It offers a different three-course set lunch every weekday for just K10,000. The furniture is comfy. The staff are cheerful and professional. The coffee is strong and flavorful and also comes with a little cookie. Yay.
Babett is located on the ground floor of Hotel G, at the corner of Yaw Min Gyi Road and Alan Pya Paya Road.
50th Street Bar
When 50th Street Bar leveled up earlier this year, not only did it revamp its menu and its interior, but it also seems to have improved its Wi-Fi, which is now usually functional and sometimes very quick.
The best way to spend your day working at 50th Street is to come hungry, because its dishes are large. The furniture is diverse and comfy enough to spend a few hours on.
The place is popular among rowdy after-work crowds, but it’s mostly peaceful during the day, especially if you ask the staff to turn the party music down while you’re the only one in there, which has been done.
A coffee costs around K4,000, which is a price worth paying to get your work done.
50th Street Bar is located on 50th Street, just north of Merchant Road.
Craft Café
The vibe in Craft is similar to that of Regional Bistro Bar – industrial and spacious, with several kinds of objects to put your butt on.
The coffee is good, as is most of the food. The burger is big and filling and only K4,000. They also do better-than-average Singaporean dishes, according to Facebook reviews.
The Wi-Fi is not super-fast, but it’s good enough to sit here for hours and get lost in what you’re doing. Unless it goes down completely, which happens from time to time.
Craft Café is located at the corner of Nawaday Road and Bo Yar Nyunt Road in Yaw Min Gyi Ward, Dagon Township.
Alfa Hotel
Alfa Hotel is best known for its creepy hallways and its stunning rooftop views of Yangon, but it’s also been known to host a reclusive digital nomad or two in its ground-floor café. The Wi-Fi connection is reportedly very fast.
Alfa Hotel is located at 41 Nawaday Street in Yaw Min Gyi Ward, Dagon Township.
The fancy hotels
If you’re not satisfied with any of the above options, you can always post up in one of the lobbies of Yangon’s major hotels: Sule Shangri-la Hotel, Park Royal, Chatrium, Sedona. They’re known to have Wi-Fi that’ good enough to satisfy visitors from around the world, but you usually have to pay to use it or buy an overpriced snack. Perfect for rich people!
