5 Unique Animal Cafes to Visit on Your Trip to Taipei
Animal cafes have been growing in popularity around the world, and in many ways, Taipei is leading the charge. The city is now home to a bunch of cafes that keep a wide variety of animals — both furry and scaly, big and small, timid and friendly — that you can meet and greet while enjoying a coffee or getting some work done. They make a great place for a rest and recharge to break up a busy day of sightseeing. Check out 5 of our favourite animal cafes in the city that you should definitely consider visiting on your next trip to Taipei!
#1 Kitten Coffee Garden
Kitten Coffee Garden may not look special at first glance, but it is, in fact, the first ever cat cafe in the world. How cool is that? Established in 1998, the owners decided to bring their five cats with them to distinguish themselves from other cafes, which helped them gain a lot of popularity over the years, eventually inspiring other cafes to do the same. But don’t worry: far from being just a gimmick, all of the kitties here were strays or gifts that were adopted by the owners, and are very well taken care of. It may not be the most Instagrammable cat cafe out there, but what it lacks in term of aesthetic, it more than makes up for by being cosy, comfortable, and full of loving kitties.
Kitten Coffee Garden has no entrance fee, but the minimum charge is one drink per customer. They have a nice range of teas and coffees, as well as a few bites of food. Prices are reasonable. Read our full review here!
| Kitten Coffee Garden |
| Chinese Name: 小貓花園 |
| Hours: 12pm - 10pm |
| Phone: 02 2835 3335 |
| English Address: No. 129, Fuhua Road, Shilin District, Taipei City, 111 |
| Chinese Address: 台北市士林區福華路129號1樓 |
#2 Pythonism
Pythonism is hands-down our favourite spot on this list, and perhaps one of our favourite finds of all time in Taipei. It’s a reptile cafe and store that has an impressive collection of snakes, lizards, and insects, as well as a huge tortoise that loves to be fed. Their collection changes all the time, but it’s one of the only animal cafes we’ve ever been to where the animals vastly outnumber the humans. All of the animals are tame and very sweet, but there’s no pressure to handle them if you don’t feel comfortable.
Pythonism has no entrance fee, but the minimum charge is one drink per customer. Their menu is limited to beverages, which are very cheap. The only thing to keep in mind when visiting is that the cafe can smell rather funky at times due to the abundance of animals — but you get used to it pretty quickly. Check out our full review here!
| Pythonism |
| Chinese Name: 玩蟒人生 |
| Hours: 2pm – 10pm (closed Mondays) |
| Phone: 02 2557 8997 |
| English Address: No. 235-3, Section 2, Chongqing North Road, Datong District, Taipei City |
| Chinese Address: 台北市大同區重慶北路二段235-3號 |
#3 Oia Alpaca Cafe
Just as the name suggests, Oia Cafe is home to two alpacas who roam around freely, happily destroying anything they can get their teeth on. They are well kept and as clean as can be reasonably expected, but can be slightly intimidating in close quarters. Oia Cafe also has two huge birds of prey and a petting zoo of sorts with some goats outside, but the alpacas are the real draw. This cafe is not actually in Taipei, but it’s totally accessible by public transport and a pretty fun way to kill an afternoon. It’s a little far to travel if you’re not planning to do anything in the area, so to make the most of your trip, combine it with a visit to Tamsui, which you will be passing through.
Oia Cafe has a pretty extensive menu which includes lots of food and drinks that plenty of customers come to enjoy. The minimum order is one drink or one food item above $150, which isn’t expensive at all. Alpacas are definitely the most random animal to be found on this list — their intrigue draws large crowds of tourists, expats, and locals on weekends, so its best visited during the week if possible! Read our full review here.
| Oia Alpaca Cafe |
| Chinese Name: OIA伊亞藝術咖啡館 |
| Hours: Mon-Fri 11am - 8pm Sat & Sun 11am - 9pm |
| Phone: 02 2636 3766 |
| English Address: No. 12-1, Sanzhi District, New Taipei City, 252 |
| Chinese Address: 252新北市三芝區後厝里北勢子12-1號 |
#4 Ka Pi Hedgehog Cafe
Ka Pi is a bright, modern cafe near Minquan West Road Station that’s home to two adorable hedgehogs. Now, although you can stop by to see them and have a coffee whenever they are open, if you actually want to handle the hedgehogs you will have to make a reservation to see them between the hours of 3-6PM. These visits are pretty short and are supervised by a member of staff to ensure the well-being of the hedgehogs. The staff have pretty extensive knowledge of hedgehogs and hedgehog keeping, and they pride themselves a sort of community centre for anyone who shares their interest. They have lots of books about hedgehogs that you can peruse (in Chinese) in-store.
We didn’t try any of the food on Ka Pi’s menu, but they have a good variety of coffees and other drinks. It’s not expensive, and the drinks were pretty good. Read our full review here.
| Ka Pi |
| Chinese Name: 喝什麼 |
| Hours: Mon-Fri 11am – 9pm Sat & Sun 9am – 9pm |
| Phone: 02 2522 3196 |
| English Address: No. 36-1, Minquan West Road, Zhongshan District, Taipei City |
| Chinese Address: 台北市中山區民權西路36-1號 |
#5 Wash Coffee
We were a little hesitant about putting Wash Coffee on the list since it’s not exactly an animal cafe in the strictest sense, but they do have a very cute pet raccoon that is (apparently) their main selling point. Unfortunately, this little cutie spends his time on a leash — but being able to see him stuff his little face with food will definitely brighten your day. They also have a sweet dog that loves to be fed treats.
In addition to the raccoon, Wash Coffee has an onsite laundromat, which you can use for a mere $100 — you just have to choose if you want to wash your clothes for 30 or 60 minutes, order a drink, and make full use of their free WiFi until your laundry is done. Awesome for travelers! Read our full review here.
| Wash Coffee |
| Chinese Name: 穿越九千公里交給你 |
| Hours: Mon 2pm – 11pm Tues-Thurs 1:30pm – 11pm Fri 1:30pm – 12am Sat 1pm – 12am Sun 1pm – 11pm |
| English Address: No. 16, Alley 19, Lane 160, Section 3, Minquan East Road, Songshan District, Taipei City |
| Chinese Address: 台北市松山區民權東路三段160巷19弄16號 |
All things considered, our very favourite cafes on this list are Kitten Coffee Garden and Pythonism, for very similar reasons despite having such different pets. In both cases, the cafes are easy to access, comfortable, and most importantly, the animals are clearly happy, content, and well loved by their owners. They are both great places to visit with friends or bring a book or laptop, although Pythonism can be rather hectic on weekends. We strongly recommend you give these two a visit!
