The World’s Most Unusual Cafes

Who doesn't want to drink coffee in the presence of owls?

Gone are the days when the word "cafe" simply meant a place to have coffee or tea with friends. Indeed, as chains like Starbucks and The Bean Bean become more present globally, a new breed of themed cafes is taking over the world.

Some of these cafes are remarkable for their decor (or, for now, let's say "ambiance"), despite the fact that they have relatively pedestrian menus. Others may seem ordinary from the outside, but offer bizarre selections of food and drink. Still, others combine these two qualities, but no matter which of the strangest cafes in the world you visit, you are sure to have an experience that will come out of this world.

• Coffee Owl in Tokyo

Tokyo's Owl Cafes are really a humorous place.

The menus in these cafes are not remarkable (as is the case in cat cafes in Tokyo, some only contain vending machines), but then coffee is not exactly their point. Despite the majesty of the owl, many believe that birds have healing powers, which only earn the owl cafes in Tokyo a place on the list of the strangest cafes in the world.

• Cereal Killer Cafe in London, UK

All breakfast dreams start here. Just as Tokyo has a strange reputation, London has a reputation for being drunk. However, Cafe Killer Cereal in the city does not (yet) serve any alcohol - the only intoxication you will put here is a lot of sugar, from more than 100 varieties of cereals and 30 types of milk.

How about the British kitsch "Royal-O's" for William and Kate, with vanilla almond milk? Of course, even if you stick to something more classic (you can't go wrong with Cheerios with whole milk and a tablespoon of honey), the bizarre ambiance of this place will make you feel special inside - Is there anything else more comfortable than sitting in a room full of grain-eating adults?

• Strange Donuts in St. Louis, MO

Strange Donuts lives up to its name.

While Tokyo’s owl cafes are weird in terms of their ambiance, and Cereal Killer gets points for its funny name and ambitious theme, Strange Donuts doesn’t look weird on the outside - well, minus the word “weird” in its name.

Indeed, the daily servings from Strange Donuts are actually quite normal, except for the "Gooey Butter" donut, which is themed for the infamous St. Louis cake of the same name and probably for the "Campfire" S'more donut.

But when you reach the super-limited daily specials, which recently included "Chicken & Waffles" and "Sriracha Short Rib", you will see, “Strange Donuts” begins to make sense. This and the fact that it is one of only a small number of American units that accept bitcoin, a cryptocurrency that is becoming more and more present, but still far from mass.

• Therapy Cafe in Prague, Czech Republic

Carol Bridge is not the only beautiful thing in Prague. If London is the drunkest city in Europe, Prague is definitely a second away, if only because of all the Londoners who are there. For this reason and others, the concept of Café Therapy is strange: a sober space (specializing in gourmet food, rather than drinks of any kind) that employs rehabilitated drug users, but also donates part of its revenue to combat the epidemic of dependency in the Czech Republic.

One of the strangest cafes in the world, to be sure, but also one of the most wonderful. The next time you are in Prague, make sure you consider the happy hours or one night and enjoy the delicious, homemade Czech cuisine at Café Therapy.

• Unicorn Cafe in Bangkok, Thailand

Stay next to the unicorn, dine on the unicorn with themed food and drinks, or put on a colorful wig. If you haven't already read about the Unicorn Cafe, located in the heart of Bangkok, just a few steps from one of the city's busiest public transport links, the good news is that unicorns are eternal and time matters very little to them.

While most of the items on this list of the weirdest cafes in the world are either more appealing in terms of the theme or food / drink offer, the Unicorn Cafe succeeds in both areas. Not only is it decorated with large and small unicorns, dazzling in its color and ambiance, but it also offers unicorn food, including an imitative Unicorn Burger and a drink called "Unicorn Blood", among other items.

• Cafe Jamban in Semarang, Indonesia

Yes, these people eat from the toilets.

On first inspection, Cafe Jamban seems as ordinary as Semarang, a city in Indonesia's central region. The Dutch-colonial aroma of Semarang slowly tempts and captivates you as you stroll through the city center, and then you find this strange cafe. The reason for including Cafe Jamban on the list of the strangest cafes in the world takes a while to take in.

The word "Jamban" means "toilet" in that language, so locals are probably not surprised to find a general toilet theme when walking inside.

Then, Cafe Jamban goes beyond a toilet theme, serving Indonesian dishes such as Nasi Lemak and Beef Rendang in toilet-shaped bowls. 

As in the case of Café Terapia in Prague, Cafe Jamban has a larger social mission: Educating visitors about the sanitation problems that Indonesia faces and donating a certain percentage of their profits to help their development. 

Honorable mentions

• Dog and cat cafes in South Korea
• Condom themed restaurant in Thailand
• Hospital Themed restaurant in Singapore
• Hello Kitty themed restaurant in Taiwan