Suriya Coffee

Suriya Coffee is a long-established traditional coffeehouse in Bangkok, Thailand, operating in the kopitiam tradition on the Thonburi side of the city. The business is associated with Talat Phlu and is described as having more than a century of history. Rather than being a modern packaged-coffee company or a large café chain, it is a neighborhood-oriented food-service business whose identity is tied to its locations, local customers, and continuity across generations. The shop was founded in 1918 by Ngow Sae-lim, a Teochew immigrant, who began by selling coffee as a street vendor in the Talat Phlu area. The business later developed into a shophouse café near Wat Klang Market. During this earlier period, local customers reportedly referred to the establishment as Ngow Jak Coffee Shop, a name associated with its founder. This origin reflects the role that traditional coffee stalls and shophouse cafés played in Bangkok's Chinese-Thai commercial communities during the first half of the twentieth century. After Ngow Sae-lim died in 1954, his two sons, Wichai “Tue” Lertthaninwanit and Winai “Chai” Lertthaninwanit, assumed responsibility for the business. The café subsequently moved in 1965 when Wat Klang Market was renovated. Its first branch at the current site was established beneath the Ratchadaphisek Bridge in the Talat Phlu area. The relocation preserved the business's connection to the neighborhood while placing it in a new transport and market environment. The name Suriya is linked to a local Chinese New Year touring tradition. The two brothers who operated the coffeehouse led a festival tour group known as Suriya Tour, and that name became associated with the café. The brand therefore combines a beverage business with a local cultural identity: its name reflects community celebrations, while its operating history reflects the continuity of family-managed commerce in Thonburi. Suriya Coffee later expanded its physical presence beyond the original location. A branch inside Wat Klang Market, beside Khlong Bangkok Yai, opened in 2003. Another location was established on Charoen Rat Road near the former Hawaii cinema in the Wongwian Yai area. Reference material identifies three branches: the original site under the Ratchadaphisek Bridge in Talat Phlu, the Wat Klang Market branch, and the Charoen Rat Road branch. The available reference material does not identify a packaged retail range, a parent corporation, a public listing, a formal website, or a national and international expansion program. Suriya Coffee is best understood as a heritage coffeehouse and local retail brand whose value lies in longevity, place-based recognition, and traditional café culture. Its documented history spans the transition from street vending to shophouse retail and then to a small multi-location operation, while retaining its association with Talat Phlu and Bangkok's historic coffeehouse scene.

Suriya Coffee began in 1918 when Ngow Sae-lim, a Teochew immigrant, sold coffee as a street vendor in Bangkok's Talat Phlu area. The enterprise later moved into a shophouse near Wat Klang Market, where it became locally known as Ngow Jak Coffee Shop. This early development placed the business within the traditional coffeehouse culture of Bangkok's Chinese-Thai commercial neighborhoods. Ngow Sae-lim died in 1954, after which his two sons, Wichai “Tue” Lertthaninwanit and Winai “Chai” Lertthaninwanit, took over the café. In 1965, renovation work at Wat Klang Market required the coffeehouse to relocate. The business established its first branch at its current site beneath the Ratchadaphisek Bridge in Talat Phlu. The Suriya name originated from the brothers' involvement in local Chinese New Year celebrations. They led a community touring group called Suriya Tour, and the name was subsequently used for the coffeehouse. It thus reflects both the family operators and the neighborhood's Chinese cultural traditions. Suriya Coffee expanded with a second branch inside Wat Klang Market beside Khlong Bangkok Yai in 2003. Reference material also identifies a third location on Charoen Rat Road, near the former Hawaii cinema in the Wongwian Yai area. The documented network therefore consists of three Bangkok-area branches, all connected to the historic Thonburi side of the city. The available sources characterize Suriya Coffee as a traditional kopitiam-style coffeehouse with more than 100 years of history. They do not provide evidence of a corporate parent, public-company status, packaged consumer product portfolio, or international operations. Its historical significance instead comes from its endurance as a local café, its family succession, and its association with Talat Phlu's markets and community life.

• 2003

  Wat Klang Market branch opened

  [1]Suriya Coffeeen.wikipedia.org

  A second branch opened inside Wat Klang Market beside Khlong Bangkok Yai.

• 1965

  Coffeehouse relocated beneath the Ratchadaphisek Bridge

  [1]Suriya Coffeeen.wikipedia.org

  Market renovation prompted the move that established the first branch at Suriya Coffee's current location in Talat Phlu.

• 1954

  Second generation took over

  [1]Suriya Coffeeen.wikipedia.org

  Following Ngow Sae-lim's death, his sons Wichai and Winai Lertthaninwanit assumed operation of the coffeehouse.

• 1942

  Shophouse coffeehouse established near Wat Klang Market

  [1]Suriya Coffeeen.wikipedia.org

  The business developed from street vending into a shophouse café at the location associated with Wat Klang Market.

• 1918

  Coffee business founded in Talat Phlu

  [1]Suriya Coffeeen.wikipedia.org

  Ngow Sae-lim began the business as a street coffee vendor in Bangkok's Talat Phlu area.

A heritage neighborhood coffeehouse associated with traditional Thai-Chinese café culture, Talat Phlu, and more than a century of continuous local history.

• Coffee beverage · 1918

  Traditional coffeehouse coffee

  The documented core offering is coffee served through a traditional Thai kopitiam-style coffeehouse. Available reference material does not specify particular roast profiles, recipes, packaged formats, or named beverage variants.

1. 1Suriya Coffeeen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Suriya Coffeepptvhd36.com
3. 3Suriya Coffee, 100 years, Talat Phluamarintv.com