The buzz: Offering a taste of up-to-the-minute food trends, The Gardeners is a café specializing in ‘grab and go’ food. But what’s really making them a local favorite are its all-the-rage reasonably-priced grocery items imported from countries like the US, Italy and Japan. The list of products will be expanded when a flagship store launches at Central Embassy, as they look to establish themselves as both distributor and franchisor.

The décor: Basic but welcoming. The mostly pale wood vibe is accentuated by contrasting black panels. It’s clean and simple with a few trees and flowers providing a relaxing atmosphere.

The food: The menu changes regularly as they order their food daily from restaurants in town. At the moment, there are two main cuisines being served—Italian dishes from Treecreeper and Thai single dishes from Baan Mae Yui. Expect familiar dishes like baked creamy spinach with wood smoked bacon (B180) and khao kung gratiem (stir-fried prawns with garlic and served with rice, B180). Soon to arrive is Indian food and Japanese don (rice with topping) from Sushi Masa. Delivery is available but do check they cover your area.

The goods: Top of the list are coffee beans, teas, spreads, snacks and coffee-making equipment. As one of the owners is a member of a direct trade organization in the US, you’ll find some cool American products like Stumptown Coffee and other organic offerings. The owners are proud of being on-trend, so they also stock popular items like corn powder from Momofuku Milk Bar and a range of baked goods from Ad Hoc. There’re also Eilles tea, Thai organic rice (B130) and Babbi spreads (B1,100).

The drinks: The drinks side of things is more fun than the food, ranging from mineral water that’s cheaper than elsewhere to tea and juice. As they call themselves a third-wave café, they import their own beans and you can have your coffee (from B70) in many ways, from drip to automatic siphon. Otherwise, opt for a healthy blend such as the orange peach soy shake (B120) or avocado and pear (B150). They also stock organic Twist juice (B90), mushroom juice from Veggio (B55) and all sorts of Gryphon Tea (B80).

The crowds: Office workers in the same building, neighbors and passers-by—many of whom turn up on bicycles. Pieng-or Mongkolkumnuankhet