NEW DAY by Rise and Grind Phuket - Specialty Coffee & Good Food

I’d shortlisted about five cafés before walking into Rise and Grind, which in retrospect was a waste of a perfectly good morning — this is the one you settle on. Owner-run, and you feel it the moment somebody who actually has a stake in whether you come back takes your order, rather than reciting a script and vanishing.

I got the Reuben, which is a sandwich I order anywhere that claims to make one purely to see how badly they’ll botch it. The failure modes are well documented: too much dressing and the whole thing collapses into sauce, too little corned beef and you’re eating warm rye with ambitions, an underpowered grill and the cheese never commits. None of that here. It arrives pressed flat in a panini iron with deep, evenly charred griddle lines down the bread — properly browned, structurally intact, the kind of crust that crunches instead of folding. The corned beef inside is the real tell: actually pink, stacked with some generosity, not the gray translucent shavings most places eight thousand miles from a deli try to pass off. Cheese melted into the meat the way it’s supposed to, a little of it leaking out and crisping against the grill. They serve it with kettle chips rather than fries, which is the correct call — fries would’ve gone limp next to something this rich, and the chips give you the salt and snap without competing.

The coffee is the actual reason to plant yourself here, though, and it more than holds its end up. Specialty beans, pulled with intent, none of the burnt over-extracted hotel-buffet sludge that passes for espresso across most of the island. Worth lingering over a second cup.

The room is comfortable and properly air-conditioned, which in this climate is not a small thing — it’s the difference between a quick stop and actually wanting to stay. Easy to settle in for far longer than you planned, whether you’re working or just avoiding the heat.

The one quibble: it’s a touch pricey for what it is. The sandwich is good, but it’s still a Reuben and kettle chips in Old Town, and the bill lands closer to what you’d expect somewhere with a more serious dinner-service pretension. Not a dealbreaker — you’re partly paying for the coffee program and the aircon — but worth knowing before you sit down expecting café money. I’ll be back regardless, and the Reuben’s the reason.

We found this place using google maps and it popped up as one of the highest rated in the area. We were not disappointed. The staff are very friendly and happy and speak good English.

We came here to work remotely for the day, started with coffees and items from the bakery cabinet, and after four hours, we got some lunch - which was delicious!

The temperature at the front is the perfect breeze from the aircon. (We don’t like it too cold)

It’s very accommodating for people working remotely and the music playing is a chilled modern vibe so you don’t need to use your headphones as it’s not noisy inside.

Also super aesthetic inside too, toilets are located through the back and are clean.

Inspirational cafe with art gallery inside ✨
Tasty food and coffee 🫶🏼
Convenient to work with laptop 💻

As the little sign on the book shelf’s display says, this place have this magical vibrant energy of a safe quiet space right in the middle of the busiest street of Phuket old town. Not only that the service is awesome, the water cups are filled constantly- the stuff are always kind and reminds you of your full cup of life as well. One time we couldn’t find the right charger for our laptop- and the owner with the very help of the workers just surprised us with a help not requested which warmed my heart. The coffee is amazing, the food is delicious and very mindful with its ingredients- the best place to take a time to yourself, work/ read a book without feeling like wasting time, definitely will come here again!

These guys know what serviceminded means! The food is great, the service is onpoint and it's a really nice place to spend hours of working when needed. This is a must-visit.

Overhyped and overpriced.
Both of our coffees were very bad and the tables are to low for working.
I highly recommend to find a better place.

Very nice people working here, and they make an excellent latte!