Making the top of the list not just for its gorgeous greens, but also for the awesome architecture that houses them, is An’ garden Café in Hanoi, Vietnam. Replete with heights and slopes, wood and sky over and above the blooming greens, the architecture is subtly suggestive of a glorious outdoor mountain-scape having been recreated indoors.

The façade, a twin peaked double height glass surface framed by randomly branching black steel members that mimic the branches of the bamboo shoots within, is where the evocation of a woody hilly landscape begins. Inside, the idea scales an awe-inspiring level by playing with grand volumes, using towering perforated screens, endless slatted wood partitions, enormous yet playfully articulated glazed surfaces, all interjected by slender strips of mezzanine that loop around walls, longitudinal planters suspended at various angles and heights and plants of every type grown in suitable locations. 

Add to these, the wooden stairs hovering over a placid lily pond and ladders adorning bar counters – the place is a wonderland, an endless maze of greens, wood and glass. Oh, did I forget to mention tables or seating? Well, they are hardly noticeable in this veritable indoor wood, but it suffices to say that the seating is incredibly intimate and warm, and the tables are spaced generously apart  An Garden Café is, undoubtedly, a nature lover’s dream retreat.

Situated in the heart of one of Japan’s most scenic districts, Arashiyama, but located in what is likely to be the most crowded touristy spot i.e.near the railway station, is eX Café Arashiyama. The famously beautiful Arashiyama district is blessed with scenic bounty in the Arashiyama mountains, Oi river, cherry blossom lined streets, quaint old houses and temples, but is also quite crowded with tourists for the same reasons. Luckily, the vast garden which cradles eX Café is a little tucked away from the bustle and thus, offers perfect serenity and verdure.

Inside the garden is the café, adapted by Kyoto architects Embody Design from a beautiful heritage structure, a Japanese home from the Showa period. Its black exterior wall, framed by elegant traditional woodwork trimming the overhang, is decked with artist Ki Yan’s enormous gold and blue peonies which, combining with the vines hugging the walls make for a stunning entrance.

The spacious interiors are divided into two types of seating, catering to the evolved choices of patrons that include foreign tourists as well as domestic celebrities. One large space is appointed with western styled tables whereas rooms enclosed by traditional Japanese screens and sliding doors, adorned with Ki Yan’s murals of lions and peonies,  have a traditional Tatami mats requiring cross-legged seating.  All the spaces offer breath-taking views of the sprawling Zen gardens surrounding the café.

This one makes the list by being special in that it’s a café in an exclusive garden of succulents, thus being named the Succulent Café. Developed and nurtured by Peter Loyola. This café in Oceanside, California is really one of a kind, where your cuppa isn’t just accompanied by lush green surrounds; you actually get to study a variety of succulent arrangements and can even leave with one of them in your shopping bag.

What started as a backyard hobby for Peter Loyola in which he started growing and arranging succulents and selling them at his sister’s bakery on occasions like Valentine’s Day, became a full scale enterprise with his year round café which he created on popular demand. His succulent art works cover all manner of surfaces, horizontal or vertical, and grow in a bizarre variety of containers ranging from vertical frames and threshold decorations to jars, sneakers and lanterns. So, visitors to the café browse through hundreds of varieties of artistic arrangements of these plants and pick up whatever they fancy, the succulents probably proving to be hotter than the hot cakes on his food menu!