5 Best Singapore Cafes for a Satisfying Pastry and Coffee Meal

Written by Sarah Ong | June 26, 2024

Image: Jimmy Monkey Cafe & Bar

1. Artistry

Image: Artistry

Address

17 Jalan Pinang, Singapore 199149

Phone

+65 6298 2420

Opening hours

Tue to Sat: 10:00 – 23:30
Sun: 10:00 – 19:00

An art space and a good brunch place at the same time. Artistry doesn’t get more interesting than this, truly unique in every sense of the word that even some of the coffee blends are quite rare in Singapore. Robust meals, Windowsills cakes, and craft beers are worth noting, too. Not to mention that only a few cafes on the island are able to successfully pull off an all-in-one café & bar taste-wise.

Highlights:

Soon-to-be popular Gibraltar coffee: It’s about to get mainstream in SG, so better grab your Gibraltar cuppa before everyone else does. It is prepared in a short glass and filled with a double shot of espresso and warm milk, giving an intensely rich flavour with nutty notes.
Innovative food items: Probably did this in an effort to live up to its artsy image. Take the Artistry Crab Burger as an example. Its buns are infused with squid ink so imagine a black pair of buns sandwich, the crispy crab meat with mayo, tomato, spinach, and sweet onion. On the side, regular fries or Cajun-style may accompany this dish.
Art pieces and performances to muse about: Apparently, those who love arts and crafts will fall in love with this place! Hanged paintings all over, performance artists breathe life into the café’s night scene, and poetry reading to soothe your soul. Without a doubt, Artistry does provide a safe haven for emerging artists and art lovers alike.
A place where talking to strangers is OK: A communal dining table is set up in the middle of the café, as though encouraging one another to develop a sense of camaraderie. Perfect for those who prefer going to cafes alone or if you just happen to drop by at the café to wait for a friend. Just sit back, relax and appreciate the fact that all of the people in the room share something in common with you; coffee, arts, culture, and food.

MENU
For a small café, the menu is loaded with breakfast and brunch classics and a few interesting ones. There are draft beers, artisanal desserts like the notable red velvet and carrot cake, Italian pastas, and a wide selection of Liberty roasted coffee blends on the list. Hubbies can get themselves busy with their Swiss Alps beer and fries, while the ladies can catch up with friends over a slice of red velvet and cup of latte. Anyhow, the diverse range of dishes offered by Artistry opens up many reasons for people to get creative with their food fusion ideas.

AMBIANCE
Artistry does not look too far from a contemporary art gallery. Industrial ceiling, white-washed walls, communal dining table, and gallery lighting fixtures make up the interior. Of course, paintings by different artists on the verge of emergence decorate the wall along with mini book shelves and the kitchenette. Customers can freely roam around the area as there is enough space for an aisle indoors. Even on a busy weekend afternoon, Artistry stays comfortable, cool, and quiet to the feeling and to its overall atmosphere.

MUST TRIES

Artistry Crab Burger
BRB Pancakes
Duck confit Pesto Linguine
Eggs on toast
Carrot Cake
Chocolate and Fig Loaf
Gibraltar
Cappuccino

AVERAGE PRICE/PAX: S$18

NOTE: Live performances are up every night.

2. Forty Hands

Image: Forty Hands

Address

78 Yong Siak Street #01-12
Singapore 163078

Phone

+65 6225 8545

Opening hours

Tuesday to Sunday: 08:00 – 19:00

A popular café that attracts the hipsters around Tiong Bahru area, Forty Hands serves up artisanal coffee blends and Western-style breakfast fare. It is a little yet cosy café located amidst quaint galleries, book stores, and residential buildings in the quaint Tiong Bahru.

Highlights:

Experience Australia’s coffee and brunch culture: From the coffee to the menu, everything is inspired by the Australian café culture. The quality third wave coffee is from Australia, and the food items are big on typical Aussie breakfast like sausages, French toast, salad, eggs benedict, and truffle fries. Interestingly though, the café also serves Singaporean favourites like kong bak pau and tau sar pau.
Serves coffee with a good balance level: Does not taste too strong, too acidic, nor leave a very bitter after-taste in the mouth. The coffee is just right, which might suit the palate of casual coffee drinkers well. But if ever you are very specific as to how your coffee should be extracted, you may ask that favour to the knowledgeable barista by the counter.
Good selection of white coffee drinks: A lot of coffee-holics find the café’s flat white, macchiato, latte and cappuccino a must-try! These blends are perfect for those who probably cannot take the full-bodied and quite sour after-taste of black coffee.
Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages: So if you opted to eat your brunch or dinner all the way here, a bottle of Jarritos Mexican soda or glass of Little Creatures Pale Ale might complete your meal. This sounds like Forty Hands is not just a small café after all, but it is also packed with international fusion cuisines, enabling to cater to tourists and expats.

MENU: Forty Hands features a small menu with a dedicated section for brunch (8am to 4pm) and another one for mains (8am to 6pm). Breakfast egg dishes, toasties, salads, and other savoury items are celebrated on its menu.

AMBIANCE: Inside, Forty Hands looks like a narrow stretch of small seats with a kitchen counter, and this strait lane leads you up to the outdoor seating by the covered courtyard. The crowds may get noisy during the busy hours, but the quality of the food and homely ambiance could make up for it. Overall, Forty Hands is still a highly recommended hangout place for couples and small groups of people.

MUST TRIES

Truffle Mushroom
Egg Benedict
Eggs Cocotte
Salmon Hash
Kong Bak Pau
Truffle Fries
Flat White
Latte
Macchiato
Latte
Cappuccino

AVERAGE PRICE/PAX: S$18

NOTES

No service charge
Drop by at the café before lunch and dinner to avoid the huge influx of the crowd

3. Jimmy Monkey Café & Bar

Image: Jimmy Monkey Cafe & Bar

Address

9 One-North Gateway, #01-51 One-North Residences, S138643

Phone

+65 6777 8470

Opening hours

Mon to Fri: 08:30 – 22:30
Sat & Sun: 08:30 – 18:00

Tucked away in a tranquil neighbourhood in One-North, Jimmy Monkey is crowned as the best café in town for its remarkable coffee blends with the help of its state-of-the-art Slayer and Mazzer machines. With this, the café is able to roast a five-bean combination from South America as well as single origin coffee beans. Thus, the coffee may have you thinking it’s full-bodied and aromatic with a lingering after-taste.

Highlights:

Ironbark blend: This type of coffee blend may still be in its infancy stages in the country, but it has a promising future. At Jimmy Monkey, Ironbark is made of beans from Guatemala, Brazil, Papua New Guinea, Colombia, and Peru so it is characterised by its full-bodied flavour and a lingering sensation in the mouth after each gulp.
Fulfilling and robust meals: Why wake up so early to prepare your breakfast if you can just hit Jimmy Monkey and have a full-blown brunch? Served in big portions, the Hulk, JM’s Breakfast Sandwich, toasted breads, and pastas can fill-up anyone’s empty stomach for the whole afternoon. Pair your meal with a cup of coffee, then you’re good to go!
Funky, quirky and tongue-in-cheek décor: Jimmy Monkey stuffed toy sits right at a small ledge atop the café as though putting y’all under surveillance. The café’s ceiling has also been stripped down to the core, exposing its wires and pipes so it does give off an industrial and raw vibe to the place. JM undeniably has character that many might appreciate for it looks whimsical just like the random toilet bowl and tissue roll installed at the open-ceiling of the supposed second floor.

MENU: Being a café and bar, Jimmy Monkey does offer a good variety of Australasian fare. Comfort food like sandwiches, pancakes, and eggs are the safest options but give the brunch fares a try if you’re really hungry. The Hulk is particularly popular among the brunch-goers for it is unique on its own, in which Feta cheese and avocado fill up a pair of slightly ripped buns and then a squeeze of lemon juice finishes up the dish.

MUST TRIES

Smoked salmon aglio olio
Smoked duck tartine with goat’s cheese
French toast
Molten lava cake
Cappuccino
Flat white
Espresso

AVERAGE PRICE PER PERSON: S$19

AMBIANCE: The dim lighting, spacious dining area, and high-ceiling totally give off a rustic and laid-back feeling to the café in general. Although at some point the place may get crowded, the high ceiling can still make you feel comfortable unlike in other smaller cafes. Jimmy Monkey sports industrial chic design so you could still hold casual business meetings there or simply meet up with colleagues, despite its quirkiness.

4. Common Man Coffee Roasters

Image: Common Man Coffee Roasters

Address

22 Martin Road #01-00, Singapore 239058

Phone

+65 6836 4695

Opening hours

Mon to Sun: 8:00 – 19.00

If you love your coffee as much as your food, you can’t go wrong with Common Man Coffee Roasters (CMCR). In a city that already has a rocking café scene, CMCR shines as one of the best café in Singapore famous for its rich, fragrant coffees and lazy, luxurious brunches.

Highlights:

Fine selection of exquisite coffee: Take your place on the expansive bar-counter and watch skilled baristas in full swing while they brew that irresistible cuppa deliciously fragrant coffee to indulge your coffee cravings. Whether you choose the ever popular full-bodied Flat White or a silky, smooth and creamy latte, be assured that every sip is something to rave about.
A brunch place with a variety of heart-warming scrumptious food: Glorious breakfast delights such as Organic Eggs Benedict, Common Man Veggie Wonderland and Turkish Common Man Breakfast make this place simply rock. If you want to indulge in their hearty lunch options, dishes like Grilled juicy chilli boneless Chicken and Fish Burger will leave you thoroughly satisfied.
The most awesome Organic Eggs Benedict ever: Two perfectly poached eggs, oozing with heavenly yolk centres and served with tender flavoursome braised ox cheeks. Ox-cheeks gives this dish a unique twist and places it notches above other egg benedicts you have ever had. Served with a chive hollandaise sauce and perfectly toasted hand-made sourdough toast, this dish is a complete heart winner.
Turkish Common Man Breakfast: This colourful, vibrant platter looks as appetizing as it tastes. Cut your knife into crunchy nest of phyllo-wrapped soft-boiled eggs and you will be greeted by a sunny, gooey yolk that will simply tug at your heart. The dish is spiked by crispy feta and a serving of fresh hummus, whose richness is balanced by refreshing cucumbers and sweet tomatoes sitting by the side. Served with warm pita bread, this breakfast dish stands out among other mouth-watering delights.

MENU: The menu at Common Man Coffee Roasters has a simple but very enticing menu of all-day-breakfast, lunch and dessert offerings. A range of hot and cold beverages make the menu complete as well as spot-on.

MUST TRIES

Turkish Common Man Breakfast
Common Man Full Breakfast
Organic Eggs Benedict
Common Man Veggie Wonderland
Grilled Chilli Chicken
The Fish Burger
Churros

AVERAGE PRICE PER PAX: S$30 – S$40

ATMOSPHERE: Common Man Coffee Roasters is a 60-seater spacious café with a no-fuss, elegant décor. Coffee lovers keep this place buzzing with lively chatter and excitement. The divine smell of freshly brewed coffees and lattes along with the pleasant staff with extremely quick service makes this place a warm, cozy place to relax with a comforting cup of coffee and delicious bites.

5. Bread and Hearth

Image: Bread and Hearth

Address

18 Keong Saik Road, Singapore 089125

Phone

+65 6534 7800

Opening hours

Daily: 8:00 – 21:30

Rows and rows of freshly baked breads and the sweet and buttery aroma lingering in the air – this is Bread and Hearth for you. One of the best bakeries in Singapore, it specializes in baking European styled bread, tarts and pastries using age-old leavening and baking techniques.

Highlights:

Awesome variety of fresh European styled bread and pastries: Don’t go by the size of this tiny bakery. It offers a dazzling selection of freshly baked bread, fluffy croissants, pies, tarts and pastries – warm, flaky and fresh from the oven. Croissant, Pain au Chocolat, Cream Cheese Sesame, Bacon Focaccia and Fromage Twist are some of the particularly tempting bakes that you can’t get enough of. And if fusion is more your style, The Matcha Orange, with its intriguing blend of flavours will be a great choice.
Signature Le Croissant: This lovely croissant with its flaky and buttery texture will make you jump with joy. The finest honeycomb pockets within the layers are the result of the craftsmanship that goes into laminating and folding the unbleached flour. That’s why every bite is just so deliciously crispy, making this warm delight a real deal and as they say as European as possible.
A good spot to enjoy hearty breakfast with freshly baked delights and fragrant cup of coffee. The English Breakfast Set with fresh fluffy croissant, eggs and juicy pork sausages is an enticing affair not to be missed. Bacon Focaccia bread is another popular breakfast delight that leaves your taste buds happy and satisfied.
Flavourful, nutty, creamy coffees: Fragrance of fresh coffee wafts along the delicious aroma of breads and butter – enticing enough to make you pick a cuppa studded with stunning latte art. Fairy dusting of nutmeg powder on the top adds that subtle woody spicy flavor to the nutty, chocolatey coffees that are made by blending arabica and robusta beans.

MENU: The menu at Bread and Hearth offers a freshly baked treat of tarts, pastries, bread and sandwiches. It also serves organic drinks, coffee and Gryphon teas to quench your thirst.

MUST TRIES

Chocolate Tart
Le Croissant
Salted Caramel Tart
Honey Chocolate Bread
Bacon Focaccia
Cream Cheese Sesame
Raspberry Croissant
Bacon & Spinach Quiche
Latte
Bacon & Spinach Quiche

AVERAGE PRICE PER PAX: S$15

ATMOSPHERE: You will be greeted by a lovely warm and cozy interior, highlighted by a brick décor both outside and inside. A perfect choice for a place that makes home-made, warm, comforting baked delights. The furnishings and décor blend well with the overall European theme of this bakery café. There are tables outside the place if want to enjoy your cake and bakes while soaking up the city view.