Ever found yourself getting hungry but have a ton of work left to do by the end of the week? Are the only places you and your friends can think of is Starbucks or some random study spaces in your school?
Don't sweat it, we have gathered 7 conducive cafés around Singapore where you can spend some time alone chilling with Netflix, working on your projects, mugging while grabbing some food and coffee at the same time!
Feel free to bookmark this guide as such days like these will come in handy.
What's more, the cafés listed here provides strong WiFi so that you can spend your entire afternoon here :D
Here's a TLDR before we dive right in:
1. Knots Cafe & Living (Paya Lebar)
2. W39 Bistro & Bakery (Jalan Mas Puteh)
3. Lowercase Cafe (LASALLE)
4. Coffee:Nowhere (West Coast Plaza)
5. Nook & Cranny (Upper Thomson)
6. Windowsill Pies (Haji Lane)
7. Twenty Eight Cafe (Wilkie Road)
1. Knots Café & Living (Paya Lebar)
Located conveniently near the MRT, Knots Café and Living is the ideal place to spend your afternoon at. Be prepared to enter a place where you'll expect to find a harmony of food, furniture and floral decorations. It makes the guests feel at home in their café by styling their space to create a warm and comforting atmosphere.
As you can see, this was the second time I have been to this café. We had the Truffle Eggs Croissant ($12.50) again as it was a decent dish which was hearty and savory, so be sure to try this out when you are here! Their buttery croissant was a plus point but we would have liked it better if the scrambled eggs were slightly creamier and have stronger truffle taste.
What we liked about this café was their rustic and quiet ambience, in addition to their affordable mains which ranged from $9.50 to $19.90.
Check out their menu here!
Nearest MRT: Macpherson, 5 mins walk
Address: #01-07 Orion @ Paya Lebar, 160 Paya Lebar Rd, Singapore 409022
Opening hours
Mon: 10am-6pm | Tue-Thurs: 9am-9pm |
Fri-Sun: 9am-10pm
2. W39 Bistro & Bakery (Jalan Mas Puteh)
Tucked in a quiet neighbourhood off West Coast Road, there are more reasons for West siders to rejoice! At W39 Bistro & Bakery, you can get the best of both worlds where they offer an array of local and European styled dishes.
Although we felt that the local cuisines wasn't exactly worth the price since the Asian infused dishes were considered average, be prepared to choose from a menu filled with all-day breakfast, cakes, desserts, mid-day snacks and chef specials options suitable for all occasions during the weekends or public holidays.
The Lamb Shank Eggs Benedict ($15) sure looked like cheese oozing out on the waffle.
Filled with a hearty salad and poached eggs, The Lamb Shank Eggs Benedict is a great catch if you are craving for lamb combined with smoked salmon slices. For its price, this dish is perfect for a hearty and filling brunch before starting your day!
W39 Bistro & Bakery is one of the dozen European-styled café in the West area, and it’s somewhere you may want to check out on!
Nearest MRT: Clementi (Take Public Bus No. 30/51/78/143/285/533)
Address: 39 Jalan Mas Puteh, 128637
Opening hours
Tue-Fri: 11am-10pm | Sat,Sun,PH: 9am-10pm | Closed on Mon, except PH
3. Lowercase Café (LASALLE College of the Arts)
One interesting fact about how we found out about Lowercase café was when both my project partner and I wanted to meet for lunch somewhere convenient and not preferably school to discuss about our project.
We ordered from the selection of their all day breakfast menu and we could tell that they focus on the quality of their ingredients which gave us a satisfying experience to dine here.
The next time I visit this place, I'll be sure to check out their waffle and gelato since it seems like one of their most popular item there.
Moreover, if you are grabbing a cup of hot coffee, you can request for latte art and the friendly baristas would be very willing to give a shot since they don't usually do this presentation at their café (else, it just happened that it wasn't available when we there).
What we liked about this café was their minimalist space and conducive environment! Food portion was generous and generally #instaworthy.
Check out their menu here!
Nearest MRT: Rochor, 3 mins walk
Address: Blk D #01-01, 1 McNally St, Singapore 187940
Opening hours
Mon-Fri: 9am-9pm | Sat: 10am-9pm |
Sun: 10am-3pm
4. Coffee:Nowhere (West Coast Plaza)
Just like its café name COFFEE:NOWHERE, coffee-no-where is actually coffee-now-here! Quite interesting if you didn't figure it out earlier, right? This is one of those concept café where the aroma of freshly brewed specialty coffee fills the air.
Anyway, do try out their coffee when you're here. Coffee:Nowhere uses the finest selection of specialty grade 100 percent natural Arabica beans, following a standard methodology to ensure they present a brew of consistency and freshness to you. They also offer different flavoured coffee and I'm sure you might crave for more especially if you curious to try different coffee style or staying here for long hours.
What surprised us was that their main courses looks quite appealing but taste was relatively average for café food. In addition, they usually have affordable set lunch and dinner meals available on weekdays at $12.80 nett and $14.80 nett respectively.
Do check out this hidden gem if you decided to chill/study/work and wants to get a caffeine fix when you're at West area!
Nearest MRT: Clementi (Take a Shuttle bus/ Public Bus No. 201)
Address: 154 West Coast Rd, Singapore 127371
Opening hours
Mon-Thurs: 9.30am-9.30pm | Fri: 9.30am-11pm | Sat: 8.30am-11pm | Sun: 8.30am-9.30pm
5. Nook & Cranny Café (Upper Thomson)
Yes, Upper Thomson is known for their long stretch of cafés. However, for Nook and Cranny, it is situated at Thomson V One, it is easy to miss it if you happen to look past.
Do try out their Signature Chicken Bleu ($15.50) when you're there since it is one of their best sellers on their menu! The meat itself was decently tender and juicy but rather oily. Also, this dish felt healthy but the orzo rice and greens that came with it were honestly quite average.
Furthermore, Nook & Cranny's Portobello Beef Burger is cooked almost close to perfection, on top of the thick and juicy beef patty. This is definitely one of the better café burgers round town.
Besides the food, I had a pleasant experience there by having a friendly conversation with the cafe owners himself.
This is an ideal café for all occasions as the place was brightly lit and well air-conditioned.
Nearest MRT: Marymount, 8 mins walk
Address: 9 Sin Ming Road #01-03, Thomson V One, 575630
Opening hours
Wed-Fri: 4pm-10pm | Sat&Sun: 10am-10pm
| Closed on Mon&Tues
6. Windowsill Pies (Haji Lane)
From the image above (top to bottom), these are the Grasshopper Pie - Chocolate Mint and Honey Macadamia Pie. Bonus points go to the creative flavours of their pies but the bottom crust of the pie appeared to be quite soggy.
Since their pies are generally less sweet, it is great to pair with a hot drink this rainy season. (PS: Grab their hot coffee pie set promotion if you’re at our outlets). Also, pies are available in whole or slices.
What we liked about this Haji Lane café outlet was the space upstairs which was very cozy and felt like home. However, it is a very small area but definitely another #instaworthy place to check out!
Good to know: There's another outlet at Upper Thomson.
Nearest MRT: Bugis, 6 mins walk
Address: 17 Haji Ln, Singapore 189210
Opening hours
Tue-Thurs: 11am-8pm | Fri&Sat: 11am-10pm | Sun: 11am-8pm | Closed on Mon
7. Twenty Eight Café (Wilkie Road)*
Twenty Eight Café is a relatively new café near town. Once you step into this café at the corner of Wilkie road, the interior is very elegant and minimalist-inspired along with the hanging bespoke lighting, green leafy plants and wooden furniture.
From left to right: Eggs Benedict, Cold Truffle Pasta, Truffle Fries
What you should try when you are here:
Mains
- Cold Truffle Pasta ($19.90): Majority felt that this was addictive although it felt quite "jelat"after awhile but it was considered to be one of the best dishes here.
- Eggs Benedict ($16.90): When you slit your knife into the poached egg, it was cooked to perfection. Also, hash was crispy but we could have enjoyed it better if it was presented in an entire piece instead of small messy pieces of it.
- Baked Avocado ($19.90): Avocado portion was very generous and nothing much we could fault.
Sides
- Indian Churros ($4.90): Unique flavour of churros and we would recommend trying it out!
- Truffle Fries ($12.90): Slightly salty but nevertheless truffle fries usually won't go wrong :)
Nearest MRT: Bencoolen, 7 mins walk
Address: 28 Wilkie Rd, #01-06, Singapore 228051
Opening hours
Mon-Fri: 7.30am-5pm | Sat&Sun: 8.30am-6pm
So here you go, 7 conducive chill-work-study cafés where you can enjoy your café food which should not burn a big hole in your pocket. Moreover, look on the bright side — instead of paying to study in that café space only, you are actually paying for your own food while hanging out at a conducive and cozy environment. Furthermore, this list is non-exhaustive. Let us know what you think, and what else we can add on to it!
- Gervaise
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