Singapore’s Best Cafes: Good Food, Better Vibes at ‘Common Man Coffee Roasters’
If there’s one thing you can’t deny about Singapore, it’s that it’s cafe culture is well and truly thriving.
I get asked all the time about the cafes I go to in the city, and best believe that after all these years I’ve accumulated quite the list of recommendations, thus I’ve decided to document and write about all these places so this will be the first in a list of posts to keep coming.
And we start with a cafe I went to for the first time over the long Easter break— ‘Common Man Coffee Roasters’.
Situated along Martin Road in the River Valley area, ‘Common Man’ sits comfortably next to PS. Cafe’s outlet there, and ‘Common Man’ was packing in the crowds.
Parking was easy to find with parking in the building itself.
Mind, it wasn’t the cheapest, charging $3 an hour.
‘Common Man’ has indoor and outdoor seating options, and along the street the cafe’s decorated with hanging flora.
Inside, ‘Common Man’ has quite the atmosphere, with bar seating available where you watch the baristas do their thing.
On the menu, there is a definite large variety of food with your all-day breakfast options, heavier lunch options, sides for your small bites and desserts for your after-meal pick ups.
Of course, given that they specialise in coffee, you get both filter and espresso coffee, made by baristas trained at their in-house academy.
Artisan teas, juices, cocktails and wine also feature on the drinks menu.
For food, we tried the Turkish Common Man Breakfast, Grilled Juicy “Chilli” Boneless Chicken, Organic Eggs Benedict complete with a side of Crunchy Parsley & Chilli Fries.
I should point out that food here isn’t cheap, with many plates starting at $25, but to be fair, they are a tad bigger than your standard cafe fare, but I think the bigger reason really is about the location and the price tag that comes with these areas.
All the plates were packed with flavour, but I have to say I think the Grilled Juicy “Chilli” Boneless Chicken might’ve been the best with the savoury flavours of the well-seasoned meat complementing the crushed avocado salsa perfectly.
The Turkish Breakfast was very heavy on flavour with hummus, feta cheese, and egg so if you’re craving for something light, naturally flavours from the Middle East might not quite be the option.
Even the Eggs Benedict was quite a heavy meal as it’s served on artisanal sourdough bread topped off with tender braised ox cheeks. The rocket salad it was served with felt like it was drenched in the hollandaise sauce too.
Truth be told I was craving truffle fries that day, which Common Man doesn’t serve, so we opted for the Parsley & Chilli Fries, pretty much chunky string fries topped off with herbs and some chilli, which made for a good enough side but it wasn’t all that fantastic.
All in all, the food was decent to pretty good actually, but I think what I really loved was the atmosphere and the vibe.
On a bank holiday weekend, it was packed to the rafters, making it a buzzing and lively atmosphere.
I would come back to try the Common Man Burger, a popular dish off their menu, but that starts at a hefty $29, which is a tiny bit too far out my budget. Add on a drink and you’re looking at close to $35 to $40 a head.
But Common Man has been an institution along Martin Road for quite a while now, winning the Readers Choice Best Café awarded by SG Magazine in both 2014 and 2015.
Even after all these years it hasn’t lost its lustre or its crowds, so it must be doing something right.
Address: 22 Martin Road #01-00 Singapore 239058
Halal: No
Operating Hours:
Monday to Friday - 7.30am till 5pm
Saturday to Sunday - 7.30am till 6pm (last orders at 5.30pm)
