Common Man Coffee Roasters, Joo Chiat
Another exciting addition to the quickly gentrifying Joo Chiat area is Common Man Coffee Roasters (CMCR). No stranger to the cafe scene in Singapore, CMCR was established in 2013 with its flagship at Martin Road. The cafe-coffee roaster has been championing specialty coffee since and is one of the OG third-wave coffee places in Singapore.
Specialty grade Arabica coffee from their partner Five Senses Coffee Australia is roasted, sold, and served at CMCR. Our flat white was full of bitter dark chocolate, which could do with a tad more acidity.
The Joo Chiat outpost is a lovely breezy 2-unit ground storey shophouse which would not be out of place in Flinders or Hardware Lane, except that it is in the heart of colorful Joo Chiat where its neighbors are KTV pubs and Vietnamese restaurants, which is very charming imo.
Bakes are from Tiong Bahru Bakery as CMCR's other partner is Spa Esprit Group. Bite into a buttery pastry or pick from the all day breakfast items. The Savory/Sweet sourdough pancakes were unfortunately unavailable when we were there for breakfast. As usual, we order a sweet and a savory dish to share.
The Croissant Croque Monsieur ($18) was a brainless choice for me as it's a combination of my 2 favorite things- flakey croissant with the creamy cheese flavors of a Croque Monsieur. The béchamel had earthy, peppery, and garlic notes which cut through the richness of the cream. Lovely.
For sweets, we had the not too sweet Brioche French Toast ($22) with a coffee toffee salted caramel with a light bitter note, banana, and a thick sticky whipped-vanilla ricotta. The brioche could be a tad dry-ish on the corners but the center was perfect fluff. If you need a bit more moisture/sweetness, you could swap the cheese for ice cream (which was too indulgent for us at 9 in the morning, but no judgment if you do). I enjoyed the layered flavors in this one- some spice, some citrus, and definitely mint.
Big eaters could obviously go for the Common Man Full Breakfast ($29) which is the full English fry-up or the vegetarian version of that in the form of a Veggie Wonderland ($28). Even the "Lunch" items are served early from 10am so if you could wait a bit, there's the Smash Burger ($28) or Cubanos Sandwich ($27).
Lovely spot, lovely addition to the hood, and more options for me (yay)!
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