5 Best Cafes in Singapore (2026)

Nylon Coffee is a specialty coffee bar and roastery in Everton Park, built entirely around coffee with no food menu, just a small standing and seated area facing the roastery equipment. It runs technical brewing gear and rotates its bean selection frequently, sourcing washed and natural lots from origins like Ethiopia, Nicaragua and Colombia. Reviewers, including visiting coffee professionals, describe it as one of the more serious specialty coffee operations in the city.

Common Man Coffee Roasters is a cafe and roastery on Martin Road serving a full brunch and lunch menu alongside its own roasted coffee. It has run since at least 2017 and has expanded to multiple Singapore locations plus branches abroad, with reviewers who have followed it for years noting the quality has stayed consistent. The Martin Road location is pet-friendly and does a steady Sunday brunch trade.

Chye Seng Huat Hardware is a cafe housed in a former hardware warehouse on Tyrwhitt Road in Jalan Besar, operated by Papa Palheta and regarded as one of the early names in Singapore's third-wave coffee scene. It runs a central coffee bar where the brewing process is visible to guests, alongside a hearty brunch menu of eggs, pancakes and sandwiches. The space keeps its original industrial fixtures and high ceilings.

Apartment Coffee is a coffee roastery and bar on Selegie Road focused on filter coffee and tea, without a food menu beyond drinks. It runs a rotating selection of beans and keeps a minimalist, gallery-like interior with high ceilings and natural light. Reviewers highlight the consistency of the filter coffee across repeat visits and the shop's understated, easy-to-miss storefront.

Heap Seng Leong is a traditional kopitiam near North Bridge Road that has operated since 1974, known for charcoal-toasted kaya butter toast, soft-boiled eggs and a wide range of kopi and teh variations, including butter coffee. Reviewers describe it as one of the last surviving old-style coffee shops still using original methods, with retro decor and marble-topped tables largely unchanged over the decades. It runs without a website, and ownership has passed from the original owner to his son in recent years.