The Ultimate Japanese Café Guide in Singapore 2022: 15 Popular Places To Celebrate Your Love of Japan
From oishii food, to aromatic coffee and sweet desserts
We present to you the third instalment of our ‘Ultimate Guide’ list! If you haven’t checked out our Matcha and Hojicha guide, my friend, you’re missing out.
This guide includes a compilation of 15 popular Japanese cafés in Singapore that either originate from Japan or feature Japanese-style food and desserts — several of which are home-grown brands and others helmed by Japanese owners.
What to expect:
Meals
Coffee
Desserts
We’ve gathered 5 top places for each category. Some of these places feature all of the 3 above, but we’ve highlighted them according to the category that they are most known for.
Time to pop by to satisfy your appetite for Japanese food and rejoice!
For your Meal Cravings
1. Café Natsu
Western brunch classics with a Japanese flair. Café Natsu is located in the heart of Joo Chiat, the home to café culture. Serving contemporary dishes using the freshest Japanese ingredients, dining at Café Natsu is a luxurious yet comforting affair.
Location: 283 Joo Chiat Road Singapore, Singapore 427537
Opening Hours: Mon - Tue, CLOSED | Wed - Sat, 9am - 3pm & 6pm - 10pm | Sun, 9am - 5pm
Contact: +65 8886 4497
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2. Hello Arigato
Hello Arigato is a lifestyle café serving Japanese-inspired specialty sandos, coffee and bakes. Hello Arigato brings quality Asian comfort food into the lives of its customers. Simple & honest but delicious grub, made using great locally sourced and freshly imported ingredients, best enjoyed with close friends and family.
Location: 227 Upper Thomson Road, Singapore 574359 | 314 Joo Chiat Road, Singapore 427565
Opening Hours: Tue - Fri (LUNCH), 11am - 4pm | Sat - Sun (BRUNCH), 10am - 4pm | Tue - Sun (DINNER), 6pm - 9pm
Contact: +65 8772 3778 | +65 8889 5657
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3. Daizu Café
Daizu Cafe is a Japanese-Western fusion minimalist lifestyle concept centred around the holistic usage of soy, nutrition and sustainability in daily living.
Location: 129 Rangoon Rd, Singapore 218407
Opening Hours: Daily (+ PUBLIC HOLIDAY), 8am - 10pm
Contact: +65 8815 8233
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4. Sevens Kissaten
Inspired by Kyoto teahouses, Sevens Kissaten serves Japanese-French fusion food and artisanal Japanese desserts. Sevens Kissaten serves modest comfort meals to complement the Japanese teas that they source distinctively. Sevens Kissaten focuses on bringing outstanding quality tea to its customers, while reinventing aroma and sensations that anyone will love
Location: 58 Seng Poh Rd, #01-15, Singapore 160058
Opening Hours: Daily, 8:30am - 5:30pm
Contact: +65 8723 7777
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5. PIPES by HATTENDO
Established since 1933 in Mihara, Hiroshima, Chugoku, Japan, Hattendo is renowned for their famous dessert pastry cream buns, well-regarded among the best bakeries in Japan. Since April 2020, Hattendo has launched their flagship store in Singapore with PIPES By Hattendo. A bakery cafe by day and izakaya gastrobar by night, PIPES By Hattendo brings a measure of happiness to its diners
Location: 331 New Bridge Rd, #01-02 Dorsett Residences Singapore, Singapore 088764
Opening Hours: Mon, CLOSED | Tue - Sun, 9am - 6pm
Contact: +65 8113 6096
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For your Caffeine Fix
6. Okada Coffee
Okada Coffee is an old-fashioned Japanese Café originated from Kyushu, Japan since 1945. Not entirely a Japanese teahouse but more of a quaint neighbourhood coffee shop, Okada Coffee is a local favourite for its roasted hand drip coffee – featuring specialty blends.S avour their Japanese hand-drip coffee, home-made desserts, sour dough bread, freshly made cheese and more in a rustic and homely abode.
Location: 153 Joo Chiat Road Singapore, Singapore 427431
Opening Hours: Mon, CLOSED | Tue - Thu, 10:30pm - 6pm | Fri, 10:30am - 7pm | Sat - Sun, 9:30am - 7pm
Contact: +65 6282 3725
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7. Kurasu
Kurasu serves specialty coffee and coffee products and accessories from Kyoto, Japan, in Singapore. Kurasu has a good following among artisanal coffee lovers in Singapore popularly because of its stringent roasting practices, aromatic coffee, and minimalist lifestyle approach.
Location: 261 Waterloo Street #01-24 Singapore, Singapore 180261
Opening Hours: Daily, 10am - 6:30pm
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8. Baristart Coffee
Hailing all the way from Hokkaido, Japan, Baristart Coffee first started out in June 2015 as a simple coffee stand where one can hear all about the milk produced in Hokkaido and its relation to the coffee scene in Japan. Today, Baristart Coffee has evolved into a lifestyle café serving up a full-range menu. From coffee to desserts and savouries, Baristart Coffee prides itself on its use of pure uncompromising quality of Hokkaido dairy that is both rich and creamy with a tinge of sweetness.
Location: 65 Tras St, Singapore 079004 | 40 Siloso Beach Walk Singapore 098996
Opening Hours: Mon - Thu, 9am - 6pm | Fri - Sun, 9am - 9pm
Contact: +65 6904 3168 | +65 6970 0631
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9. Suzuki Gourmet Coffee
Founded in 1979, Suzuki Gourmet Coffee is Singapore’s oldest coffee roastery, offering the widest selection of fine roasted gourmet coffee in Singapore and the Asia region. The company first started its operations in Bukit Timah, led by a Japanese coffee master’s passion and specialized roasting skills, Mr. Endo
"Always remember the very first day that you started roasting coffee beans. Treat the beans like your own children, and be patient with them. Then, naturally, the beans will express themselves to you in various ways.”
Location: 8 Chin Bee Ave, Singapore 619932
Opening Hours: Mon, CLOSED | Tue - Fri, 10am - 5pm | Sat - Sun, 10am - 4pm
Contact: +65 6266 3933
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10. % ARABICA
Conceptualised in March 2011 by coffee farmer Kenneth Soji, but only attaining recognition in September 2014 when it established in Higashiyama, Kyoto, Kansai, Japan, with the help of latte art champion Junichi Yamaguchi. Based on a philosophy of simplicity, down-to-earth basics, and amazing coffee, % ARABICA has since grown worldwide with over 80 stores across 15 countries, opening to long queues in Singapore in June 2019.
From Kyoto to the world. Currently 110 stores in 18 countries. % ARABICA is all about seeing the world through a love for coffee.
Location: Check out all of their outlets in Singapore here!
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For your Sweet Tooth
11. Pantler
Pantler is a patisserie known for delicate, elegant and refined Japanese-style pastries. Pantler is a quiet café that is helmed by Matthias Phua and chef Tomoharu Morita, both of whom came through the kitchens of Grand Hyatt Tokyo and Joël Robuchon Singapore. Pantler serves cakes, sandwiches and pies made with carefully-sourced ingredients from Japan and France.
Location: 474 River Valley Road Singapore, Singapore 248359
Opening Hours: Mon, CLOSED | Tue - Sun, 10:30am - 6:30pm
Contact: +65 6221 6223
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12. Chef Yamashita
This French-Japanese artisan patisserie was established by Chef Yamashita Masataka, who was trained at Tsuji Culinary Institute, a well-known & respected culinary institute in Osaka, Japan. He worked at various patisseries around Japan before starting his own patisserie in Nara, Japan which quickly became one of the most sought-after patisseries in Nara, Japan. Eight years later, yearning for new challenges & a change of scenery, Chef Yamashita moved to Singapore where he took charge of the kitchen at Glace & Flor Patisserie, turning it into a haven for delightful cakes & pastries.
Location: Block 1, #02-44,Tanjong Pagar Plaza, Singapore 082001
Opening Hours: Mon, CLOSED | Tue - Sat, 10am - 5pm | Sun, 10am - 4pm
Contact: +65 6604 9709
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13. KURA Singapore
KURA is a combination of the founders’ names — KOOJEE & RACHEL which also means a small house where one keeps one’s treasures in Japanese. KURA invites everyone to join its our cozy café, where it shares with diners affordable, high-caliber (and pretty) French pastry with a Japanese twist.
Location: 79 South Bridge Rd, #01-00, Singapore 058709
Opening Hours: Daily, 11am - 6pm
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14. Henri Charpentier
Henri Charpentier is a renowned French-inspired Japanese patisserie first opened in Japan 1969 and its flagship store currently resides in Tokyo’s Ginza. It serves delicate sweet treats for both the eyes and taste buds.
Location: Check out all of their outlets in Singapore here!
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15. Belle-Ville Pancake Café
Belle-Ville Pancake Café hails from Osaka, Japan and they are most famous for their soft and fluffy meringue millefeuille (French for “thousand layers”) pancakes. Their pancakes are made-to-order, layered or topped with home-made whipped Hokkaido cream and stacked from 2 to 8 layers.
Location: Check out all of their outlets in Singapore here!
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Remember to bookmark this article so that you can get your meal, coffee or dessert fix at these Japanese cafés in Singapore instantly anytime! Share with us in the comment section below if you know of any awesome joints like these or you can let us know on our Instagram (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧
Read the other instalments of our ‘Ultimate Guide’ next!