Drop by Raffles City shopping mall the next time you're in Singapore for a caffeine fix. The mall is now home to Blue Bottle Coffee, the famous third-wave coffee chain that started as a coffee cart in San Francisco. This is the brand's first-ever café in Southeast Asia, and comes seven months after it opened a gift store in Singapore last August.
We had the pleasure of visiting the space in a preview on April 2. Blue Bottle Coffee Singapore takes over its old retail space adjoining the Lumine global flagship store (another Southeast Asia first). Spanning a modest 135 square metres, the 42-seater café nonetheless feels bright, spacious, and welcoming – thanks in large part to floor-to-ceiling windows and its signature minimalist design characterised by white walls, pale wood furnishings, and a chic stainless steel island bar. That's not forgetting a welcome pop of colour in the form of the blue bottle logo stamped on the wall above the cushioned seats. The brand is also teaming up with local floral studio The Florté to dress up the space with a rotating selection of blooms.
What to try here? Go for its signature Cold Brew (7.5 SGD) if you like your coffee citrus-y – it's a particularly refreshing option for Singapore's heat. Then there's the Nola (8 SGD), a New Orleans-style coffee that's earthy and sweet thanks to roasted chicory root, organic cane sugar, and milk. There are classic espresso-based options like Americanos (7.5 SGD) and lattes (8.5 SGD), alongside non-caffeinated drinks like lemon yuzu fizz (8.5 SGD) and Kimino sparkling apple juice (7.5 SGD).
Blue Bottle Coffee has also teamed up with local bakery Bakery Brera to offer a selection of sweet and savoury treats. For something different from the usual café fare, go straight for the Singapore exclusives: the coconut kouign-amann (8 SGD) and the pandan canelé with kaya (6 SGD).
Find out more about Blue Bottle Coffee Singapore in our local coverage here.
Where are the other Blue Bottle Coffee outlets in Asia?
Blue Bottle Coffee has a whopping 16 outlets in South Korea, most of them concentrated in Seoul (Pangyo, Jamsil, Samseong, Yeoksam, Apgujeong, Human Made Seoul, Seongsu, Hannam, Yeouido, Myeongdong, Gwanghwamun, Hongdae, Samcheong, Yeonnam). One outlet is in Busan (Busan Millak), and the other is in Jeju.
It debuted in China in February 2022 and now has five locations in Shanghai (Yutong, Zhang Yuan, Columbia Circle, Qiantan, West Bund Dream Centre) and one in Shenzhen (MixC World).
You can find six Blue Bottle Coffee outlets in Japan. Three are in Kyoto (Kyoto, Kyoto Kiyamachi, Kyoto Rokkaku), two are in Yokohama (Yokohama, Minatomirai), and the last is in Kobe.
Finally, there's a Blue Bottle Coffee outlet in Hong Kong's IFC Mall.
Need more coffee recommendations? These 13 Asian cafés made it to the World's 100 Best Coffee Shops list
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