Café-hoppers, here’s another joint for you to hit up on your off days. Caracara is a newly opened café along Neil Road, located right below the one Michelin-starred restaurant Chaleur. You’ll notice Caracara’s gorgeous interior design the moment you step into the quaint café, with unique wooden furniture of all shapes and sizes, reminiscent of a furniture showroom. That’s because Caracara’s owners are also behind the furniture manufacturing company, Falcon Incorporation, which is known for their projects for luxury hotels like Mondrian Singapore and Oakwood Studios Singapore. So if you enjoy any of the furniture on display at Caracara, you can actually purchase them – all you have to do is ask.
Immaculate vibes aside, what you really want to know is if the coffee and food served are up to standard at Caracara. Here’s our verdict: it’s pretty decent. We ordered the Milkadoodle as a latte ($7), and Dark Indeed as an espresso tonic ($7). The Milkadoodle had notes of chocolate and peanut, resulting in an indulgent drinking experience. On the other hand, the Dark Indeed espresso tonic was a refreshing contrast, as the full bodied flavour of the coffee is complemented by a dried orange slice and sparkling tonic water. This resulted in a citrusy and invigorating concoction perfect for a hot day.
For food, we opted for the Cara Miss You ($12), the café’s take on traditional tiramisu, and the matcha burnt basque cheesecake ($12). The tiramisu is adorable in terms of presentation, resembling little seedlings growing in a pot of soil. However, we do think that there could be a bolder coffee taste, as the tiramisu mainly tastes of mascarpone and crushed cookies. We particularly enjoyed the cheesecake for its soft and light texture, and the bitter matcha taste was prominent but not overpowering.
We went to Caracara at 1.30pm on a weekday, hoping to try Aurora, the café’s signature grape coffee, but it was unfortunately sold out by the time we arrived. The café’s housemade milk, Cara milk, was also unavailable, so come early if you’d like to try these signature items.
Currently, Caracara primarily serves lunch and coffee, but will be introducing an omakase menu as well as a dinner menu in September. Find out more about Caracara and get updates on the new menus here.