While there are a number of café guides for the East of Singapore, I thought of highlighting some in the West as well, specifically Clementi and West Coast (plus some online listicles are quite out-dated already).
One of my favourite areas to hang out near Clementi is Sunset Way, which has this relaxing and easy-going charm about it, filled with unique restaurants and eateries.
Some of the other cafes you can find in that area include The Daily Scoop Ice Cream Café (considered quite ‘pioneer’), Sunset Railway Cafe, and Buttercake N Cream.
Not forgetting bakeries Fredo’s Baker, Classic Cakes and Balmoral Bakery – all well-loved for different reasons.
Here are 9 cafes you can find at Clementi and West Coast:
Burnt Cones – Sunset Way
105 Clementi Street 12, #01-02, Singapore 120105
Opening Hours: 9am – 12am (Mon – Sun)
Gelato And Waffle Cafe Opens 9AM Till 12AM Daily
If you are someone who wants to eats freshly-churned ice cream in the morning (and there is none in the fridge), you are in for a treat.
And not just at 9am, Burnt Cones also opened till 12 midnight daily, which can be a perfect ‘supper’ spot.
As their name implies, Burnt Cones focuses mainly on their range of 12 gelato flavours (Regular Single $4, Double $7/ Premium Single $5, Double $9), Waffles ($6), Cones ($1) with a small menu of drinks such as Coffee (Black $4, White $5, Affogato ($10) and Tea ($4).
The choices are pretty common and on the safer side, with 4 regular flavours (Single $4, Double $7) namely Black Sesame, Fior De Latte (Milk), Earl Grey and Butterscotch.
The Strawberry Basil sorbet was the highlight, being smooth and non-icy, yet it was rich with herbaceous taste like hawthorn, which made it refreshingly appetizing. Burnt Cones (Sunset Way)
Hundred Acre Creamery – Sunset Way
Block 109 Clementi Street 11, #01-37, Singapore 120109
Opening Hours: 12pm – 12am (Tues – Sun), Closed Mon
Winnie The Pooh Inspired Ice Cream Cafe Opens Till 12AM
As to why “Hundred Acre Creamery”, the 25 seaters space is named after the fictional place in the book “Winnie-The-Pooh by A. A. Milne”.
In this land called “Hundred Acre Wood”, Christopher Robin accompanies Pooh and his friends on many childhood adventures to learn about the meaning of companionship and love.
As fans of the fictional story, the owners would like to share happiness, love and the value of companionship through their favourite childhood treats – ice cream and dessert.
Apart from the usual offerings such as Ice Cream (Single $3.80, Double $7, Premium +$1, Gourmet +$1.50), Rosemary Cone (+$1) and Waffle ($6), interesting desserts such as Life of a Coconut ($7), Coco Affogato ($8), Dalat ($9) and Coco Pandan Waffle ($10) can be found here too.
Unique flavours here include Peach Basil, Sea Salt Butter Caramel, Lilac Taro, Soursop Mint, Thai Tea Lychee, Ocean Blue (Nori with white chocolate) and Honey Chrysanthemum & Cacao Nibs.
Their Dalat ($9) is their signature dessert item, named after a tranquil highland city in Vietnam and its signature avocado cream dessert.
The butter avocado is imported from Dalat (located in southern Vietnam Central Highlands) topped with a scoop of coconut sorbet and toasted coconut flakes with roasted peanuts. Hundred Acre Creamery (Sunset Way)
Dawn’s Gelateria – Sunset Way
106 Clementi Street 12, #01-38, Singapore 120106
Opening Hours: 11am – 10pm (Sun – Thur), 11am – 11pm (Fri – Sat)
Gelato Cafe Selling Waffles And Gelato ON Salad, At Clementi Sunset Way
Unlike most gelato bar that focuses primarily on their gelato and waffles, Dawn’s Gelateria also serves an extensive menu of hot food that ranges from Starters ($7 – 16) to Mains ($11- $26), Seafood ($20 – $26) and Pasta ($15 – $24).
There are a total of 18 rotating gelato flavours.
Available in 2 cup sizes, think Regular flavours (3oz $5 and 5oz $8) such as Valrhona Chocolate, Fior Di Latte (Milk), Earl Grey, Chocolate Sorbet, Lemon Sorbet, Watermelon & Lime, and Mint Stracciatella.
The Waffle came with golden brown crispy edges, thinner than the usual buttermilk waffle, with a denser and fluffy texture that is almost cake-like.
The highlight was the Watermelon and Lime sorbet, with sweetness from the watermelon on the first bite and a lingering refreshing citrus punch in the aftertaste due to the lime added.
The texture was dense and compact, non-icy with robust flavours that was not overly-sweet. Dawn’s Gelateria (Clementi Sunset Way)
Olla Specialty Coffee – Sunset Way
109 Clementi Street 11, #01-03, Singapore 120109
Opening Hours: 8am – 5pm (Mon – Sun)
Handcrafted Coffee and Light Bites
Olla Specialty Coffee is opened by Hee Wei, an award-winning barista from the 2013 Singapore National Barista Championship.
While Olla is known to be Singapore’s 1st mobile coffee catering company, this café at Sunset Way is its standalone café space.
Other than coffee, also offered at light meals (till 1pm) and waffles (till 4pm). Recommended items include the Senorita ($9.50) – avocado with homemade salad and scrambled eggs, Shashuka Baked Eggs with Toast ($9.80), Avo on Toast with Scrambled Eggs ($8.50), Say Cheese Toast ($9.50), and Classic Homemade Buttermilk Waffles ($6.50).
I really enjoyed is Mr Sunshine ($9.50) a breakfast burger filled with sunny eggs, honey ham, cheddar, bacon and caramelised onions. While it looked simple, the bun was deliciously-fluffy and the sweet-savoury combination with mustard sauce worked well.
Simple Cafe 簡單 。
NeWest, 1 West Coast Drive, #01-87, Singapore 128020
Opening Hours: 9:30am – 7:30pm (Tue – Sun), Closed Mon
Hidden Taiwanese Cafe With Japanese Desserts At West Coast
With a few years of experience as home bakers after graduating from the now defunct-Le Cordon Bleu, Tokyo, co-owners Sheryl and Maisie have decided to open a brick-and-mortar shop.
Another friend of theirs is the in-house barista.
The trio wanted to provide a straightforward and fuss-free space where people can enjoy a sweet treat in their homely and cosy space.
With a specially curated menu completely different from the ones available previously for home bakes, their pastries are simple (like their name) and not complex such as Berry ($8.50), Bassion ($8) – this is not a spelling error, Mocha ($8), Mont Blanc ($9), Creme Caramel ($6), Pear ($6), Bagel (Original $3.50/ Blueberry Cream Cheese $4) and Vanilla/ Pandan Donut ($4.50).
The Berry ($8.50) was my favourite, a strawberry shortcake with alternating layers of fresh cream, strawberry bits and sponge cake.
Do not judge a book by its cover as I was initially sceptical about its look, totally covered with cream (scream calories).
And it turned out that the fresh cream was the highlight, light and fluffy without feeling jelak (rich), similar to the ones I had in Japan. Simple Cafe 簡單 (West Coast)
DESEM Bakery
25 Jalan Mas Puteh, Singapore 128630
Tel: +65 8137 8796 (WhatsApp)
Opening Hours: 4pm – 8pm (Wed – Fri), 2pm – 7pm (Sat – Sun), Closed Mon, Tues
Hidden Bakery With Delicious Sourdough Cream Cheese Garlic Bread
Situated near Clementi at Jalan Mas Puteh, DESEM Bakery is a hole-in-the-wall bakery along the same stretch as W39 Bistro and Bakery.
It has also been crowned the ‘title’ of “the shop that seldom opens” by its neighbours, because of the bakery’s interesting opening hours.
Fully run by a Singaporean couple, Norman and his wife are in-charge of all the bakes and operations of Desem Bakery.
Because of this, most of their customers are regulars who usually order in advance before visiting the bakery.
DESEM Bakery’s signature item is the Sourdough Cream Cheese with Roasted Garlic Bread ($5.50).
Norman mentioned that the process of baking this bread is tedious and long, but the result is worth the effort. I totally agree.
The fragrance and saltiness of the garlic paired with the slightly sweet cream cheese was a work of art. The taste reminded me of some bakes I have tried overseas, such as Korea and Japan.
Who knew I would find something like this in Clementi? DESEM Bakery (West Coast)
W39 Bistro & Bakery
39 Jln Mas Puteh, Singapore 128637
Opening Hours: 11am – 10pm (Tues – Fri), 9am – 10pm (Sat – Sun)
Extensive Menu with Cakes & Desserts
W39 is well-liked by the residents nearby as it is a family and dog friendly café, with quite an extensive menu.
Its signature main items include Chef’s Special Assam Fish and Fragrant Rice ($22), Chicken Roulade ($25), BBQ Chicken Leg ($20), Ribeye Steak ($36) and Pan-Seared Duck Breast ($28).
One of the recommended items is the Chef’s Specialty Housemade Crab Cakes, with two pieces filled with pure juicy crab meat as well as capsicums and spring onions, then dipped with sambal mayo.
Come weekends for brunch (available 9am to 5pm) and there will be a slightly different menu such as French Toast ($18), Avocado Salsa and Toast ($20), Nonya Mee Siam ($14), to even Fried Chicken Nasi Lemak ($17).
GLASS Roasters
108 Faber Drive, Singapore 129418
Opening Hours: 9am – 10pm (Mon, Tues, Thurs), 9am – 10:30pm (Fri – Sun), Closed Wed
Hole-In-A-Wall Cafe At Faber Drive Near Clementi
Faber Drive is where the hole-in-the-wall cafe, GLASS Roasters is located. (They have also quickly opened another outlet at Mohamed Sultan Road near River Valley.
With a small dine-in area, the seats are arranged in a U-Shape structure that promotes interaction between the barista and the diners.
Combining both rustic element with a clean, white tiled furnishing and matte blue seats, the small-cosy area can sit up to 8 persons at any one time.
The menu is short and concise for now, with only black ($4.50) and white ($5.80) on the menu.
Iced, Soy/ Oat milk and a Large cup with an additional espresso shot is charged at an extra $1.
As GLASS Roasters, both the hot and iced drinks are served in double-walled Bodum glass (literally reflected in the name of the cafe) instead of ceramics cups.
The hot drinks are 5oz each with single shot of espresso whereas large cups (additional $1) and Iced drinks (additional $1) are 8oz and consisted of double shots of espresso. My cup of White ($5.80) was smooth and robust, not too acidic and well balanced. GLASS Roasters (Faber Drive)
Gelatolabo – West Coast
108 Faber Drive, Singapore 129418
Opening Hours: 1pm – 10pm (Mon – Tues, Thurs), 1pm – 10:30pm (Fri – Sun), Closed Wed
Artisan Gelato Cafe With Unique Flavours
For those who haven’t heard of Gelatolabo, their first outlet is a hole-in-a-wall takeaway ice cream store which is located at Jalan Besar, featuring an assortment of handmade artisan gelato with unique exotic flavours.
All their gelato concoction have unique flavour pairing made from fresh fruits, herbs and spices and there wasn’t any flavour which I would deem as “normal”.
Possibly one of the up-and-coming gelato store that offers an exhaustive range of bold gelato offerings.
Some of the newer flavours which previously didn’t came across at Jalan Besar were such as Watermelon Mint & Chia Seeds, Naval Orange & Chrysanthemum, Colombian Cold Brew & Cookie Butter Bits, Caribbean Rum & Charred Pineapple and Yamanashi Peach & Lemongrass.
Flavours are on seasonal rotating basis and single scoop from Premium range goes for $5 and Gourmet range for $6.
I was rather intrigued by the Sakura Smoke, Artichoke & Pear Compote, which has a paring of fruity with mild nutty undertones, followed by a light smoky after taste. Gelato Labo (Faber Drive)
Other Related Entries
20 Cafes & Brunch Places At Orchard Road
10 Alexandra & Redhill Cafes
9 BEDOK Cafes And Ice Cream Shops
10 ANG MO KIO Cafes
10 Cafes And Brunch Places At River Valley
* Compiled by Daniel Ang @DanielFoodDiary, Nicholas Tan @stormscape, Lewis Tan @juicyfingers and Songyu @__sy_g.