Even if you are a regular to Bugis and Arab Street areas, you may just walk past this café without realising it being around.
Situated right in the heart of Kampong Glam, Tourterelle Cafe is as much of an art gallery as it is a cafe.
It is said to be inspired by the French cafes in Vietnam.
Murals and paintings line the walls, creating a vibrancy to match the culture of Kandahar Street.
In terms of its menu and placement, I couldn’t quite put a finger to it when I first visited, but that appears to be quite a revamp in this short span of time.
It serves up some light bites such as Pepper Mushroom Gruyere Cheese Egg Bites ($12), Duck Crof’wich ($10) and Soicy Korean Pork Crof’wich ($10) which is a croissant waffle sandwich with Korean spicy pulled pork and kimchi.
Okay, I had a Spicy Korean Pork Banh Mi previously (now changed to a croissant waffle sandwich), which was quite a pity as my favourite part was the crispy yet soft bread.
I wonder why the change as well, as it departs from its Vietnam-inspired roots.
For something more substantial, there are the Chicken Meatball Shakshuka ($25) and Spicy Beef Bourguignon ($25).
I previously shared with them as a customer my concerns of a $28 Shakshuka and the prices appeared to have gone down a couple of dollars.
The last time I dined there, I also wondered if there could be more mains, especially something between the $12 and $20 region.
Tourterelle Cafe sells more than the usual brewed coffee, as the coffee is sourced from Vietnam but with some creative twists.
The Dirty Coffee ($6) has two layers of colour, from the golden-brown espresso sitting messily on the pearly white milk. Dalgona Latte ($8) is made with real honeycomb toffee, a pretty drink that is also perfect for your social media.
The coffee is combined with alcohol in their Espressotini ($16) or Egg Coffee Cocktail ($16), if you are down to try something new.
Have a little “Sweet Somethings” to go with your coffee.
The dessert menu is rather refined, starting with Pear-facto ($16), a plate of red wine poached pear, pistachio and seasonal ice cream.
The thick and decadent Black Forest Mousse ($14) is made with Valrhona dark chocolate, black forest berries and roasted almond.
There is also the Gateau A La Banane ($14), which is a homemade banana cake paired with seasonal ice cream, dark chocolate and almond flakes.
It can be worth it to visit Tourterelle Cafe just to take a look at the art pieces alone. Pop by on an afternoon, have a coffee and just soak in the atmosphere.
Tourterelle Café
20 Kandahar Street, #01-01, Singapore 198885
Opening Hours: 10am – 5pm (Tues – Sun), Closed Mon
Other Related Entries
Zerah Coffee Roasters (North Bridge Road)
Waffle Place (Bussorah Street)
Pinhole Coffee Bar (Purvis Street)
FLIPPER’S (Bugis Junction)
Pancake Place (Kandahar Street)
* Written by Daniel Ang @DanielFoodDiary and Dean Ang. DFD paid for food reviewed unless otherwise stated.
Hi Daniel, Thank you for visiting our humble cafe and giving an introduction of the food and drink offering. Here at Tourterelle cafe, we constantly seek inspirations and creativity in our food and drinks. The change from Banh Mi to Crof’wich was one creative moment that had many raving about, so do come back to try our Crof’wich. Additionally, we will be introducing a special version of the Banh Mi very soon. Something for you to check out ; )