Cafe Review: National Gallery's KOPI 1930 and Twenty Eight Cafe opens

 Good news! National Gallery visitors now have two new options for food with the opening of KOPI 1930 and Twenty Eight cafe on 1 November 2025! They are situated right at Level 1 of the main gallery building (City Hall wing) and open daily from 8am to 7pm. The two establishments are sister-cafes offering Asian and Western food respectively, which is great because foreigners and locals alike have a choice or can sample from both easily. And after going for their food tasting, I am confident to say that both cafes are putting out really authentic and delicious dishes that are iconic in their own ways.

The cafe is L-shaped and there's plenty of seats surrounding both sides. It feels very airy and open because there are no walls or doors, it is just a section of the gallery when you walk in past the gift shop.

Photo credit: Kopi1930 and Twenty Eight Cafe

Here are the menus for KOPI1930. From what I understand, the OG branches of both cafes are at Wilkie Road and the outlets at National Gallery are new. That's great. Here's is the menu for Kopi 1930, with some National Gallery exclusives!

We had the chance to sample 3 Kopi 1930 mains as well as their bestselling butter cake, kaya toast and signature UFO bun. I started with the Mee Siam (S$10.90, $13.60 with a drink) and was immediately impressed by the flavour. It was NOT SWEET. In fact, it was pleasantly tangy and that refreshing flavour paired with the gentle spices made the dish super moreish and easy to eat. I could down the entire plate for lunch easily! It also came with generous ingredients - a WHOLE egg, and two big prawns (deshelled!). This was really authentic tasting of the old-school mee siam I remember. 5/5

The next dish was the Mee Reebus (S$10.90, $13.60 with a drink). This was definitely sweeter and had a peanutty flavour. The thick rich broth was cut through with the green chillis and fried shallots. I enjoyed this quite a lot too, even though I preferred the mee siam. 4/5

The Chicken Rendang Nasi Lemak (S$13.90, $16.60 with a drink) is one of their top sellers, and I can immediately see and taste why. While the rice itself was pretty generic, the chicken rendang was soft and incredibly well-spiced with layers of flavour just coating the chicken drumstick. That sauce is necessary to get the rest of the rice and peanuts with ikan bilis and sambal chilli going. I only wished the rice was more fragrant. 3.5/5

We also tried an assortment of sweet treats, including the super thick Signature Butter Cake (S$5/pc) which was so buttery and indulgent. It also tasted extremely nostalgic and reminded me of home, or someone's grandma's cooking 5/5. 

The Signature "Min Jiang Kueh" UFO bun (S$3.50 for plain) was termed as such because there's butter, sugar, and crushed peanuts sandwiched between two fluffy buns with a layer of peanut butter. It was an interesting concept, but I felt like the bun was a bit too thick and dense to work with the dry ingredients inside! 3/5

I liked their Homemade Kaya Toast and Butter on white bread (S$2.80), though I wish the kaya was less sweet and more fragrant. The toast and butter was perfectly done though. 3/5 

I've definitely had better elsewhere, but this was a decent rendition. My Yuan Yang Iced drink was average as well, though the ice melted quite quickly and diluted the taste. 3/5

Now on to the Twenty Eight Cafe side! Here's their menu.

We had three mains and a dessert as well, starting with the Avocado Smash (S$20) on top of some sourdough bread with tomato salsa and garlic. The lemon vinaigrette really helped cut through the creaminess of the avocado and I appreciate the crunch and freshness from the pomegranate seeds and pine nuts. However, a tiny gripe was the two poached eggs burst into super watery? yolk when cut into, which was less ideal. However, we gave feedback and was confident that the team will be able to rectify it easily. 3.5/5

The Seafood Cioppino with Sourdough (S$26) was pricey, but that's only because it came with generous amounts of mussels, clams and prawns in a rich laksa broth that wasn't too spicy or thick. It went perfectly with the seafood and the sourdough was the perfect carb foil to soak all the juices up. I could not stop eating this! 4/5

We also had the Club Sandwich (S$20) comes with paprika chicken breast, cheddar cheese, egg, baby spinach, tomatoes, roasted sesame mayo sandwiched in 3 layers of pullman bread, and a side of delicious golden fries. I was bursting by this time, so I only had a small taste. It was good, but not fantastic. I think this is merely a matter of preference, but if there's other exciting things on the menu like laksa mussels or avocado toast, I'm going to opt for that. 3/5

Lastly, we had the aignature Kaya Heritage Souffle Pancake (S$20, 20 mins wait). This was the best dish of the tasting, hands down. The incredibly fluffy souffle pancake was paired with kaya by Kopi 1930, coconut cream, butter and coconut flakes and a side of toasted bread biscuit. It was so fluffy, so light, but the coconut fragrance and the cream helped to give it a Nanyang flavour. A must try! 5/5

Overall, I think the food at Kopi 1930 and Twenty Eight cafe did not disappoint. Even though there were some small misses, most of their dishes were executed well and retains their authenticity and flavours. And I think it is high time that our local kaya toast, coffee and dishes like nasi lemak gets to shine. I would recommend these cafes, especially for the mee siam and souffle pancake!

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KOPI 1930 and Twenty Eight Cafe
National Gallery Singapore 178957

Open daily from 8am to 7pm

Walk-ins welcome

Thanks to the National Gallery and Cafe team for the invite!