Cafe Hangout: Brunetti at Tanglin Mall, Singapore

Went to another "new" cafe in town last week. However, Brunetti did not fit the criteria of an indie cafe mostly because 1. it comes from a melbourne chain 2. it is situated in an expensive part of town, in a mall. 3. they are more known for their desserts than coffee. 4. its an "italian" cafe.

Well, it was pouring that day and we wanted to go somewhere close to civilisation, with shelter and proper facilities. Expectations were rightly lowered as well.

This was kinda it. I heard about it first on the papers and was expecting a small cosy cafe, but turns out its huge, bustling and quite well-lit. There was a huge counter for their cakes and pastries, and 2 more smaller counters for more pastries? It was quite confusing.

Stepping in, it felt like a food court cos it was so crowded, noisy and market-like. Don't even think about bringing a book here to go along with your coffee. Also, I was told off by a very rude waitress when I tried to snap photos. Oh come on. That is such a ridiculous rule, I am really quite pissed off with it. People are doing your business a favour by posting up photos online on blogs, twitter etc. Nobody has told me to not take photos in ANY other cafes. If its a theatre or a an indoor performance or even an art exhibition, I would understand why, but a cafe? Seriously?

I still managed to get a shot out. Cos I am rebellious like that. Look, a photo of the place!


We sat outside from the market that was right at the end of the cafe instead and it was much better, though still quite noisy. At least it was more sane, and there are less people.

We ordered a pear cheesecake crumble to share, a nondescript long black coffee and a peppermint tea. The tea was for me, it was a rainy day and perfect for a hot cup of tea! The presentation of the food looks really good.


The pear cheesecake crumble sadly looks better than it actually tasted, which was at best mediocre.Would go to Flor at Duxton Hill instead if I wanted cakes. But well, it wasn't horrid, and it's actually their star item. We just found it a tad too sweet and not very 'delicate' or exquisite, if you know what I mean when referring to desserts. After a while it just got too 'gelak' for us.


Well, if you are in Tanglin and want to have some unremarkable coffee and normal pastries in a quiet mall but noisy and crowded cafe, go to Brunetti. Oh and do try to take some photos.

Brunetti 
163 Tanglin Road, #01-35 Tanglin Mall, Singapore
Tel: +65 6733 9088
Daily: 9am – 10pm
3 comments
  1. Man, I know how you feel. Happened to me once in London, and the saleslady actually snapped her fingers in the air at me and her colleague gave me a scolding. For taking.a.picture. Super cannot stand!

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  2. Keith Nakamura12/02/2011 7:49 am

    I really prefer smaller, book cafes. The feel and ambiance there is really hard to match with "mega" chains like this.

    But I love the tiles at Brunetti (I am sucker for tiles!)

    I used to go around snapping photos on my DSLR and realized it is too obvious for the uninitiated business owners in SG. They will shoo me away or will even send someone to try to man-handle me...Usually they would back off when they realized I am actually bigger than they are when not squatting at some corners trying to frame my shots.

    Anyway, now i shoot with my handy mobile phone. If anyone asked, i would say i am just trying out an app!

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  3. @keith: haha like i said, you look taller than on your profile picture :P

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