Pacamara Boutique Coffee Roasters

This place is good. That’s why it’s packed all the time. Espresso nice, nice alcohol selection, and decent food.

We waited 30 min for all our food to arrive at our table. After 15 min, two of our orders arrived. And another 15 min later our last order arrived.
The kitchen would wait for multiple orders of the same item then make them all at once. This resulted in many tables who ordered well after us to start receiving their orders before we had gotten all of ours. Normally the food should come out chronologically for whomever ordered first.
My food was good. I had the crab eggs benedict. My partners meal was also good except there was still skin from the pit attached to his avocado (as seen in attached photo). Also, the avocado in both our meals were not ripe and ended up quite hard and tasteless. Would have preferred they exclude the avocado and replace with a grilled tomato or something else.
Free wifi was nice so I could write this review. Food was good but not worth the half hour wait and the hassle of having the meals arrive 15 min apart.
Food, coffee ⁴⁄₅
Hostess, servers, baristas ⁵⁄₅
Wait time for orders, cooks ¹⁄₅
Pros:
–food was overall good
–servers attentive
–baristas quick
–free wifi
Con:
–kitchen disorganized and slow
–avocado not ripe and pit not properly removed
–ordered 3 plates and they came out at very staggered times

I came by Pacamara on a Sunday afternoon for a cup of coffee and snacks. After debating between the bakery items & appetizers, I decided on one order of the sweet potato fries, largely because it was the same price of the bakery items ($ 7.50−8)!
The sweet potato fries were the thicker kind, lightly salted to perfection. It was a generous portion leaving me satisfied, not stuffed. The coffee was smooth as well, and the ambiance very clean, just as the exterior suggests. The windows are large, providing plenty of natural lighting.
One con of the interior is that all of the tables are long and shared, making it difficult to have a quiet or private conversation. I came here with a book to read but left soon after due to the noise levels of the conversations around me.
I was also a bit concerned about the location’s accessibility but found it to be a shorter walk than I expected from the Marymount MRT station. It took me about 8 minutes to walk, with about half of the journey being covered (a nice protection from the sun or rain). Pacamara’s placement on the corner of a big street makes it easy to find.
Overall, great food and clean interior, though not ideal for private conversations. Worth a visit when you are in the Bishan/​Toa Payoh area!

I’ll get to the point. If I were to open a café, it’d be Pacamara.
Coffee is great, definitely third wave. Big gleaming white Synesso churns out consistently great espresso, and they do pourover with a rotating selection of beans roasted in house. They’ve also got a steampunk setup, which I’ve seen them use for tea, for which they also have a very tasty selection.
Fantastic selection of coffee brew kit (parent company imports Kalita) and coffee beans. Craft beer selection is also very well curated, many taken from TSA wines’ portfolio (evil twin, Stillwater, brewdog), as well as some US craft. Food is consistently yummy, although they just can resist drizzling that damn truffle oil crap into their otherwise tasty food. One star taken off for that.
Service is always attentive and unfailingly polite.
I’ll always make it a point to schedule a visit to Pacamara, whenever I can find a reason to. Well worth the trip!
p/​s free WiFi, password is
— that’s the parent company’s website. Clever!

Pacamara is one of several places to open up in the Upper Thomson Road area a North of central Singapore. The whole area seems to be buzzing with cool new places. Visiting on a Sunday it was also packed with people in search of a good brunch spot. Pacamara had a pretty nifty system for managing the queuing. One enters a phone number on a screen and how many people are in the group and then Pacamara calls when a table is available. The table will be held for 10 minutes after receiving the message, so you can browse around in the neighborhood while waiting.
The service was however severely impacted by the place being full. They were slow to give out menus, things were sold out and they did not inform about it upfront. Food came out slowly and orders were mixed up. All in all not a great experience. Some of the people working there also seemed to have a little bit of the attitude that they are slightly too cool to actually work at a café and we were actually on one visit asked if we would mind to speed up a bit as they have many guests waiting — that was especially annoying since we then had just gotten the last of our food after a very long wait.
The space is however very nice and bright, in a corner with big windows. There are mainly communal tables but it works fairly well and I must say that it looks really nice. There are a lot of seats, and while not super-​comfy it is fine to sit for some time. There is also free wifi so on weekdays it may be a better bet if one wants to sit for long.
The coffee was a bit disappointing. Not at all that bad but looking at a place that at least markets itself as a top roaster I was expecting more. The filter coffees sampled were a bit bland but no bitterness and smooth, but they had not managed to bring out the best in the coffees. I got much better results when brewing the same at home so perhaps more a flaw in the brewing. Still a good cup compare to the average café but nowhere near the better ones in Singapore. They were also out of several of the coffees that they had up on the board so that was also slightly disappointing. The espresso based coffees where however very nicely prepared.
The food was however excellent. The truffled eggs Benedict is perhaps the best Eggs Benedict I have had. The pastries were tasty so the Kitchen know their stuff. It is a shame about the service and that the coffee quality is not top notch as the space is really nice and if they could up their game it would be a place I would visit again and again.

Good coffee. I had the barista’s breakfast so I could try their espresso, latte, and brewed coffee and all were good. The brewed stuff was flavorful and easy to drink. They have a good beer selection too. Maybe its because I saw they have Deschutes but this place kinda gave me a Portland hipster vibe. They also have the Alpha Dominiche Steampunk but it seemed like it was only used for brewing tea.

One of my favorite cafes in Singapore. Décor is white, clean and minimalistic, perfect for food photography. I got a table for 2 at the bar immediately when I arrived at 11.15.
Ordered the highly raved about Truffle Benedict ($ 18) and Salmon Royale ($ 18). One of the best egg benedicts I’ve had. The eggs were nicely poached, not overcooked. Brioche was toasted nicely, crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside — perfect to soak up the luscious yolk. The respective truffle and ebiko tastes in the hollandaise shone through — definitely enjoyed it.
I’d tried the chili beef fries and mac & cheese on a separate occasion and they were also very good. The salted caramel french toast was a little too cloyingly sweet for me, but the avocado toast with a poached egg on top was good for a healthy breakfast.
Overall highly recommend, would come back again!

The place is finally opens 7 days a week. The iced white ($ 5.5) is not strong in taste, great for cooling down.
The lemon Yuzu tart ($ 7) is more on the sweet side. Would prefer it to be more tart in tart. Difficult to cut so best eat with fingers holding it.
The Moreton bay bug angelhair ($ 22) takes quite awhile to be served. Well cooked pasta dish in tomato base sauce. With roe from the crayfish, it gives the sauce a crunchy texture. Juicy meat from the crayfish. The bitter rockets balances the sweetness of the tomato sauce.
The cashier is quite blur and has difficultly in processing credit card orders. Although JCB, VISA, Master, AMEX are accepted, she could not process JCB (she looks like she never seen a JCB credit card before), need help from another staff to process the VISA order. Disappointing service.

I had never actually heard of Pacamara till today. In fact, true to the manner in which unexpected epiphanies unfold, I would have driven right by had I not stopped at the light and caught sight of the words «boutique coffee roasters».
I looked it up on Unilocal and there were no reviews on the coffee at Pacamara! To have no mention at all about the source of the beans, the brewing methods on offer or the baristas did not inspire confidence, but I’m glad I walked in the door anyway and here’s why.
Mystery. This was a 40−20−20 blend on the back of a beautifully roasted Colombian producing an aromatically complex espresso. The nose was full of fruity, floral flavors with jasmine and magnolias predominating. A comforting roasted nuttiness was there as a solid flavor base note. The mouthfeel was a little aggressive and acidic on the palate, but gave way quite invitingly, blooming into beautiful warm nutty flavors, suggesting toasted almonds, pecans and roasted hazelnuts. A very expertly extracted double espresso which just made my day!
Kalita pour-​over. This was done with a craftily roasted single origin, Rwandan, I believe. Roasted on site to release an exotic bouquet when poured and cupped hot. The nose was full of citrus and floral flavors and the only way to adequately describe it was orange blossoms, it reminded me of standing in an orange orchard in full bloom. The palate was equally well equipped, with sweet prunes, transitioning into toffee on the front of the tongue and then other roasty, caramely. flavor notes. A very strong effort by the on-​site roaster. My hat off without qualification… so enjoyed this.
I think if you can look past the fact that they serve food and the hipsters sipping their steamed milk with coffee while staring at their Macbook Airs with a calculated nonchalance, you’d find a true nugget of a coffee geek hangout in Pacamara. The things I enjoyed today were all done on-​site. I hope that management continues to provide the roaster the latitude to explore with on-​site roasting, tweaking it just so each time and in the process making magic. This I believe is the only way to grow Singaporean coffee culture and move beyond being a rudimentary café culture for hipsters. At this instant, and here in Singapore, there is so much respect for a good quality product and a nucleus of raw talent with a passion for elevating this product with skill and attention to detail to produce something truly great. I respect that and if you do too, then the erstwhile crew of Oz, now behind the bar at Pacamara deserve some of your time and money.

The stretch of shops along Upper Thomson Road changes so rapidly that I could no longer recognized it. Habitat Coffee, One Man Coffee and now comes Pascamara, one of the popular cafes these days in this area. Fortunately, the waiting time wasn’t as scary as Lola Café.
Divided into five sections; Salads, Sides, Brunch, Pasta and Dinner (5pm-​9pm) the menu offers familiar café items such as Chicken Wings, Fries, Pancakes, Eggs Benedict.
The crunchy Deep Fried Mid-​Joint Wings ($ 8) were not too greasy and flavorful on its own without the dipping hot sauce. I am not a connoisseur of Truffle Fries ($ 8) but this tasted more like fries topped with Parmesan cheese flakes.
The cold Quinoa Salad ($ 8) would not help you meet your daily green intake as it has barely much green. Quinoa was definitely in abundance but the dish was sadly under seasoned and tossed with too much olive oil.
What a nice touch for the chef to arrange the 5 cheeses next to the Oven Baked 5-​Cheese Macaroni ($ 18). Tossed with Feta, Parmesan, Emmental, Mild Cheddar, Mozzarella, the macaroni is not too rich but there isn’t much of the satisfying cheese or creamy kick.
Instead of the Salmon Royale, we had the Truffle Benedict ($ 18), characterized by smoked ham, wilted spinach and truffled hollandaise sauce. To be honest, I only knew that the hollandaise sauce contains truffle as I am writing this. Perhaps it had evaporated well before I could catch a whiff of it, but there wasn’t any spectacular moment in this dish. However, the excellently toasted buttery brioche instilled my faith once again in their dishes.
Indeed, I would gladly pledge my allegiance to their brioche for the Salted Caramel French Brioche Toast ($ 16) was terrific. I can’t get much caramel here, but it was the magical alchemy of salt and butter that awakened my sleepy palates. The bananas and chewy granolas played the role of a side cast; I could just have a plate with the toasts alone.
However, the other sweet brunch option, the Red Velvet Pancakes ($ 16), remained a sore on the tables. The triple pancakes were squidgy and zapped of moisture, exemplifying none of the fluffy qualities I dreamt of. The dreary weight of the pancakes were aggravated by the sticky mascarpone. But if it’s mascarpone, shouldn’t it be less dense? In any case, I’ll stick to the classic red velvet cake, not pancakes.

Excellent food, service and cofffeeee… It is a very hippie and popular placed on the weekend for the young. Prepare to share table and the place is not kids friendly (but the French toast and salmon Benedict are to go back for!!!). The eggs Benedict can do with a bit more veggie (mushroom) but worth to go before taking a big hike out at macritchie reservoir!

The first thing I noticed about this place is the crowd. The Sunday brunch crowd here is unlike many other coffee boutiques. It’s probably because it’s located in the housing area so many people can just walk here from their homes. People here look more comfortable and are dressed down in their t-​shirts and shorts. And I like it. It’s not pretentious and everyone who steps in all want to have a relaxing time.
The staffs are awesome as well. They were engaging and helpful in every way. We were lucky to get a seat by the bar to watch them make coffee and tea. Despite the crowd, the staff took time to answer our many questions about coffee and tea. And trust me, my husband asks A LOT of questions. The staff was nice and gave us shots of tea and coffees to try.
I also only have good things to say about their food. The Eggs Benedict with truffles was a perfectly done dish. We also ordered the caramel banana french toast. It was refreshing and not overly sweet.
I’ll definitely come back here for the food, service, and ambiance.

I had the pleasure of having brunch over the weekend at Pacamara, which just opened recently on Upper Thomson Road. For those who are familiar with Oz Specialty Coffee, these are their new digs as they’ve shifted from Thomson V — and it appears they changed their name along with it!
They’ve kept the interior the same as the exterior — white. All white. Since they are in a corner spot, they have a lot of natural light coming in, which makes it seem even brighter.
They can pour you a good cuppa here, and the food menu is worth trying, too. It’s pricey, with a lot of the items averaging about $ 18, but given the quality of the food, I’d say it’s worth it. Miguel had the caramel banana French toast, and to counter the sweetness, I ordered the eggs benedict. Both were executed well; I thought the caramel banana was not overly sweet (a plus in my book) and the eggs bene had perfectly poached eggs and was quite Instagram-​worthy.
I also liked how they had various pastries to choose from if you didn’t want to drop $ 18 for food (or experience a 30 minute wait.) I appreciated that they were upfront with the wait time for the food, though. Hopefully it’s something that will improve over time.
Bummer this isn’t in an area that’s close to an MRT, but if you’re ever in the Thomson area, check it out. Do go early, as it definitely gets packed later in the day!

An ode to Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, I give Pacamara two Thumbs WAY UP!!! This hip, clean and ultra-​modern chic coffee shop has got it going on. It’s hard to describe, but you can feel a certain buzz about this place on an early Saturday afternoon with a lot of good looking people to boot.
The long black coffee was top notch, but the cherry on the cake was the Salted Caramel Banana French Toast! Woah!!!, was the dish memorable. As people know, I’m huge fan of banana anything. However, many banana dishes I’ve tried end up being just a little plain… The salted caramel mixed perfectly with the banana and you have a dish that might as well be classified as a desert dish for breakfast!
I haven’t tried anything else beyond the above, but am looking forward to coming back and seeing what else this gem of a shop has in store for it’s up and coming fan base.
One the best brunch spots in Singapore? You bet!

Nice ambiance, has an Aussie café feel to it. Arrived at noon for the lunch menu and the place was packed. We were seated fairly quickly and our coffees arrived soon after. However, the food took a long time. A good half an hour wait and my miso glazed salmon portion was so small that I left feeling hungry. It was delicious but I certainly won’t order it again. It would have been better served with a more generous portion of mash.