The Lokal

A 4.5 review (cannot seem to add the extra ½!). Excellent service– friendly and prompt. Real cold drip coffee! Ciabatta Chicken was really yum and the Smashed Avo, Ricotta on Sourdough I am told was fabulous. Great vibe for Friday lunch.

You may be mistaken by the German word «Lokal» thinking that it serves more on German Cuisine but in fact the Lokal is an Australia Style Café than offers more than just German flavours. Taking the business name, it kind of already suggest that its more on the Local, more like internationally influenced style. They are located at a corner of the intersection of Bukit Pasoh and Neil Road where you can find Goethe Institue nearby. It’s quite easy to get here as they are within minutes walk from Outram MRT Station.
It’s causal and welcoming atmosphere had kind of remind me of a café in Edinburgh Bus Interchange. Interior was rustic with a hipster interior that keep up with the café trends in Singapore.
We requested the coffee based dessert to be served first. This looks really cool with a scoop of vanilla ice cream topped with shot of espresso.
Affogato — $ 6.50
While waiting for the food, I had a glass of chai latte. Chai fragrance was average and all was down in my stomach even before the food was served.
Chai — $ 6.50
Starters was good with 3 ways Cauliflower served on a traditional Chinese metal plate. Cauliflower comes in 3 different forms and beautifully presented. With purée as its base, stacked by leafy greens and cabbages with tumeric infused cauliflowers, fried cauliflowers, as well as Ricotta & almond makes it special. Recommended.
Cauliflower 3 ways — $ 13
Another starter we had was great and perhaps suitable for those who want a lighter meal instead. Roasted beet roots was juicy and mix with quinoa, green beans, blue cheese & honey walnuts. I’m not really a fan of blue cheese, fortunately, the taste of the blue cheese was not that strong as I would have thought.
Roasted Beetroot Salad — $ 13
Torn between the Braised beef cheek and Cape Grim Sirloin Tagliata, I end up with the latter as per recommended by the server for its popularity. Served on a wooden board with scrumptious beef cubes cover by watercress with Asiago cheese and cheery tomatoes pairing.
Cape Grim Sirloin Tagliata — $ 28
The beef were cut into cubes form cooked to the default perfection by the café. Simply love its charred exterior and the juicy tender mild bloody meat.
Ending the session of the night with sticky date pudding as dessert on a good note. The warm pudding was velvety coupled with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream and yummy caramel sauce. The best part of the dessert was that with the sticky date and sauce, the entire dessert was not too cloying and one won’t feel the excess richness and sweetness in them.
Sticky Date Pudding — $ 10
As a whole, service was friendly with a good atmosphere around. Even though they have limited items on the menu, fred not as they have daily specials, so do check out what’s on their black board.

Singapore has no shortage of brunch places. Some have the typical eggs benny and french toast on their menu while others serve fancy coffee prepared using science lab equipment. The Lokal gives us a nice balance adding subtle touches to the usual favourites along with daily specials (i.e. Sunday Roast) that keeps regulars coming back while brewing a good cup of no-​flash coffee. Only draw back is that because it’s so popular, you occasionally have to share tiny tables. Although slightly on the pricier end, would definitely recommend this place for those brunch die-​hards.

We went here for breakfast. This place is definitely over rated. Their menu is really lacking. They had some really amazing smoked salmon, but their avocados did not seem fresh what so ever. Their scrambled eggs were also very mediocre. They also didn’t have hotdogs, what kind of place doesn’t have hotdogs

Slightly overpriced but oh so damn good! I’m a fan.
I’ve been to Lokal a couple of times the past 6 months, both for brunch. They keep it simple and sweet with the menu, with only a few mains and daily specials written on the board above the open kitchen. If you’re a glutton like me, who always wanted to try a little bit of everything, then «pimp your breakfast» might be your jam. You can order small plates to add on to your main course, eg sauteed mushroom ($ 5), smoked salmon ($ 6) and so forth.
I had the toasted banana bread yesterday and it was so damn delicious. The price might be slightly expensive, selling at $ 14 piece, but it was all worth it. The banana bread is topped with toasted macadamia nuts, drizzle lightly with honey and sit in a pool of vanilla yogurt. My friend had the «toastie» and it was good too. Light, not too cloying with the right amount of filling. The toastie also comes with a side of fresh pickled salad (i think?). And what’s brunch without coffee you ask? Lokal serves pretty good coffee from both my visits and had been consistent with the quality.
If you’re planning to visit on a weekend, come early as the crowd can get overwhelming towards 1130-​ish to 12pm. No reservation unfortunately so just walk in!

The restaurant is a casual eatery that uses homemade ingredients. The restaurant is packed during lunch time on Sunday in its small narrow outlet and there is a waitlist for a table. We are lucky not to have to wait long for a table. However we are showed to a narrow table where both of us have to sit side by side over looking the main dining room. The main dining room kind of becomes a show for us. There is hardly any space for us to put our bags. Its either the table or floor.
Warm mackerel salad ($ 18)
watercress, apple, pine nuts, pickled onion & herb dressing
Interesting salad. I am not a fan of watercress as I feel that the vegetable has a bitter taste. But in this dish it comes out alright.
Roast chicken ciabatta ($ 19)
avocado, romaine lettuce, tomato, bacon & aioli
The sandwich is served cold and quite messy to handle.
THE LOKEL baked eggs ($ 20)
Spicy beef or pork, mushrooms, onion, beans, potato, bacon & 2 eggs
This dish is served hot and is surprisely spicy in taste. Heavily flavoured, although I would prefer it to served with some toasts.
Toasted banana bread ($ 14)
homemade vanilla yogurt & toasted macadamia nuts
It is one of most well known in the restaurant, yet I feel disappointed in having it. The banana taste is barely there. It is lucky to have the yogurt which makes it moist and creamy to eat.
Overall the food is not bad. Although we order 4 main dishes, we are only allows 1 1-​for-​1 in the Enterainer mobile app by the staff. The staff replies that we need to be at least 4 persons in order to use 2 of the promotion coupons, which is quite a disappointing experience for me. No matter what I said she still stands still. The place is quite loud and noisy. Another thing which I am annoyed with is the narrow table which we are dining on. There is barely space enough for the food and drinks, with everything been served including the dessert. We kind of feeling the need to rush through our meal in order to make space. The staff should have take note of the limited space and serves the food batch by batch. It is also difficult to get the attention of the staffs.

1) Lobster roll $ 22 — generous chunks of lobster. Soft fresh bun nicely toasted. Bit rich for breakfast for me so I won’t order it unless I’m sharing.
2) Pumpernickel bread and sourdough — The former is softer and served thinner. The sourdough tastes heartier and bit more rustic. Bread if you order on its own comes with 2 slices at $ 1.75. But order it for $ 6 and you get 3 slices of bread and unlimited and free choice of house-​made butter, jams, peanut butter or vegemite. Bread slices size here is smaller than average café.
I like vegemite and it’s an Aussie thing which suits this café which is opened by Darren Farr from Sydney. the peanut butter is unusual in that it’s very dark in colour and thick and tastes like sesame seed paste.
3) Scrambled eggs here are creamy and buttery and fluffy. A big portion. $ 6
4) I’ve had the ricotta (also housemade) a few times just with toast. $ 6
5) Smoked salmon. Again this is done inhouse and hot smoked and a highlight.
6) Coffee is from Common Man Roasters — 22 Martin Rd blend is the house blend but I always ask for the single origin as I do not like the 22 Martin one whether made at Common Man Roasters or here. No extra charge. $ 5
Other things I like — There is free wifi. The place is quiet in the mornings on weekdays with ample parking right outside. I’ve been several times and seen Chef Farr there many times so it’s nice to have a place where the original chef owner is actually on the floor and in the kitchen regularly. In fact, this morning he sent over some of their (housemade of course) kaya and we all really liked it! More subtly flavoured with a light caramel taste.
What’s missing for the last star. The place looks nice but the atmosphere of it isn’t quite that relaxed Aussie feel. The coffee if from the single origin tastes not bad but isn’t as good as Common Man Roaster’s rendition. I think it could be a little fresher. It’s kinda slow to come. Service can be up and down but I decided to review because recently I find that service has improved. They have some new staff that seem quite enthusiastic which is nice. They seem to take a bit long to get the bill ready even though it’s not that crowded on weekday mornings and some of us need to get to our real jobs!

Great coffee + Great ambience = Great place to chill.
Located at the corner of the Goethe Institute, this quiet corner offers simple but great coffees. Its extensive bar suggests it has a probably a bit more to offer thru its drinks offerings (have not tried it except for its strawberry basil soda).
Food offering was the normal standard fare of café food, altho it did try to be innovative with respect to its «localised» presentation and taste. I wasn’t impressed with its pasta of the day — an interesting interpretation of penne with cream and some sort of local soy-​sauce base. Ermmmm …

Real Aussie brunch joint. Very fresh produce and crowded on the weekend. Not exactly kids friendly as the place is crammed. Food and coffee were divine and their peanut butter banana smoothie is to die for! Services are good and price is reasonable but go early before the crowds get there.

Back again at my fav café. But to be honest, calling Lokal a café really doesn’t do the justice as its food standard is one of the highest in SG.
Unlike the weekday mornings, the place was PACKED. They had a waiting list of people to be seated around 11:30am. But I was able to grab a seat at the chef’s counter and gawk at all the delicious foods that were coming freshly out of the kitchen and enjoy my food.
I started off with English breakfast tea– not bad, but nothing exceptional. But I wish there was an option to have the tea set out of the pot as the tea got way too bitter towards the end of my meal.
Then I had the roasted pumpkin salad (5/5)which just AMAZED me. One of the best salad I’ve had. It’s flavorful without being drenched in dressing and just the right heartiness with well-​cooked, yet still firm pupkin, healthy mix of quinoa and nuts, and fresh beans. It is definitely a must try.
Then finished the meal with the chef’s first attempt at anzac cookies (⁴⁄₅; Australian traditional cookies – made with coconut and oats) and my gosh. I’m generally not a huge fan of oat cookies, but this sweetness was just right. And for that I had to order a cup of long black (I’ve come to not call it Americano anymore while in Singapore) to go along. I was told the beans were roasted by Sarnies and the blend was created in-​house, and was called fuzzy wuzzy (4.5÷5). But boy did they do a good job. The aroma and the finishing note of the coffee well-​complemented the cookie.
Really aiming to come for dinner in the upcoming weeks.

It was a Wednesday evening, standing along Neil Road, my friends and I were trying to locate the café. Though the entrance was huge, somehow we couldn’t see it. The three of us stood outside Gothe Institut scratching our heads, where’s The Lokal?
A quick phone call and one of the service staff came out to «pick us». Somehow the diagonal entrance escaped our eyes.
Walking into the café, it was fairly empty. At around 7pm, there were only 2 tables filled. The full fledged bar welcomes us as we entered then the open kitchen at the back. As we had made reservations, we were seated where the nice cushion seats were. Tucked in a cosy corner, it was the perfect place for 3 girls to hangout and share our hearts out.
The menu came and we were told that the mains & appetizers are changed regularly. Since we decided on a side of truffle chips, we gave the appetizers a miss and ordered our mains. Recommendations from the service staff were the pork belly with Apple sauce and lamb shank in crispy wrap with cous cous. We ordered 2 pork belly and a lamb. To conclude our meal, we had the Sticky date pudding.
The Truffle chips were served first, pipping hot with a huge serving of shredded cheese on top. The fragrance of the truffle oil was immense, totally tickled our nostrils.
The pork belly was tender and literally melts in your mouth. The sweetness of the apple sauce nicely complemented the pork belly, lifting the palette from pleasure to joy. The portion was a little too much for me but a regular dude would have consumed it completely in glee. I didn’t get to taste the lamb but I to say that it’s not for the faint-​hearted. The lamb is pungent (not in a bad way) so non-​lamb lovers, beware.
Now comes the sticky date pudding, the divine one that we all three swore we will be back when we need a pick-​me-​up. Rich and thick dark caramel sauce, coupled with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream and a really warm pudding, our tongue was dancing between the sensation of hot and cold and the sweetness from the sauce was balanced nicely with the ice cream. The pudding was moist and lovely.
Dinner ended on a high note as we leave and were sent off with «thank you“s from the staff.
So coming back for the sticky date pudding!

Decent food but service can be improved. Twice we’ve gone and twice we felt unwelcome there. No greeting as we walked in and were left to wait while the baristas behind counter chatted. Some of the waiters seemed too cool and acted impatient. When we asked for water, the server didn’t say a word and simply walked away abruptly. The food is not worth the attitude.

Terrible customer service. Came in thinking we wanted to try the food, took 10 minutes before anyone greeted us or said anything to us AFTER we got their attention ourselves. We were put on a waiting list and waited in the restaurants for 30min before we finally gave up. The staff are rude and unattentive. There were empty tables in the back, and staff would leave them empty for 15min before they sat anyone down. Skip the wait and the disappointment.

Got recoomended from a friend. Food and coffee are both good. The menu is quite unique

It will be 3.5 stars.
Maybe the kitchen was having an «off» day as several of us ( Unilocal Brunchers) were there for breakfast from 9.30 am on the same day and most were underwhelmed by the food.
The menu while limited looked good and it made me want to order many things. I do like that you could pimp your breakfast (choose what you want) and you are not face with the same generic choices in so many cafes now. Just unfortunate those who had the sandwiches, burgers or breakfast selection did not enjoyed it. The sweet stuff like banana bread or brownie was rated good. I did try some of what the others ordered and they were ok, just not mindblown. The main discontent was the bacon which was very hard and chewy and tasty. Maybe we were used to the salty bacon from the supermarket or other places, and thus might not appreciate it when it was cured in-​house?
As I finally decided on the blueberry macadamia muffin and a flat white, I actually did enjoy my breakfast. The muffin was big in Asia’s standards, with a nice muffin top. I am used to Mmmarvellous Mmmuffins’ type of muffins so most muffins won’t get me excited.
Service was good. I requested for my muffin to be heated up as it was cold and they actually gave me a new muffin. I had already sliced the muffin in half and took a bite before realizing it was cold. So kudos for that. The home made butter was nicely whipped and perfect on the muffin. It was not overly sweet though certain bites were sweeter than others, but overall I liked it.
The flat white was so-​so. Then again I am not a coffee connoisseur. The coffee was not creamy like other flat whites I had in other cafes. This version was lighter and the slight bitter taste was prominent.
I may visit the place again as it does have a nice vibe and may be a good place to chill when it is less busy. Hopefully the savory food will be better another day too.

So many of these hipster café places springing up in Singapore these days; I can’t keep track. Pardon me if I sound really jaded but… it’s all starting to look the same? The slightly-​deconstructed interiors, the limited brunch menu, the old-​school plates and cups… same old, same old. With more than a hundred of such cafes dotting our little island (all springing like wildflowers in the past 3 years or so), it’s starting to get a bit dated, and standing out is becoming somewhat challenging for all these cafes.
Unfortunately, The Lokal fits into the typical mold of all the new wave of hipster cafes. I’d like to be more excited, but after visiting this place for today’s Unilocal brunch… I just didn’t find anything that would make it stand out. Not to say that it’s bad, it’s OKAY, a DECENT but not fantastic place to have a meal.
I ordered the roast chicken panini with a smoked salmon side. The smoked salmon was alright, though a bit cold (one of my dining companions thought that it was okay though). The sandwich came stuffed with the chicken, strips of crispy bacon, tomatoes and avocadoes. The vegetables tasted alright (tomatoes were better than other places… say, Subway), the chicken was sufficiently moist, the bacon was crispy but had no taste. We went in a group of 14 and sampled a good proportion of the (smallish) menu — the overall verdict was that it was ok, but nothing to shout about.
I had a mocha. It was ok, not bad, but again– not amazing.
The best part was probably the sticky date pudding, which was yummy and quickly gobbled up by one of the kids!
Prices are reasonable and portions are decently-​sized. My meal came up to slightly below $ 20 for a sandwich and a coffee, and I felt satiated at the end (although I wasn’t satisfied).
Verdict? It’s alright if you happen to be in the area, but not worth traveling for.

Just attended my 3^rd UYE … Nice cozy place and ambience … a few of us attended this event …
The menu is not extensive and it’s seems limited food to order … Had a great time chatting with fellow Unilocalpers.
The plus point thing about the food here is that you can do your own breakfast style with the breakfast sides.
Seriously if you ask me … I didn’t feel great after I finish my breakfast. I build my own breakfast and i ordered sauteed mushroom, smoked salmon, poched egg and sourdough bread and wild berries smoothie to quench my thirst. The presentation of the food is not fantastic as it was separated into two plates upon serving.
The mushroom, poached egg and smoked salmon is nice but the sourdough bread is toasted hard to consumed. The bacon is cook hard too and it taste plain.
The smoothie doesn’t taste fruity or neither it taste berry … It’s simply not the best that I ever had …
Overall this would be my last trip

Very cozy café at Chinatown/​Tanjong pagar neighborhood. The flat white I ordered is above average. Toasted banana bread is great. The lemon yogurt pouring on top gives it a refreshing kick. Roast chicken sandwich with avocado and pancetta is very generous in portion. It would be better if the ciabatta can be toasted to be more crispy. But in general it is a good sandwich.

Finally back from all that traveling and am now getting back in touch with the food scene in Singers! Caught a little break at work and checked out the new kid on the block, The Lokal in the Duxton area. This new café on Neil Road is the offspring of Sarnies, another crazy packed café that I’ve yet to try (ZOMG call myself a food blogger).
Well The Lokal checked off all the boxes on the hipster café checklist and they even went as far as to throw in a $ 40k Slayer machine. Oh that sexy beast took me on an intense ride with his latte ($ 5.50) and I must say it was all very smooth. And a little nutty too. The beans are from Sarnies and they have their barista consultant, affectionately known as the K Man, who is overseeing the coffee making for now.
Many would go for the signature Veal Schnitzel Burger ($ 28) served with a tangy grilled pineapple and red slaw but we skipped that because chunky chips weren’t available that day! Instead, i opted for the Roast Beef on Rye ($ 17). The sandwich was a combination of perfectly caramelized onion and thinly sliced sautéed beef. The flavors were a little sweet and could be sharpened with a stronger mustard than the current grain mustard crème fraiche. It was a good roast beef sandwich nonetheless.
The Roast Chicken Panini ($ 15) was good too. The filling included huge juicy slices of fresh tomato (not the cheapo Malaysian sort), copious amount of avocado mash, crispy pancetta and salty roast chicken meat. The bread was our favorite among the lot of sandwiches we had, partly because it’s a little more pillowy and chewy.
A healthier option is the Smashed Avocado with Ricotta Sourdough ($ 18). The ricotta is made in house, along with their yogurt as well. It was simply topped with some pomelo and almonds, drizzled with olive oil. I liked the separate components of the dish but it came together rather plainly. A touch of honey could make this a better dish in my opinion but that’s just my preference.
I was looking forward to the Banana bread with Hokey Pokey ice cream ($ 12) but was sorely disappointed when I bit into the soggy bread cloyingly soaked by the citrusy syrup. We wondered where the ice cream went to as well (i swear i didn’t take forever to grab a shot). Instead we had a sour cream sorta mixture on our dish. I couldn’t bear more than a full bite of this one but K had no issue finishing it for us.
Overall, The Lokal is a decent place for a hearty sandwich and it’s probably going to be really packed on the weekends. A little bird told me that the Sarnies people are gonna be opening another café soon so do watch out for them!