The Plain

5 stars for the coffee. This was a few years back though so I’ll have to return to try this again.

Always keen to find new places when I travel that offer some ‘home’ comforts, and that usually means finding somewhere good for coffee and breakfast.
I definitely found it here.
Their flat white was always served perfectly, based on a rich roast, and a perfect thin foam, and after a brief flirtation with fruit for breakfast, I soon found the delights of their avocado and poached egg on toast.
So much so I visited it twice more during my stay.
The staff were friendly and efficient, and I love the stripped back, modern but laid-​back feel to the place.
Top tip: keep your eyes peeled when you are trying to find this place! There is an intriguing looking antique/​junk shop next door to it, and beside the dark glass frontage, the only sign for this place is a very small one — plain by name, plain by nature!
Definitely recommended, I’ll make it back next time I’m in Singapore!

best soy coffee in town. love the cozy non-​pretentious vibe. A great place!

My friend recommended this café for its coffee and boy am I glad we went! I ordered the soy flat white and I dont know what it was (perhaps the Genovese coffee bean? Coffee maker??) that made it one of the best coffees I’ve had. It was smooth, non-​bitter, and nutty, yet capable of giving you a caffeine fix!
We went at 2pm and the place was packed! It was rather loud so if you want a nice, quiet place to socialize or read, I’d recommend settling down elsewhere.
Note: No wifi :(

Always on the lookout for a good coffee whilst away from home we noted this one had been Unilocaled positively a number of times. It lives up to it’s reputation for us and the best coffee of our trip so far. This café though is hard to find. We walked past twice before spotting its tiny sign on the dark glass window that hid any signs of life inside (if you want to find it look for the Chan & Goh or Swiss Capital Group signs next door to their dark glass windows). Glad we found it! Well made and presented, smooth taste — the type of coffee I can drink easily without needing to add any sugar. My only grizzle was it was luke warm (we came back though the next day and ordered extra hot and they delivered on that). Posted a pic of my soy latte. We tried the baguette (lightly toasted) and chocolate brownie too — both excellent!

A regular coffee joint of mine. Whether you need a caffeine fix or a respite from a hot and crazy day, The Plain has that nice easy and quiet atmosphere for you to catch up on your sanity. Love the coffees here, no matter which way it is done.
The food offerings are ok and nothing too extraordinary to shout

The plain serves really good coffee. The food menu is not extensive, with a few brunch dishes (variations of eggs and toast) and some sandwiches. But the quality is decent enough. The staff here are friendly and efficient. One of my go to places for coffee in tanjong pagar.

Ok, I know I can make my own Vegemite toast with soft boiled eggs, but I must say The Plain does a pretty good version.
I had the Humpty Dumpty which was 2 soft or half boiled eggs sitting in their own cups with Vegemite soldiers (Vegemite on toast and cut into strips). At $ 7.50 it could be considered pricey but hey, you are paying for the atmosphere and complimentary water. I did not order the coffee as I had a cup elsewhere before we went to The Plain.
The eggs were done perfectly with soft wobbly egg white and a gooey egg yolk which clung to the Vegemite soldier. The bread was toasted well, not too hard or dry and broke neatly when bitten on it. The ratio of Vegemite to toast was also good, not too salty or plain.
I would probably want to get this again, and try the coffee in future.

This is one of my favorites in Singapore. Seriously great coffee and a simple menu. It’s hidden in an old shop house but that makes it a secret coffee den.
I like Vegemite so Deans Eggs with Vegemite and cheese is a great treat for a lazy weekend brunch. But there’s an assortment of breakfast to lunch items to accompany your favorite Brew.
It does get busy and they only take cash but it’s worth the investment. Filled with coffee know how locals and a young vibrant team to serve you.
My weekend starts here!

I guess they call it «the Plain» for a reason — the menu is exactly that; you won’t find fancified brunch here beyond a couple of egg dishes and a whole lot of sandwiches. I’m all for cafes keeping it simple, but if you’re going to keep your staples to their bare bones, they have to deliver on actually be available, the taste and value for money.
The café was really busy when we walked in and although the staff were super sweet, it was a 30 minute wait on sandwiches and they (apologetically) requested that a friend and I move tables 3 times to accommodate groups of 4’s and 3’s. I definitely don’t mind their open kitchen concept — the staff were hammered and it was a weekday, so it really does make me wonder how they cope on weekends.
I’ve got to give them props on the excellent Iced Coffee — that’s a must in Singapore; the weather is humid and if you haven’t nailed a cold caffeine fix, then your chances for success are likely to dwindle. From what I saw whilst waiting for our food to arrive, the barista really knows what she’s doing and it was a $ 6.00 well spent.
I can’t say the same for the sandwiches though; we had a Smoked Salmon Ciabatta ($ 12.00) and a Pastrami Ciabatta ($ 9.50). My pastrami ciabatta was all rocket and a tiny slither of beef pastrami — really disappointing because the salad overkill didn’t allow for much of the other flavours to come through. The Smoked Salmon Ciabatta faired much better, but again — more generosity would have been really appreciated.
Our mediocre experience was the result of a long wait on food and feeling undercut, especially with such a simple menu — there are plenty of great options in the area and I definitely feel like there are a few areas for improvement.

Had a black coffee, it was an americano and loved it. In my coffee experience in singapore this place is an oasis. Servers were friendly and attentive; great place to chill and read. :-)

The place is horrible. Why would anyone step in here other than to purchase a cup of coffee? To the owners, close done this joint and open a coffee cart instead. Seriously.
My biggest compliant is that they don’t have a kitchen, meaning there are no substitutions. And the food is prepackage, pre-​made probably in the boonies.
«Can I have a sandwich without mayo?»
«No m’am.»
So what’s the point of marketing this place for food? Sure, the concept can be similar to Starbucks, but at least the food at Starbucks actually tastes good. That mayo filled sandwich I got came with such thick pieces of bread that going «topless» means nothing. I just ate the middle: a small piece of chicken with whittled lettuce. Thanks, folks… now where is that coffee cart? The sad part was that it wasn’t even quality bread. At least purchase quality ingredients!
The Plain is horrible. I’ve heard fellow Unilocalers recommend this place every now and then, and I just scoff. Seriously… like seriously? And, yup… they ALL agree. the Plain can be so much better. Good coffee, but not much else to offer. With so many great places in Tanjong Pagar, don’t even bother to walk through the doors.

11:00AM — Brought an out of town friend here for brunch on a Saturday morning wanting to show him what Singapore has to offer. The restaurant was quite busy but we were promptly seated.
11:03AM — Put in our drink orders.
11:07AM — Our coffees and tea were brought out promptly and we placed our lunch orders (one egg dish and 2 pastrami sandwiches)
11:15AM — Complete blackout of the restaurant. All lights and AC turned off.
11:17AM — Everything is back on and in working order.
11:30AM — Notice nobody around us is being served their food, even folks who were here before we arrived.
11:40AM — Waitress comes to apologize for the slow food saying there’s quite a backup of orders and that it will be another ten minutes. We place an order for a glass of OJ.
11:50AM — Waitress comes by again to apologize for the slow food saying it will be just another ten minutes (just like it was ten minutes ago). We remind them of the OJ order.
12:00PM — They come by again to say it’s just a little bit more delayed. We notice people who must have been here WAY before us just getting their food. They bring us the OJ 20 mins after we order. My buddy has a flight to catch so we pay for our drinks and leave.
Never returning again.

If you’re missing Melbourne, The Plain is your antidote. From trusty old Broadsheet editions hanging from the wall, to solidly pulled long blacks, to toasty soldiers with Vegemite spread and egg dip, you could have walked in straight off of little Lonsdale rather than Craig Road.
The service is absolutely fantastic and with so many seating options, it’s the perfect place to plop down for a few hours and power through some work, or hold a quick meeting. Just be warned — it gets shockingly busy at lunchtime (which I suspect is due to the delicious ciabatta sandos on offer) and the bare walls make the space very loud. You’ll also need to BYOwifi. But hey, there’s Vegemite…

I adore The Plain! The coffee’s fantastic and the food is delicious. The best thing — they serve half portions! Can’t decide between the eggs or the muesli? Get both and still be able to finish every last morsel of it!
Service was fantastic! Unpretentious, patient and fun staff who are just keen to serve you a whole lot of goodness.
Yes, the acoustics (bare walls meaning a lot of contained noise and chatter) and the heat (from the bare lightbulbs hanging right above our heads) can spoil it a tad, but I’ll head back in a heartbeat.

The Plain… was walking around Duxton and surrounding roads with my dad one fine Saturday when we happened across it. Sadly we’d already eaten so we specially made a trip down the next weekend to try it!
Veryyyy plain exterior, minimalist interior, but ohhhhh the food. If you like toast with perfect (YES perfect) eggs? Fantastic coffee? Awesome service? Yes yes and YES. The service staff are lovely people who are crazy attentive to what you need no matter how crowded.
TRY IT. We had Dean’s Breakfast, the Antipasto Sandwich (SOOOO WORTH IT OMG), Humpty Dumpty and Vegemite Soldiers (I couldnt’ resist the name dammit) and an iced coffee. Sadly I’d already had my Starbucks fix of the day and couldn’t consume anymore coffee so… my dad said the coffee was awesome though.
Didn’t get to try their Iced Chocolate BUTTTT it looked amazeballs and we’ll be going back to try it definitely.
Also, their music is nice. Which is a real bonus.
I found it super cute that they don’t have menus, so you have to stand at the wall, memorize what you want, then order. When you pay it’s kinda the same, I had to recite everything I had ordered to the guy so he could process the bill. Hahahha… my memory got a workout. Not sure how I’d feel about it if I had a larger order though??? So maybe… i’ll bring a pen and paper next time.

Nice espresso and espresso-​made drinks. This is GOOD coffee indeed. Best in Singapore, eh, I’m not sure. But it is gooooood.
Lovely cupcakes and sandwiches. Decently priced, fresh, and tasty. Nothing to wow about, but solid all around. No surprises, nothing to make you go «wah! never seen that before.»
Friendly, helpful service. Smiles when taking orders — always helpful. Ready for suggestions when I can’t decide — all good. Cleaning up tables after people have left right away… excellent.
The atmosphere is a bit industrial for me. Feels very cement. Okay for a brief stop-​in, but I don’t really wanna stay all afternoon, ya know? There are cozier places in the hood.
Three-​star solidity — it’s cool, it’s good, it’s fine. When I’m in the hood, I’ll stop by. But I’m not going out of my way, and well… I’m not sure The Plain is going out of theirs, either.

The Plain is a coffee joint in the Duxton Hill area. This neighborhood seems to be growing into a trendy/​hipster part of town with lots of cafes popping up in the area. The café is really chill and has a cool vibe.
The coffee here is good and pretty strong, with the option of soy milk. I like their all day breakfast here. I got the Darling’s Eggs which was poached eggs, cheese and tomatoes sourdough bread – yum! They serve other breakfast plates and sandwiches as well – all made fresh at the café.
It can be a bit crowded here sometimes, especially on weekends and there is almost always a bit of a crowd even during odd hours during the week. A nice place to come during a lazy Sunday to have a casual brunch.

Love, love, love their ciabatt (i). They always sit behind the glass panels by the counter, stacked, pressing their lettuce-​y faces and asking to be eating. Always impressed with their spread of cold cuts: pastrami, salami, turkey and antipasto (for the veggies).
Coffee is great, though not comparable to Papa Palheta’s beans — still a worthy contender for the area.
A big frown (yikes!) here was the ‘no plugs’ policy because they ‘often experience blackouts’ — but looking around, I saw several (40% of the turnout) customers carrying lappies and tapping away on their touchscreens. Even by the larger tables (that scream «Workplace! Group meetings, go here!») the plugs are sitting unused, their sockets ajar. I really think this is something they should check out.
Another frown here (though much smaller) was the price of the scone. It cost more than a latte! You had to be kidding me — they were fantastic though — buttery, warm, melt-​in-​your-​mouth, served with yummy jam, but I would never pay $ 4 for one. I was shocked when I took a gander at the receipt.
Coffees, a strong yes, food (mainly the sammiches), a strong yes, but they have to reconsider the price tag on the pastries.

Being a coffee lover, I was delighted when I chanced upon this café. It has a great interior — simple, but tastefully done, with beautiful fresh flowers adorning the tables. I really enjoy the coffee there as it’s fragrant and neither too weak nor too strong. The also make a mean soy cappuccino (it’s so hard to get a good soy cuppa!) for just an additional 50 cents.
They have a really simple menu here serving only all day breakfast and desserts, so don’t come here expecting a gourmet experience. They do have really good sandwiches made with fresh baked bread, fruit salads and muesli. I really love the Darlings’ Eggs, which are perfectly poached eggs on sourdough toast with ham, cheese and tomatoes. So simple, so good.
For an Aussie taste, try the Dean’s breakfast or Humpty Dumpty & Vegemite Soldiers. They are served with Vegemite and for those who have studied in Australia and learned to love the taste of Vegemite, this is where you can go for some of that goodness!
They also serve beer and cider here, so I can come here for my coffee fix, as well as a quick splash of alcohol to revive the soul. :D I prefer going on quiet afternoons as the noise level does get quite high when the place is full!