Toby’s Estate

Meh, not impressed by this place. There’s no waiting area. It was a Sunday afternoon and seats are all taken. So my group of 4 awkwardly waited at the space near the entrance.
When we finally got a table, it was by the window. It wouldn’t be so bad if the sun didn’t shine through and heating up our area. On the bright side, my friend (nearest to the window)‘s coffee remained warm throughout.
I ordered scrambled eggs on toasted brioche, $ 10, with Harrisa sausage, +$ 4.50. The eggs were tad overdone to my liking instead of runny and creamy. For a moment, I thought I was at McD for Big Breakfast. Very plain and ordinary.
Not going back anytime soon since its just another café serving plain pricey eggs. But hey, at least they have free wifi. ;)

Their coffee as usual were spot on. But serving size was smaller. Seating area was kinda limited. The food menu was okay, I was hoping that it would be better than Manila outlet, apparently not. Manila still have the best food to offer.

This is one of many place along the water at Robertson Quay and I know what you are thinking — yet another place that is just over-​priced and does not really deliver nearly what one would expect. I can really understand that view as many of the places around here cater to people with more money than sense and taste but I do not believe that Toby’s Estate is one of them. The coffee here is actually really good, they serve excellent filter coffee and the ice coffee is also one of the better ones I have had in Singapore. Espresso based beverages also do not disappoint but I seldom order them since the other coffees are so good and in my view a good filter always is preferable over an equally good espresso based beverage.
The food is not bad but a tad bit on the pricey side so I do only eat here when my hunger coincides with an intense need for coffee. Service has always been very friendly here and I can see that as a regular you tend to get certain benefits as I have noticed that when I have been here a lot during periods (when I stayed close by) they always manage to find a seat and also sometimes give some free tasters of some coffee.
I can agree with Michelle M that the bathroom set-​up is a bit strange but that seems to be the same for several places around there but I never had any issues with it being overly dirty or messy — maybe it is for once the ladies room that looks worse than the men’s room :-)

This is one of my favourite breakfast place and is good to be back again. Highly recommended for simple breakfast, coffee chat or even an outing with friends!

Very good food, nice setting.
Had the Wolly with poached eggs on a bread. The bread is excellent, soft and full of taste.
The coffee drinkers advised that the coffee is good too.

Coffee much better than I remembered to be the last time I was there. Very, very comforting and enjoyable cuppa. Have not tried the food though! Would most likely go back to try the food soon :)

Coffee is great, and I don’t say that lightly. Definitely on par with the better 3^rd wave places, especially a very «common» place nearby.
Food is decent, though a touch pricey. That said, not much affordable fare in the Robertson Quay area to begin with.
Very importantly… Free wifi! Great place to sit down and hammer out a bit of work over a nice V60 brew.

Had the coffee here and it’s amazing. A little pricey but great! Definitely better than starbucks! Haha the flatwhites are awesome!

Very solid! If you’re looking for a good hearty breakfast and coffee to match this is a great option. It’s not claiming to be gourmet food and café. Just a cool spot to walk by the water and get some tasty food in a community setting.

The first thing that I wanted when I woke up that first morning in Singapore was to find some place to have some breakfast. Fortunately Unilocal came to the rescue and recommended this place that was just across the river from my hotel. I must admit that I am not really used to the café culture here in Singapore, namely because they pretty much all have table service (normally I simply go to the counter, order my coffee, and then find a place to sit). This place wasn’t all that bad, and the Brooklyn Style that I had was pretty nice. They also made a decent coffee (not that I am a real coffee connoisseur, but I decided that since I was overseas I would try out the coffee in as many places as possible). The service was pretty good, though not the quickest (but I found that that was the case in most places in Singapore anyway — maybe it is not as hustle and bustle as I am used to in Melbourne). It’s also a pretty quite part of the city as well, and the riverside view makes it great for the experience.

Nothing to say about the food, I came for coffee, I needed it after days of awful hotel coffee. They delivered on the coffee, it was everything I had imagined it to be. Thank you, you saved my life.

Australian breakfast food arrived in Singapore. Great coffee with poached eggs (just look at the trays of eggs by the wall !!!). Fantastic house blend (Rodyk blend) the day I visited. Great location too, fronting the Singapore River

Am not a coffee drinker and came here for a meeting. The overall environment is great for small and big groups. Servers are great and pleasant, very attentive too. Can’t comment much on the menu as I only had Peppermint tea but would come back here again just to chill or work for a change.

Overpriced and poor quality food. Horrible service. Ordered the pulled pork sandwich for $ 22. Small amount of pork and lukewarm fries. After I finished the sandwich and about 25 min later they then decide to bring my wife’s chicken salad. Very low quality chicken and the pieces were practically cold. They charge $ 18 for this «dish».
I suggest to visit one of the other small restaurants near by.

With no bathroom indoors and pour overs made with beans that were roasted a months ago, Toby’s will not be my number one place to go if I’m looking for a coffee joint.
Multiple service errors also made the experience less enjoyable than it should have been. Sorry to say, but I’ve had better experiences at a neighborhood kopi joint.

Really trendy coffee shop in Robertson Quay. You can tell that most of the patrons here live around the corner, because they all look nice and put together. There were not enough people that looked like a frikken HOT MESS because they miscalculated how far it is from Clarke Quay and walked a good 20 minutes under the brutal sun right after lunch time. (I may or may not be talking about myself…) If it’s your first time visiting and you cab it, note that Rodyk St kind of dead ends and looks pretty residential. Keep walking towards Robertson Quay, hang a right and you’re there!
The first time I stopped by, I ordered a cappuccino and a pastry. I admired the excellent latte art; the pastry was nothing to Unilocal about. The second time I visited, I ordered the iced chai latte, and that was an epic fail whale. I kid you not, it was 10% chai at the bottom, 90% milk, and a tall cup full of ice, all for the lovely price of $ 6. Blech.
I also find it strange how they don’t have a bathroom inside the shop. You have to go outside around the corner. I actually went to this bathroom, and it explicitly says it’s not a public bathroom but only for the residents of the building. Weird. Despite the warning signs, I used it anyways and unfortunately discovered that it needs some maintenance. There were only 2 stalls, and neither of them locked correctly.
Overall, decent place to check out if you need to get out of your bubble. Just beware of the bathrooms.

My new favorite joint for brunch even though it isn’t very accessible (my definition: near an mrt). I hate driving into town area because I am pretty bad at directions and one wrong turn can cause me to loop around a couple ERPs. Not cool. The nearest mrt station is clark quay but it’s still quite a far walk. Despite the long «hike», I managed to reach this place, hungry. All that walking really works up an appetite.
The food
1. Soya milk latte
— Loved it. It had the perfect nutty taste.
2. Croissant with scrambled eggs & honey bacon
— Cindy Q was spot on in her review of the its croissants. It has to be the best croissants I’ve tasted!!! How on earth did they make it so flaky and crispy??? Magic. The scramble eggs were pretty good but then again how wrong can one go with them. Child’s play. The honey bacon on the other hand had an interesting smokey flavor laced with a sweetness that reminded me of candy bacon (Epic Meal Time). It was ok I guess but I think I prefer my bacon savory rather than sweet.
Lovely ambiance
It’s like walking into a café in Australia — Chilled, laid back and with a big coffee roaster. I would love to bring a good book here one day, read it while sipping on my latte and nibbling on those magically croissants!
Overall great experience. Perfect for a lazy weekend brunch. Best thing is that they serve brunch till 5pm so for all ya sleepy heads out there who cannot get up in time for a MacD’s breakfast, this is perfect.

This place is a regular coffee joint for me.
1) The coffee. always reliable. I have never had a bad or off one here.
2) Try the Gilbraltar for a bit more intensity than a latte and a bit more volume than a piccolo
3) They have lovely shattery-​crust croissants here!
4) Love the décor and chill vibe
5) Fluffy scrambled eggs
6) A bag of Rodyk blend beans. costs $ 12.50. That’s cheaper than many of the roasters in town and this blend really works with milk-​based drinks. Chocolatey, well rounded, not too much acidity and therefore a crowd pleaser.
7) It’s always a plus looking over the river enjoying your drink. Makes you feel you have all the time in the world and you’re really out of the «city»
8) They serve a brioche here with great texture and lightness. so much so that I quite often order scrambled eggs on brioche to share. on the side of a croissant of course. Tip: Ask for jam, it’s free!
8) Consistency (see 1, 5 and 8)

Toby’s Estate, is a pretty renowned coffee chain in Australia. Originally in Toby’s Mum garage in Sydney now expanded to Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, Singapore, and even Brooklyn. They were also in the Union Square Holiday Markets in NYC. I kinda like the Robertson Quay area as its usually not too crowded and there’s plenty of dining areas. There’s also a couple of coffee places where you can sip your coffee by the river. Of course when the weather permits.
Sat by the river for a bit and it started pouring. Coffee on a weekday afternoon was awesome nevertheless. *Thumbs up*

Toby’s is just a stone’s throw away from Kith Café which is also very popular with the residents in the area. Shall try that some time soon. Love the old warehouse feel to the area. Very grunge but they have since refurbished and repainted the exterior. We have noted this place some time ago before Toby moved in.
Something we noticed about the recent development in the café scene is that they all kinda have the same décor. Brick walls juxtaposed with a black, white and wood theme. A little raw, a little unfinished. I’m not complaining because i like it this way. The flooring of my future home would be cement or i would have a cement wall feature.
Nice airy space to chill at but my main complain is that there are not enough seats in the house! The concept of communal dining is cool but it’s not very comfortable squeezing between different groups of people early in the morning just to get my caffeine fix. The space could be better utilized i feel.
The coffee is easy on the palate. I usually don’t take coffee without sugar but after having Papa Pahleta’s, i concluded that good coffee doesn’t require any additional sweetening. I would put this in the same category. Can’t say too much about the coffee as my throat was crying for help from the soreness and i think coffee made it worse. :(
Ham and Cheese Croissant was really good. The pastry is very light and airy and extremely crispy! I would love for the centre texture to have more pull though. The pastries are outsourced. S said something about it coming from Bread Project. I should just go straight to the source to get my croissant.
S had the poached egg with salmon on brioche. My first impression is that it looks a lot like WH’s but the brioche is not toasted and this is more buttery and very fluffy. Shall try the brioche with jam next time to get a more accurate feel to the texture.
Nicely done eggs but i wouldn’t say that this dish is spectacular? Not something i would definitely come back for.
W showed up at Toby’s after we were about done with our breakfast. He had the Toby’s Breakfast– a composition of scrambled eggs, back bacon, roasted tomatoes and peppers and sautéed mushrooms. The eggs sure look runny enough. Shall try this when i feel better. Anyway, it’s breakfast till 3pm daily so more incentives to come down. Downside to this place is also the really slow service. They really need to work on getting the coffee and food out faster.