Food Review: Common Man Coffee Roasters | One of the best brunches in town

Posted on September 11, 2014 by theRantingPanda in Food

The Place It usually says a lot about a restaurant if we choose to return again and Common Man Coffee Roasters is one café/restaurant that we would gladly do so. It has been close to a year since Common Man first opened its doors to the public and the restaurant scene in Singapore has only become increasingly vibrant, if not over-heated to some point. To stay ahead of the intense F&B competition, Common Man has been constantly making small tweaks to their menu to ensure that there is always something new to try for the adventurous diners and most importantly, they are dead serious about keep the food at the highest quality and standards. Expect loads of food porn in this post, don’t say we never warn you!

The Food Other than the specialty coffee offered at Common Man, the food menu is definitely crafted with much effort. There is simply so much choices and variety on the menu and I am sure there is bound to be something that suits everyone’s palate or mood of the day. Some highlights from the All-Day breakfast section include the Common Man Pancakes ($20), Common Man Veggie Wonderland ($25) and the Turkish Common Man Breakfast ($25). The lunch is served from 12pm to 6pm, which includes the likes of the Grilled juicy chilli boneless Chicken ($25) and the Fish Burger ($24). The magic hour is to pop by at 12pm and you can choose from both the All-Day Breakfast and the Lunch menu!

Do not miss out trying the coffee at Common Man! There are the Black ($4.50), White ($5) and Filter ($6) coffee selections. Do feel free to chat with the friendly baristas to find out more about the coffee beans used for roasting on the day. We were in awe of the beautiful latte art which were crafted seamlessly.

The Organic Eggs Benedict ($24) was one of my favourite item on the breakfast menu. I thought that this was a very good twist to the usual Eggs Benedict by having the tender braised ox cheeks with sourdough toast. The poached organic eggs was well done and I love the ox cheeks for its tenderness and flavour.

The Turkish Common Man Breakfast ($25) was another worthy choice from the menu which was quite different from most brunch dishes. The presentation was very colourful which added to the appeal of the dish, not to mention the well mix of ingredients. There was the Phyllo-wrapped soft-boiled organic egg, crispy feta, fresh cucumber & tomatoes, olives & hummus and pita bread. I loved how the eggs was masked in the crispy feta, which was a pleasant surprise and twist.

For folks who crave for the standard brunch offerings, we would recommend the Common Man Veggie Wonderland ($25) which has two free-range organic eggs in any style, halloumi, spinach, grilled tomatoes, portobello mushrooms, avocado, lemon & chilli with artisanal sourdough toast. My favourite component here was the halloumi, which is Cypriot’s version of cheese. In fact, the cheese smell was not strong at all and I thought the taste was a mix of fried egg and tofu.

For an alternative brunch option, try the Green pea fritters ($22) which comes with two poached organic eggs, crispy pancetta & balsamic syrup. The green pea fritters was amazingly good, considering that I am usually not a fan of green pea. I guessed it was also the awesome combination of the crispy pancetta and the balsamic syrup which enhanced the overall taste of the dish.

For pancake lovers, the Common Man Pancakes ($20) which came with caramelised bananas & walnuts, salted caramel sauce, nutty crumble & berry coulis. We heard that the batter is made freshly by the chefs at 4am everyday, so you can imagine how good the pancakes were. The serving was quite chunky so it would be advisable to share the sweetness with a few folks.

If the breakfast menu is too predictable, the lunch menu has much to offer as well. We tried the Grilled juicy chilli boneless Chicken ($25) with crushed avocado salsa. I did not find the Chicken too spicy and it was quite refreshing to have avocado as a side dish.

The Fish Burger ($24) was surprisingly good as I thought that it would turn out to be predictable. It helped that the fish patty was house-made, hence it did not taste like those from fast food chains. The soft brioche bun and creamy coconut bok choy added wonders to the overall flavour as well.

For something healthier, we spotted the Crab salad ($26) with wild rocket, romaine, endive, sugar snaps, avocado, mint, pomegranate & caper crumbs in a yuzu mango mint dressing. Some people might find this this overpriced as it was mostly greens apart from the crab, which was quite generous in portions. The crab meat was fresh but we thought that there were much more worthy options on the menu.

Desserts wise, we could not miss out trying the Common Man Churros ($12). The churros was not too sweet for me and I liked the rich chocolate sauce. It was a perfect dessert to share and definitely a happy ending.