Review: New cafe Romme excels at housemade focaccia sandwiches and hearty pasta

If you’ve been keeping an eye on Singapore’s cafe scene lately, you’ll know that focaccia is quietly — yet confidently — stepping into the spotlight, with the likes of Mamma Mia Foccacia and Marlow’s Deli delivering their fresh takes on this fluffy Italian carb.

There’s a new concept that’s also jumping right into the fray: Say hello to Romme, a new cafe at Farrer Park that gives this trending bread a sleek, minimalist take.

Housemade focaccia is the star here, but it also serves up delicious pasta dishes. Coupled with well-crafted coffee, matcha, and a calm, lounge-like interior, Romme at Farrer Park is just the spot that invites you to linger.

The backstory

Romme occupies a tucked-away corner of Flanders Square, just a short walk from Farrer Park MRT, and just a stone’s throw from another cosy Farrer Park cafe, Hey Slow Joe. 

Its name comes from the Norwegian word meaning “to contain or accommodate”, and hopes to bring forth the owner’s intention for the cafe to be a welcoming space for lingering over good nosh, good coffee, and solid conversation.

The concept hinges mainly on focaccia: The kitchen bakes its own focaccia bread from scratch and ferments it for 48 hours. Aside from focaccia, the menu also includes a small selection (four — the same number of focaccia options) of pasta dishes, which makes for a nice spread of carb-leaning mains.

With that said, while it’s not an expansive menu per se, there are enough options in each section — sandwiches, pasta, sides, and dessert — such that there’s something for everyone.

When it comes to decor, aligned with the owner’s intention, the cafe adopts a mostly calm aesthetic.

Think wood tables, muted tones, comfy sofas, a few spots for solo diners, and a few larger tables for bigger parties.

Romme’s location off the main road also gives it a slightly tucked-away feel, shielding you from the peak brunch crowds, making it quite the ideal spot if you’re after a calm cafe stop in the busyness of Singapore.

Our verdict

With the trend of focaccia sandwich spots popping up — all of which have delivered relatively good renditions so far — we had our expectations set reasonably high for Romme. 

There’s a breakfast menu, which it serves from opening until 1pm, however, that menu is very lean with only five dishes: A classic breakfast platter, bacon and eggs, a twist on our beloved kopi and toast brekkie, waffles, and granola. 

The drinks menu is available all day.

That’s why even though we went down on a weekday, we were glad we came in good time for its more extensive brunch menu, which it starts serving from 11am, until closing, daily. 

While Romme spotlights its focaccia sandwiches and has come to be known for it, you’d do well to not to sleep on its pasta and desserts. 

The pasta portions are sizeable, the protein choices are varied, with options from beef to plant-based, and the prices don’t feel like a splurge, with most plates being below S$20!.

Romme has even nailed the drinks — from flavour to selection, with espresso-based coffees, matcha lattes, and even a traditional Korean-inspired grain drink known as misugaru latte, made from a blend of roasted and ground grains and beans, such as barley, rice, and soybeans.

What it’s good for

Straight out of the gate, we recommend starting with the You’ve Got Beef (S$18) sandwich — a confident combination of beef bulgogi, housemade kimchi jam, mozzarella, and arugula, all hugged by Romme’s signature focaccia.

First, the focaccia: From the moment we bit into it, we could immediately see why the cafe had decided to build its reputation on it. It had fluff, chew, and just the right amount of flavour — it possessed just the right elements that will please all but the most discerning focaccia purists.

Which is why it was surprising to us when a staff member mentioned to us that the batch for the day wasn’t up to standard, adding that it lacked the usual airiness and thickness. 

If this wasn’t its usual and we were already fans, we couldn’t imagine how delicious it would’ve tasted on a good day — consider us converted. 

The next thing that hits is the delicious kimchi jam, which is sweet, tangy, and with just the right amount of zing. 

The beef slices pull apart tenderly, matching stride for stride with the soft, chewy bread.

While the palm-sized sandwich may look small, it’s filled to the edges and satiating enough for one hungry person. We do agree that its S$18 price point is a tiny splurge, but for this taste? We think it’s worth it.

Romme also offers a smoked salmon focaccia sandwich (S$16) as well as a vegetarian option, if you’re not keen on beef, but there doesn’t seem to be an option to order plain focaccia (with a side of olive oil or butter), if simplicity’s more your jam.

Aside from sandwiches, the other mains more than hold their own — with some, arguably even stealing the spotlight, such as the steak and Rose (S$24), which also happened to be the priciest dish we ordered.

But hey, we’re glad to say it was worth every cent.

In this dish, a glistening heap of pasta, coated in tomato cream sauce, is crowned with medium-rare ribeye slices. The steak is conveniently pre-cut, making it easy to get a forkful of both meat and noodles, which is just the way it should be enjoyed.

The tomato cream sauce, or rose sauce, leans garlicky and mildly sweet, while the ribeye hits that sweet spot of tender and well-seasoned. 

Honestly, we tried to find fault here, but for this portion size and the quality of the ingredients, as well as the seasoning this spot-on, there’s really not much to nitpick.

If you find yourself still peckish, take your pick of its modest menu of sides, which run the gamut from reliable truffle fries to a truffle mushroom soup (both S$11 each).

We dived right into the yang nyeom chicken (S$12), which was made even better with it being not just Korean fried chicken, but boneless, too. 

Coated in gochujang (Korean red pepper paste), garlic, and a touch of sugar, it delivers exactly what you’d expect of a good saucy Korean fried chicken dish: Sweet, spicy, and unapologetically addictive.

The crunch on the batter was textbook perfect, and it left us wondering — why can’t more cafes make food this craveable?

Of the two drinks we ordered, the einspanner (S$7) was the clear winner. This iced coffee, which is also a popular Korean cafe item, comes topped with a cap of cold sweet cream and cocoa powder.

It is a lighter, more elegant spin on the Viennese classic, but a welcome one, given the heavier mains we had. 

Take a sip big enough to catch both the coffee and cream, and you’ll get a subtly sweet, silky brew that softens the espresso’s edge without drowning it. 

It’s a drink that’s ideal for those who like their coffee strong but still appreciate a touch of indulgence.

What it could improve on

We were this close to loving everything at Romme, but a few items fell short of our expectations.

Take the Pork You (S$15) sandwich, which features Italian pork sausage slices in tomato cream sauce, layered with housemade pistachio cream, baby spinach, and onions. 

On paper, it sounded like a surefire hit, but in practice, the flavours didn’t quite align. 

Sure, the sausage was herby and satisfyingly salty, but the pistachio cream never quite found its place — it was neither bold enough to complement the meat, nor subtle enough to fade into the background.

Eaten together, the sandwich felt like a well-meant, creative idea that didn’t quite gel. 

Call us boring, but perhaps a healthy helping of burrata cheese, in lieu of the pistachio would’ve worked better. With the sausage already commanding attention, burrata would’ve been the perfect vehicle to help it shine, with just enough creaminess to round out the flavours.

Next, Romme’s Choco-bana-berry waffles (S$15) came highly recommended (from other reviews online), and we really wanted to love the dish, especially with how aesthetic it looked.

But while the toppings — generous heaps of banana, strawberry, Biscoff crumbs, and sweet cloud foam — looked like a dream, the waffles themselves leaned a little too crisp and dense for our liking, though we know it could be some one else’s cup of tea.

Because there was already a smorgasbord of toppings, an airier, fluffier waffle might have fared better in this scenario. For us, at least.

Matcha fans might also find the earl grey matcha latte (S$9.50) underwhelming. We were waiting for those floral, bergamot-laced notes to peek through this drink, but they never really did.

The earthy matcha remained pleasant and full-bodied, but the earl grey was more of a whisper than a duet partner. A slight adjustment to the ratio could easily restore balance.

Despite the handful of shortfalls we encountered during our time at Romme, we’d still return. 

Why? The chill, laid-back ambience on a weekday afternoon is bliss, especially when cafes are typically bustling on weekends.

If anything, the steak and rose pasta is enough reason to head back. And we’ll definitely order the misugaru latte — a toasted, nutty coffee drink that’s not often seen here in Singapore —  we missed out on this visit. 

Our quick takes

Is it conducive to conversation? The music plays at just the right volume, with nostalgic R&B and indie rock tracks from the 2000s — literal music to a millennial’s ears.

Is a reservation necessary? On weekdays, the place doesn’t seem to be as busy, so walk-ins are welcome. However, as the dining space is modest (with only about 20-odd seats and only one al fresco table), reservations are highly recommended on weekends.

How to get there? Romme is a 4-minute walk from Farrer Park MRT Exit I.

HungryGoWhere paid for its meal at this restaurant for this review.

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