Review: Vernacular Coffee at Selegie serves up good pasta and pastries, but stumbles on its cheeseburger

Hotel cafes have long been places to pass through rather than linger in — whether you’re grabbing a cuppa while waiting to check in or killing time before heading to more exciting spots on your itinerary.

Lately, though, more hotels seem to be giving these prime spaces to cafes that could hold their own elsewhere. One such example is Vernacular Coffee, which sits at the front of Varel Singapore, a relatively new hotel in Selegie.

My first brush with the hotel was when I had a meal at Hathaway Autograph, which sits on its second floor, earlier this year.

Even then, the street-level cafe was hard to miss with its green-toned, glass-walled glow. Intrigued and curious, I made a mental note to come back when I had more stomach space and time, and return I did.

The backstory

If you’re wondering how Vernacular Coffee ended up at Varel Singapore, they’re both owned by the same person: Vinson Keefe Anggasaputro. The cafe sits under the umbrella of his F&B group, The Grange Collective.

The hotel draws on Vinson’s childhood memories of hanging out in the neighbourhood. A cafe at its front door, designed to feel like a local hangout, is a natural fit.

But the brand Vernacular Coffee isn’t new — it first opened in December 2023 at Guillemard Road, inside the former Singapore Badminton Hall (now KFF Badminton Arena), occupying the space formerly home to longtime cafe favourite Brawn & Brains.

The name Vernacular Coffee reflects its focus on letting each bean express the characteristics of its origin. Factors such as climate, soil and elevation influence the flavours that emerge during roasting.

In the past three years, Vernacular at Guillemard has built its following on a rotating lineup of six to eight traceable single-origin beans, many from closer to home than you’d expect, including countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

At the same time, it also built a reputation for its croissants, largely thanks to its croissant ice cream sandwiches.

Vernacular Coffee’s latest Selegie outpost opened alongside Varel Singapore in April this year. It is billed as the brand’s second cafe and flagship outlet, with the widest coffee programme and an expanded all-day menu. The brand also has a coffee stand in the CBD.

Unlike its first outlet, which looks a little moodier, Vernacular Coffee at Selegie boasts floor-to-ceiling glass panels, high ceilings, and the brand’s signature forest-green and dark-wood palette.

In terms of seating, there’s a long wooden communal table down the middle, plenty of indoor seating, and a sheltered al fresco area for our four-legged friends. (PS: Since late July, the cafe has announced that anyone dining al fresco here with their dog gets 20% off the bill!)

When it comes to drinks, Vernacular Coffee caters to all, offering anything from a pourover (from S$8) to an espresso flight ($9.50) that pairs a single shot with a 4oz cup of white coffee.

Non-coffee drinkers can opt for hot chocolate (from S$6) made with bean-to-bar chocolate from local maker Fossa, or its suite of TWG teas (from S$8).

Exclusive to the Selegie outlet is a seasonal trio pitched squarely at the Super El Nino heat — pineapple milk with seasonal espresso, strawberry sencha iced tea, and bergamot & chamomile iced tea — all S$9 each.

For food, flaky pastries remain a menu staple, as with its Guillemard outlet, with sweet options, such as the kouign amann (S$5.50) and homemade kaya croast (croissant-toast, S$8) — and savoury Danishes that go well beyond ham and cheese. 

There’s also a selection of heavier brunch-style plates from egg Royale (S$16.50) to a full Vernacular’s breakfast (S$19.50), as well as pasta dishes such as asparagus aglio olio (S$14.50) and beef ragu (S$20), that come with a choice of ruffled mafaldine or linguine.

In line with its neighbourhood hangout vibes, Vernacular Coffee also has themed takeovers from time to time.

For example, in October, it’s serving up a Bavarian feast platter for two (S$49.90, beers included) to commemorate German beer festival Oktoberfest. Hotel guests even have the option to purchase an Oktoberfest Extravaganza Stay Package (from S$349 per room, per night), which has this platter bundled right in!

Our verdict

I stopped by Vernacular Coffee for a weekday lunch, and was pleasantly surprised by a number of things.

First, there was no QR code on the table for ordering, which was welcome but felt almost foreign in this day and age where almost every cafe or restaurant has since done away with in-person ordering. 

The staff were pleasant throughout our dining experience, and the kitchen kept a brisk pace, with nothing taking longer than 15 minutes to reach the table.

Next, for a peak lunch hour, I had braced myself for a queue or at least a minor scramble for seats. Instead, it was relatively empty, dotted with people ducking in and out for a quick coffee.

I seemed to be the only one committing to a full meal, which I didn’t mind — their loss, my gain. The velvety mentaiko pasta (S$18) stood out, and the seasonal drinks were interesting enough to justify their S$9 price tags.

While Singapore’s weather can be unpredictable, don’t write off the al fresco area. Thanks to the cafe’s outdoor fans and a gentle breeze that afternoon, I never once felt the heat creep in. If you’re looking to get some work done or on a call, though, the indoor seats might be a quieter option.

All things considered, Vernacular Coffee’s flagship outlet on Selegie Road makes a strong case as a more relaxed alternative to the busier cafes in the area. It’s still central, seating is plentiful, and the menu works whether you’re after a mid-afternoon cuppa or a proper sit-down lunch.

What it’s good for

If you’re settling in for that proper sit-down lunch, you’ll do well to opt for a pasta dish here. 

Mentaiko pasta usually arrives as a rich, cream-heavy affair, the kind that has you reaching for water halfway through, but Vernacular Coffee’s velvety mentaiko (S$18) goes the other way.

I paired mine with mafaldine, and every ruffled strand cooked to a perfect al dente and thoroughly coated with the sauce, though it wasn’t too saucy to a fault. 

What really sets Vernacular’s version of this pasta apart is its generous peppery kick. With no cream to soften it, the heat comes through clearly and cuts through the umami depth of the cod roe, so each forkful stays lively instead of cloying.

There’s only a scattering of cold-water shrimp, so the dish is light on protein. But the pasta and its peppery, umami-rich sauce are compelling enough to hold their own.

Over at the pastry counter, the outlet-exclusive brie, fig & honey Danish (S$11) is worth a spot on your tray, especially if it’s your first time there or to the cafe concept on the whole. 

It’s listed under the savoury Danishes, though with honey and fig in the mix, it sits comfortably on the fence between sweet and savoury.

The brie here is soft and aromatic, a lovely contrast to the buttery pastry that shatters at first bite, while fresh figs lend a jammy sweetness that ties everything together.

It isn’t a complicated pastry and makes for a welcome alternative to a full-blown dessert, especially at afternoon tea where you might prefer something less intense. 

That said, if an indulgent dessert is on the cards, the homemade kaya Croast (croissant-toast, S$8) is the one to get.

This croissant-toast creation has been on the menu since Vernacular Coffee’s Guillemard debut in 2023, and has helped solidify the brand’s reputation as the place for crossaints. Digging into it, it’s easy to see why it has stuck around.

A flattened, flaky croissant base comes generously slathered with a housemade kaya that has a custard-like texture. It’s sweet and fragrant with pandan, with a subtle hint of salt to round it out.

Rich and indulgent, it’s a fun way to try kaya in a different form. 

Just don’t wait too long before diving into the Croast; the kaya here is more of an oozy sauce than a spread and will soften the pastry fast.

To wash it all down, skip your usual latte for one of the S$9 seasonal specials (or get both, why not). 

The pineapple milk with seasonal espresso pairs milk-washed pineapple with the season’s espresso, resulting in a subtly creamy take on orange espresso, with pineapple standing in for citrus.

It’s gently tropical and far less tart, so if orange espresso’s sharpness has always put you off, this is the easier way in.

The strawberry sencha iced tea, meanwhile, turns iced green tea into something far more playful with fresh strawberries and blueberries. Give it a good stir before sipping, as the fruit bits tend to float and stirring helps distribute the sweetness.

The berries do overpower much of the sencha’s earthiness, so it drinks more like a berry cooler than a fruit-tinged sencha tea, but I’m perfectly happy with that.

What it could improve on

Given how much the pasta impressed me, I went into VC’s classic cheese burger (S$17) with high hopes. At that price, it seemed promising for a burger main, let alone at a venue this central.

The build is familiar, too — a 170g grain-fed beef patty cooked to a medium finish, double melted cheddar, caramelised onions, gherkins and tomato, all on a toasted charcoal bun. 

But unfortunately there’s where most of the good news ends. 

The patty was undeniably juicy but tasted very underseasoned, and when the centrepiece tastes this flat, everything else struggles to compensate — which is a shame, because the rest of the plate didn’t fare too poorly on its own. 

The fries are billed as shoestring but are closer to a regular cut, and likely double-fried. They were addictively crisp, which only made the bland patty more frustrating.

If only the patty had been better seasoned, I’d have wolfed both the burger and the fries down.

There’re customisable options for the dish, such as adding a sunny-side-up egg ($1.50), extra cheddar ($1), or an upgrade to truffle fries (additional $3), but I doubt any of them would fix the core flavour issue.

Given how well the rest of the meal fared, this felt like an isolated misstep and one I’d be willing to overlook. Perhaps having salt or pepper at the table would’ve helped, too, but for now I’d steer clear of this dish if I do return. 

It’s a fixable misstep, and a rare one in a meal that otherwise showed a kitchen at ease with both pasta and pastry.

For now, stick with its pasta, pastries, and seasonal drinks, and take your plate outside. 

Vernacular Coffee may be tucked into a hotel entrance and located outside of common cafe-heavy neighbourhoods, but its relaxed atmosphere, generous seating, and solid food menu make it worth a stop.

Our quick takes

Is it conducive to conversation? Yes. Even when we sat in the al fresco area, right next to a busy road, the traffic sounds didn’t drown out regular conversation.

Is a reservation necessary? No, plenty of seats are available, both indoors and al fresco. 

How to get there? Vernacular Coffee is a six-minute walk from Rochor MRT Exit B.

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

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