Finally Coffee: A hidden cafe gem in Bugis where you can take “tips” home

Note: Finally Coffee is temporarily closed for renovations till mid-June, but you can pre-order its bottled drinks from now till April 30. 

Tipping isn’t a common practice in Singapore, especially since GST and service charges are built into menu prices here.

But at Finally Coffee in the Haji Lane area, you’ll notice a “tips” jar. Instead of money, though, you’ll find slips of paper within.

In a wholesome twist on the usual practice of giving servers cash for good service, Finally Coffee encourages you to not just contribute “tips”, but also take one home — or a couple, if you need it. 

Instead of cash, these “tips” are words of encouragement from other customers and even the cafe owner.

Cafe owner, Lyon Wong, 32, tells us that it is his way of giving back. 

In fact, this writer here received a very timely piece of advice a la Forrest Gump: “Life’s like a box of chocolates, you’ll never know what you’re getting next. Just be happy.”

The cafe is located close to the bustling Sultan Mosque, right above popular restaurants Zam Zam and Victory, but once inside, you’ll notice that the space is vastly different from its neighbours.

For one, it is quieter, and two, it is noticeably less busy. There is time for you to slow down, sip a cuppa — and yes, grab a tip from the “tips” jar if you want to. 

Occasionally, Lyon might even engage you in conversation. 

The affable business owner started out studying pastry-making at At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy before pivoting to coffee-making. He’d discovered a passion for it during a three-year Starbucks stint as a barista-turned-supervisor.

Armed with a goal of setting up his own business, Lyon then dove headfirst into being a private-hire driver with Grab for four years to save enough money to open a cafe. 

He started with pop-ups in December 2022, making bottled drinks in his parents’ kitchen and selling them at various events islandwide. 

Opening at his current premise at North Bridge Road was by pure happenstance — he was staging a pop-up at the space in February 2023 when he found himself liking it a lot. He then broached the idea of using the space to the then-owner. 

One thing led to another and Lyon was eventually able to lease the entire space for his cafe in October 2023. 

Lyon tells us that the cafe is so named because his fiancee said: “Finally, you’ve achieved your dreams (of having your own cafe).”

Finally Cafe’s drinks menu is fairly adequate, considering that at times Lyon runs a one-man show. 

He imports his coffee beans from Australia and the resulting brew is a safe chocolatey, nutty concoction. Coffee starts from S$5 for a hot espresso, and there are non-coffee options such as matcha latte (S$7 for hot, S$7.50 for iced) and caramel choc (S$6.50 for hot, S$7 for iced). 

Lyon also has a small pastries menu, comprising unique bakes such as ondeh ondeh scones (S$4) and a square-shaped egg scone known as an eggsy sqcone (S$5.50). 

The scones are simple but surprisingly addictive, though they were a tad dry when we had them.

HungryGoWhere understands that the cafe is currently temporarily closed for renovations, which means you’ll need to wait a while to try its brews and scones, but Lyon’s given his word that the cafe will reopen in mid-June.

From now till April 30, those who are keen to try Finally’s brews can still pre-order them on Finally Coffee’s website.

For the exact re-opening dates, you can also keep an eye out on Finally Coffee’s social media pages. 

This was a hosted tasting.

For more food stories, read about this former chef who sells Chicago deep-dish pizzas from his home, and about the newly relocated Sam Leong St Chicken Rice. 

Do explore the GrabFood Dine-in service for awesome deals.

You can also book a ride to Finally Coffee when it re-opens in mid-June.