Four Seasons Hotel Singapore’s One-Ninety Bar now serves a daytime Garden Cafe menu

Hotel dining in Singapore certainly knows how to have its moment, with dressed-up tea sets and casual but premium lunch menus. Four Seasons Hotel Singapore is now stepping into that space with its new daytime Garden Cafe menu at One-Ninety Bar, which has taken over its al fresco terrace since mid-September. 

Think viennoiserie by the window, poke bowls at lunch, and a slice of burnt Basque cheesecake somewhere in between — all served against the same leafy, Botanic Gardens-inspired backdrop that the space has always had.

From cocktail garden to cafe corner

Four Seasons’ al fresco terrace space was first launched as Garden@One-Ninety — a plant-forward, cocktail-leaning concept focused on market produce and wellness-minded eating — back in 2021.

The focus has since shifted: The new Garden Cafe menu now leans into pastry and daytime cafe fare, running 11am to 6pm daily instead of the evening cocktail hours the space was previously known for.

Executive pastry chef Daniel Windelhed, who joined Four Seasons Hotel Singapore in 2023 from Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Kuda Huraa, helms the kitchen. Prior to working with Four Seasons, he had cut his teeth in Michelin-starred kitchens, artisanal bakeries, and luxury resorts in Sweden and Turkey.

Born in Colombia and raised in Sweden, he’s built a reputation for pastry that favours technique over trends.

Chef Daniel’s touch shows up most prominently in the rotating cake of the day, a pastry chef’s signature selection, and viennoiserie baked in intervals throughout the day so it doesn’t sit out too long before being served.

One-Ninety Bar’s new Garden Cafe menu is split across a handful of categories that roughly track the shape of a day — from lighter morning options to heartier brunch plates — plus an express selection for guests who want something quick and easy to take away.

What’s actually worth ordering

There’s a lot to like here, starting with something as familiar as the Singapore chilli crab omelette (S$32).

It’s a simple dish on paper, but the execution does the heavy lifting; the egg comes out properly fluffy, and the chilli crab sauce leans more tomato-forward and less sweet than the usual hawker rendition, giving it a rounder, more savoury depth.

The vanilla French toast (S$14), meanwhile, isn’t the dish that’ll stop you mid-bite, but the forest honey drizzled over it does a lot of quiet work.

It’s more layered than a straightforward sweetener, carrying notes of dark berries and stone fruit that read almost earthy, and pulling the whole plate into balance.

For anyone short on time, One-Ninety Bar’s express menu is worth checking out.

Designed for fuss-free takeaways, it comes with options such as an open-faced chicken cordon bleu (S$24) sandwich, a daily bread & soup (S$12), and a parmigiana di melanzane (an Italian bake of layered fried eggplant, S$22).

Our pick from this corner was the maccheroni al formaggio (S$28), presented — quite charmingly — inside a mini kabocha pumpkin.

Mac and cheese loyalists will find a lot to love, especially with smoked bacon bits and the kitchen’s speciality blend of cheeses. It’s an ooey, gooey dish that’s worth savouring on its own, we reckon.

And, if you’re committed to the bit, the pumpkin itself is edible, turning the whole thing into a more substantial one-dish meal rather than just a novelty vessel.

The signature salmon poke bowl (S$24) might read as just another poke bowl on paper, but the truffle miso dressing is the reason it’s worth returning for — thick, umami-heavy, and best when tossed thoroughly through the bowl so every mouthful gets its share.

The salmon here is cooked rather than served raw, which works in its favour, giving it textural contrast against the pickled daikon, red cabbage and multigrain rice.

If you’re craving sweets, the dessert counter at One-Ninety Bar runs on a seasonal rotation, so what’s available now may not be what you find when you visit next. 

However, the citrus petite gateau (S$14) and strawberry financier (S$14) we tried suggest that it’s a counter worth checking in on regularly.

The citrus petite gateau is a small showpiece — a white chocolate shell shaped to resemble an orange, with mandarin and Madagascar vanilla cream layered inside around a jammy citrus core.

It’s light enough to finish solo, with the citrus balancing the vanilla without overpowering it.

The strawberry financier takes a more classic route — an almond financier base topped with strawberry compote and more of that Madagascar vanilla — and makes a strong case for itself as a mid-afternoon pick-me-up alongside a coffee.

Of  One-Ninety’s seven Cafe Signature Sips, we tried two. The coffee paloma (S$18) arrives with a side of double espresso for guests to pour into a tall glass of iced grapefruit soda themselves.

Anyone who likes an espresso tonic will find familiar ground here, though this version tastes richer than a straightforward citrus mix.

The kopi cream (S$15) is more playful, essentially an alcohol-free riff on an espresso martini, made with espresso, condensed milk, and milk foam.

Additionally, guests wanting a little more kick to any signature sip can add 30ml of house liquor for S$7 — a cheeky option for those who want to make an afternoon of it.

Worth the mid-day pause

One-Ninety Bar has clearly built the Garden Cafe menu around a fairly simple instinct — to give people a reason to linger in the middle of the day, rather than just rush through lunch or hold out for dinner.

Nothing on this menu asks for the theatre of an evening out; it lets a coffee run into a full meal without either feeling like an event.

Previously more closely associated with evening wind-downs and cocktails, One-Ninety Bar now has a reason to draw diners in earlier, too — whether they’re staying at the hotel or not.

As a daytime fixture, it’s found its footing — proof that sometimes the best use of a garden is just somewhere to linger. 

This was a hosted tasting.

For more ideas on what to eat, check out Cloudmills, a new bakery by a former Masterchef runner-up, and our list of food spots we can’t get enough of at Millenia Walk.