Good Boy George: Chill vibes at riverside bistro opened by a friendly golden retriever (and his Jazz-musician owner)

It was a pleasant Tuesday afternoon in the midst of quaint Robertson Quay and we found ourselves strolling leisurely by the Singapore River, while letting the sunlight warm our faces.

Mexican darlings Super Loco, zichar icon Long Beach, and so on and so forth — popular restaurants passed us by, tempting us, but our resolve stayed strong as we marched towards our lunch destination.

After emerging from an underbridge pavement beside the Intercontinental Singapore Robertson Quay, we found it. 

Tucked away in a quiet corner of an apartment building facing the Singapore River: Good Boy George.

The al fresco bistro stood out like a sore thumb among the sleek, IG-friendly cafes that line the Robertson Quay stretch, with a melange of white and blue furniture scattered about and a vibe that screamed “Bohemian chic”.

Good Boy George is centred around an open kitchen, set up with tall stools at its counter. Vibrant squiggles of graffiti worm their way through its white facade.

Seated at one of the counter seats, we spot a man with hair grown out and slightly wavy, and stylishly clad: A dark, fern green short-sleeved button up, equally viridescent shades and suede derby shoes to match his shirt.

At his feet is a golden retriever who, once we approached, enthusiastically leaped up and rushed towards us, in a bid to win the affection of the new strangers.

The man laughed and made introductions. This is the owner of Good Boy George.

Good boy, George

The owner of this bistro is, predictably, named George.

Perhaps a bit overeager, but we couldn’t possibly reject his effusive golden-retriever charms as we knelt down and frantically furrowed through his silky golden hair while muttering: “Who’s a good boy, George?”

After the introductions, we got down to business.

First up: Why did he decide to open Good Boy George?

“Bark, bark bark bark,” George said, unhelpfully.

Not the kind to give up, we followed up with a more leading prompt, trying to delve deeper into the process of opening Good Boy George.

“Ruff,” he replies rather tersely, then leapt onto us in an attempt to topple us over, all with a sadistic smile on his face.

Perhaps he was offended by the question? Maybe he just wants belly rubs. Who can really tell?

Naturally, we got a little frustrated. While remarkably exuberant and affectionate, this small business owner is not very professional, not very mindful and not very demure.

Forced into a corner, we instead turned to his colleague, who’s been looking on with bemusement, while the boss makes a mockery of himself.

Jazzing things up for the community

Fortunately, the bespectacled man turned out to be much more articulate and elected to speak on the big boss’ behalf. He introduced himself as Tan Weixiang, 45 years old and George’s owner.

Weixiang plays piano for a living — the jazz musician is actually a veteran who holds the position of senior associate music director at Jazz Association (Singapore).

Like Weixiang, the two-year-old golden retriever holds an important job, too —  as the family’s professional lap dog. Says Weixiang: “At home, he’s very manja (“pampered” in Malay, but means “clingy” colloquially) and likes to follow you around for food and ask for cuddles.” 

For a duo made up of a professional lap dog and a jazz musician, we were curious: Why the desire to dabble in the notoriously tough F&B industry with Good Boy George? 

Says Weixiang: “We are actually residents here and we wanted to open something the community can enjoy.” (The bistro is located on the ground floor of an apartment building.)

“It’s supposed to be a spot that’s more casual, where you can show up in singlets and shorts and you can bring your pets along. A bit like a RC centre,” he quips, with a chuckle. 

For Weixiang and George, the bistro is not just somewhere for food and coffee, but also a way to foster a sense of community in a neighbourhood, where bougie cafes are more pervasive.

That also explains why the bistro provides an all-day dining experience — it’s so neighbours can pop by and unwind any time, be it for a cup of coffee in the day or some chill drinks at night.

And it seems the bistro is achieving its purpose and the big boss is probably one of the biggest beneficiaries of the situation.

“One of the rewards of opening Good Boy George is that I know my neighbours a lot more now and I feel like part of the community. Nowadays, when I’m out walking George, everyone will come and say hi to him!” says Weixiang. 

“Actually George enjoys the cafe the most, especially since he gets to see all his friends regularly now when they come by.”

Good value and human connection

With community as its prime directive, Good Boy George’s direction comes with a lot more heartfelt sincerity.

Being a golden retriever and a musician by trade, the dynamic duo had chosen to enlist the help of other experienced professionals to staff the kitchen. 

The bulk of the kitchen team comes from CBD cafe 63 Celsius, while the coffee programme is headed by Hairol, an experienced barista. 

“I think there are other cafes serving the same style of food and coffee, but we try to give our customers the best value and serve food we can be proud of, while trying to survive,” muses Weixiang, on what drives the team.

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“This is not an industry you break into easily. Even though it’s a challenging climate, I think you can succeed as long as you don’t compromise on your beliefs and ensure that everyone has a good time.”

To that end, Good Boy George strives to dish out simple, but delicious food, including handmade pasta, as compared to the usual brunch eyecandy that’s a dime a dozen on everyone’s Instagram feeds.

“Nothing against those who like to come by and take pictures for the ‘gram, but we do prioritise the human connection,” he adds.

Customers tend to pop by organically and enjoy themselves: “We do have a marketing set-up going, but a lot of our guests come based on word-of-mouth and that’s something we are grateful for.”

When asked about future plans, he hints at holding events at Good Boy George in the future, with a more community-centric focus.

“We want to create events centred around kids, families or pets. We’re looking to work with pet groomers and other similar brands — we just hope to add some buzz to the neighbourhood,” he says.

Good bites, George

The menu at Good Boy George is split into three sections: All-day lunch and dinner, daytime eats available until 3pm and snacktime available after 5pm.

A good choice from the daytime eats selection is the duck fat potato rosti (S$20), a chunky block of shredded potato served with dill creme fraiche, poached egg and smoked salmon.

Unlike most rostis, which are usually flat, this blocky version is crispy on its two surfaces, but mostly comprises silky squiggles of shredded potato. It makes for a rich and comforting dish combined with the smooth salmon and tangy, lightly herbaceous creme fraiche.

Another cool item from the daytime eats section is the pork sandwich (S$18) served with crispy pork belly, homemade milk bread, pickled jalapeno, fried egg, and aioli.

While the pork belly was slightly dry, the final product is nice and flavourful, with the most satisfying airy crunch on the bread, while the jalapeno and aioli add plenty of oomph.

Our favourite dish at Good Boy George, though, had to be the prawn & scallop (S$26) pasta dish served with handmade spaghetti, cooked up with shio kombu and bird-eye chillies.

Not the most fancy, but this is one hell of a hearty pasta. It’s served toothsome, al dente and chock full of umami and fragrance, with a kiss of spice to enliven its profile. 

While there were only two prawns and two scallops, they were all fresh and nicely cooked. And we’ve eaten enough cafe food to know that it’s something you can’t say for most other spots.

Of course, beverages play an important part here at Good Boy George too, considering it’s a spot meant for the community to chill, with multiple coffee options to choose from including flat whites (S$6) and matcha lattes (S$7).

You can even find an ice cream mocha (S$10) on the menu too!

The coffee uses beans sourced from Sydney and comes out nice, smooth and fragrant — such as the Magic (a white coffee made with two shots of ristretto, S$4.50)

In case you’re looking for alcohol, Good Boy George has you covered with some crazy low prices, too. For example, the draft pint beers come at S$6 per pint with fresh Sapporo, Connor’s and more. 

With cheap drinks, solid food and an amazingly adorable golden retriever owner, we think Good Boy George might just be our go-to spot to unwind, if we’re ever in the Robertson Quay area.

For more ideas on what to eat, read our stories on the must-eat spots in our bustling Chinatown and Hvala’s new flagship stall, relcoated from CHIJMES.

Do explore the new GrabFood Dine Out service for awesome deals.

You can also book a ride to Good Boy George at Robertson Quay and give George some pets.