Popular brunch cafe Lola’s Cafe now open in Tampines, with new outlet-exclusives

When I first heard Lola’s Cafe would open at Tampines Mall, I have to admit I let out an incredulous: “Really?” 

Long-time east-siders would be familiar with the spot where Lola’s Cafe at Tampines stands — it’s where the two-storey Starbucks used to be, nestled in between the bustling Tampines Mall and Century Square. 

If you grew up in the ‘hood, you’d definitely have clocked some studying sessions there, too. 

My reaction was mostly due to the fact that, to me, Lola’s Cafe had always been a bit of a tucked-away cafe, situated among somewhat rustic shophouses. I couldn’t quite fathom how this quaint cafe could fit itself into a commercialised, high-traffic spot. 

On my visit there last week, the newly opened cafe showed that, regardless of whether it was in a mall or not, it was determined to deliver the same homely, quaint and clean vibes we’d come to expect from Lola’s. (And yes, the new cafe has retained the original, two-storey structure of the space.)

The cafe opened on May 28 to much fanfare, with queues forming easily during mealtimes — even one week on. The cafe doesn’t take reservations for now, but it seems like it’ll accept them from the second week of June, if all goes well. 

While its interior and vibes are more aligned to its usual aesthetic, Lola’s at Tampines isn’t pet-friendly due to mall regulations — unlike its counterparts at Kovan and Holland Village.

Lola’s Cafe at Tampines’ menu exclusives 

Lola’s Tampines outpost offers up a slightly refreshed menu, with a focus on seafood and grilled meats. 

Some of its menu items are also given a slight twist: Its popular Lola’s breakfast (S$21) now comes with chicken kielbasa sausages instead of the usual bacon steak, while its shakshuka (S$18) now comes with minced lamb. 

True to its new focus on seafood, its Tampines outlet also offers an outlet-exclusive seafood croquette eggs benedict (S$20) and a fried hake burger (S$20).

The seafood croquette eggs benedict was an absolute feast for the eyes, with the bright colours from the magenta-pink fennel and cabbage slaw, tobiko (flying fish roe), and creamy miso hollandaise sauce, coming together to create a dish perfect for anyone’s social media feed.

Thankfully, it delivered on taste, too. The eggs were poached beautifully, the croquettes were well-seasoned and the tangy slaw helped cut through the heaviness of the hollandaise sauce. 

My only gripe was that the same slaw was used, too, for its fried hake burger.

Don’t get me wrong: The fried hake burger was great — it came with a thick, flaky fillet that was evenly battered and adequately moist, as well as a side of addictive tater tots.

There was a clear similarity in the two dishes — the same, distinct sweet tang of the slaw and the use of fried seafood in both dishes — that felt a little one-dimensional and lacklustre. More could be done to differentiate these two new items, especially if, like us, you’d travelled all the way to the new store to try its new range of offerings.

The saving grace for the hake burger was its sweet tomato mayonnaise, which thankfully added some variation across our meal.

By contrast, though, my dining companion enjoyed it very much — so to each their own.

The vegetarian-friendly mushroom & spinach cream fettuccine (S$18) was a welcome palate cleanser to the meal, surprisingly. 

While it was a cream-based pasta dish, it wasn’t overly cloying and had the right amount of greens and mushrooms to give it enough bite. This is also an outlet-exclusive dish.

For good measure, we also ordered a favourite at Lola’s — the honey paprika crispy wings (S$14). While the chicken was moist with a good crunch, I remembered past renditions having a tad more honey and paprika. 

We understand from the staff that its milk-foam drinks — the iced momo oolong milk foam (S$6.50), a peach-infused concoction, and the iced pu-erh milk foam (S$6.50) — are also new and unique to Tampines. 

Despite being milk-based, both drinks were surprisingly light and easy-drinking, with distinct notes. Those who love their drinks sweet will enjoy the former, while serious caffeine drinkers would do well to give the pu-erh one a shot. 

End your meal there on a sugar high with its new soft-serve ice cream flavours in cereal milk and uji matcha. We opted to have the cereal milk soft-serve on its butter waffles (S$14) and did not regret our choice one bit.

The waffles were warm and crispy when they reached us and its buttery-salty taste complemented the sweet cereal milk ice cream well. There was also a sea-salt butter cookie seated atop the waffle, which felt like a bit of an odd inclusion, but hey, we’re not one to say no to extra sweet treats.

HungryGoWhere also understands from the team at Lola’s Tampines that these items on its dinner menu are also outlet-exclusive:

• Grilled chicken & mushroom orzo (S$18)
• Squid ink scallop fettuccine (S$22)
• Braised lamb shank (S$29)

With such a promising start, relatively affordable prices for its fare and the promise of reservations available soon, we think we’ll be back to try its dinner menu sooner, rather than later.

This was a hosted tasting. 

For more new cafes to explore, check out The Flour Department with its pretty garden-themed bakes, and Bingo, a rustic cafe in Joo Chiat. 

Lola’s Cafe is on the GrabFood delivery service and offers free delivery (up to S$3 off) with GrabUnlimited.  

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

You can also book a ride to Lola’s Cafe at Tampines to try its new outlet-exclusives.