Quiet Corner: Exquisite coffee and vinyl jazz tunes at the daytime Japanese kissa
If your idea of a good afternoon unwinding session is fragrant coffee, plush leather chairs, and warm jazz tunes, read on.
You might have heard of Corner Corner. Located in Duxton, it’s the daytime alter-ego of vinyl record and cocktail bar RPM by D.Bespoke that focuses on coffee, with jazz records playing on the turntable.
If you enjoyed your visit, then you should be excited to hear that Corner Corner now has a sibling concept — Quiet Corner.
Much like Corner Corner, Quiet Corner is the daytime cafe concept of D.Bespoke, the group’s flagship cocktail bar, and is open only during the day.
In fact, it’s only open for 4 hours, from 1pm to 5pm, which makes it a great spot for those roaming the CBD in the afternoon.
D.Bespoke itself is one of Singapore’s most premium cocktail bars and is known for its elevated, Japanese-style bespoke cocktail experience — though this also comes at a premium.
So Quiet Corner actually gives you a chance to get a sneak peek at D.Bespoke, without shelling out big money for drinks at night.
Unlike its sibling, however, this cafe’s vibe feels more mature, more dignified, and a lil more fancy — the space here is darker, and decked out in elegant wooden fixtures.
More importantly, the leather chairs that dot the bar counter are unbelievably plush. We didn’t want to leave after slumping into the crevices of these chairs.
It’s like your traditional Japanese kissa, with plenty of silky saxophone runs and stirring piano arpeggios coming from the owner’s personal collection of 5,000 records and 2,000 CDs — talk about a big music collection!
Quiet Corner’s coffee and sweets
Quiet Corner works a bit differently from its sibling, featuring only two choices of coffee and a slew of coffee cocktails.
Only two? It sounds peculiar, but it’s a concise selection, with the Jazz blend (from S$9) being brewed siphon-style, and the Ambient blend (from S$9) being brewed with a nel dripper, a Japanese coffee brewer.
The former is touted to be rich and bitter with chocolate and dried fruit notes, while our order of iced ambient blend proved to be as described — rich and nutty, but not overly so, and accented with fruit and wine-like undertones.
Tea is also available, with Japanese staples sencha (from S$9), hojicha (from S$9), and matcha (from S$9) being included on Quiet Corner’s menu.
If you’re feeling a bit fancy, there’s the slightly pricey matcha latte (S$11), which boasts a mellow and delightfully grassy profile — very easy to drink!
And if you don’t just need a pick-me-up, but also need a bit of a boozy boost: Quiet Corner also offers coffee cocktails and whisky drinks.
Whisky options include the Kobe-style highball (S$25) crafted with Nikka whisky taketsuru and whisky neat or on the rocks (price varies).
But we strongly encourage an order of the signature Blue Note (S$25), which is Quiet Corner’s version of the classic Irish coffee cocktail.
This is a warm cocktail served with a cream float, for those who haven’t had it before.
As far as Irish coffee is concerned, this has everything you want and more.
It’s fragrant and punchy with a silky mouthfeel, while the whisky adds that gratifying oomph you’re looking for — warms up your stomach and is a great accompaniment to the jazz beats.
To complete the experience, Quiet Corner also serves a bunch of dessert items, including daily selections such as coffee jelly (S$8), matcha rare cheesecake (S$8), and mizu yokan (traditional Japanese red bean jelly, S$8)
Our favourite sweet treat here, though, has to be the classic kissa pudding (S$8) which is soft, velvety, and intoxicatingly toasty. So good.
At the end of the day, we admit prices are not cheap here, but the ambience is exquisite, the coffee (and coffee cocktails) are great.
And honestly? If you’ve wanted to enjoy the D.Bespoke space, Quiet Corner is probably your best chance — the premium bar’s drinks cost probably S$30 and up, at minimum.
For more ideas on what to eat, read our stories on the cave-themed Korean restaurant in Yishun and the new My Melody and Kuromi MOS Burger merch!
Tue 1pm - 5pm
Wed 1pm - 5pm
Thu 1pm - 5pm
Fri 1pm - 5pm
Sat 1pm - 5pm
- Outram Park
Evan started off writing about food on Instagram, before joining outlets such as Buro and Confirm Good to pursue his passion. His best work usually comes after his first whisky shot in the morning.
Read more stories from this writer.
