Visitors: New Korean cafe at Tanjong Pagar with all-day coffee and brunch

Korean eateries are a dime a dozen in Singapore’s Koreatown, with Korean BBQ restaurants littering the small enclave that stretches across Tanjong Pagar Road. 

Korean cafes, though? The area has barely any — at least until now. 

Enter Visitors, a Korean-style cafe that serves up coffee, brunch, pastries, and even wine, all-day.

The cafe is located near the junction where Craig Road meets Tanjong Pagar Road, right across from Fortuna Singapore. It’s run by Gold Moon Restaurant Group, who is also behind Noci Pasta Bar, Noci Bakehouse, Tonshou, and Seoul Noodle Shop.

The space at Visitors is inspired by the warmth of Korean cafe culture, and that intention definitely shone through. The floor-to-ceiling windows invite a good amount of natural sunlight, and the interior is marked by wood furniture and minimalistic accents.

Stepping inside, I was instantly reminded of indie coffee shops I’d frequented in Seoul cafe hotspots such as Yeonnam-dong and Mangwon-dong, with its minimalistic interior and natural sunlight. 

There’s a mix of both indoor and outdoor seating — the latter is pet-friendly, so you’ll be able to enjoy coffee and brunch with your furry companions by your side.

Though currently in its soft opening phase, Visitors will officially open from tomorrow (May 29).

What’s on the menu at Visitors 

The food menu here runs all-day, so feel free to grab a brunch plate for dinner, or some sweet treats to start your day with.

During our visit, we tried the croissant butter selection (S$15), which includes two halves of a croissant with any two toppings of your choice — honey ricotta, chocolate banana, blueberry cream cheese, strawberry cream cheese, apple and brie (extra S$1), and prosciutto and arugula (extra S$1).

We chose to have our croissants with honey ricotta and blueberry cream cheese. 

The ricotta was light and creamy, with a tinge of sweetness from the honey, but it was the blueberry cream cheese that had me in love on first bite. 

The sweet, robust compote is housemade, and gelled perfectly with the slightly heavier cream cheese. Paired with the crispy, flaky croissant, this combination made for a sweet treat I’d return for. 

There are even sweeter toppings to be had too — ricotta honey butter and ice cream (S$17) and chocolate fondue and ice cream (S$17).

We also tried the truffle egg soldiers (S$13), Visitors’ truffle-infused twist on the classic English breakfast of eggs & soldiers — a soft-boiled egg with thin strips of buttered toast.

Visitors’ spin uses baked baguette slices instead, and a soft-boiled egg with truffle oil, truffle salt, parmaggiano reggiano, and dill. You can top up S$1 for prosciutto, if you’re feeling like treating yourself.

The rendition here runs a little drier and slightly bland without the requisite butter, but dipping the egg-soaked strips into truffle salt really elevated the dish. 

Otherwise, though, we did find the truffle accent to be rather understated in this dish, with the truffle oil only coming through towards the bottom of the soft boiled egg.

If you’re in for a more hearty brunch option, the basil garlic chicken sandwich (S$18) is a great protein-packed choice. 

What I enjoyed most was that every ingredient pulled its weight and had its own merits — the chicken breast’s firm bite, the sun-dried tomatoes’ natural sweetness, the arugula’s nutty, yet earthy finish, and the basil garlic mayonnaise’s gentle herby kick.

The bread is briefly flame-torched before serving, hence the mildly torched appearance of the breads, but could use more time under the flame for a crisper shell.

To end off the meal, we tried the mugwort Basque cheesecake (S$11). Mugwort (also known as “ssuk” in Korean), is a type of herb commonly used in Korean cooking, though in the local context, it’s more commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine. 

Though the herb itself is slightly bitter and almost minty, the mugwort was pretty mild, and even added grassy, aromatic undertones to the dessert. 

The cake itself is soft, yet slightly firm, and finished with the chunks of injeolmi (roasted soybean powder) crumble atop the cheesecake.  

If you’d like a more familiar flavour, black sesame (S$11) cheesecakes are available, too.

Drinks 

On our visit, we tried the cafe’s namesake drink, the Visitors cream latte (S$8) — a double-shot iced latte base topped off with black sesame cream.

The savoury cream top wasn’t cloying at all, and there’s a decently strong trace of the black sesame.

It is more milk-forward, though, so if you’d like a stronger coffee kick, you might want an extra shot of espresso (extra S$1).

The staff also recommended the brulee milk tea (S$7.50), an earl grey milk tea with a caramelised top. Despite its sugary inspiration, it is well-balanced and avoids being too sweet, with strong notes of earl grey.

Though we didn’t manage to try it, the ube latte (S$7) also seems to be a popular pick.

If you’re more of a classic coffee drinker, the usual suspects of black (S$5) and the white (latte, flat, cappuccino, S$6) coffees are available, all of which can be iced for an additional 50 cents. Oat milk is also available at an extra S$1. 

For those visiting with their pets, there’s a Puppuccino (S$3) available, too.

Visitors’ all-day offerings also mean that wines and beers are on the menu — you can grab a glass of red wine or white wine at S$15, or if you’re more of a beer person, a bottle of Hoegaarden or Stella will set you back S$12. 

Without the warm sunlight streaking in, I’d imagine the space takes on a different charm at night.

Visitors’ opening promos

To mark its grand opening, Visitors is giving away a year’s worth of free coffee and brunch to one lucky follower — check out on its social media channels for more details.

Think your odds of winning the giveaway are too slim? Visitors is also holding an opening promotion for its first month: Get 10% off your bill if you’re following Visitors’ Instagram account — a pretty good reason to check them out in the month of June!

This was a hosted tasting.

Looking for new spots to dine at? Check out this cafe with only slow brews at Lavender, or this new bakery-cafe at Kovan.