Food at Department of Caffeine isn’t the light bites and nibbles we expect from cafes, instead you’ll find interesting and substantial meals. True enough, DOC’s owner, Andrew Lek’s philosophy on food is to always keep things different. He said, “ We don’t want to serve your usual café food… and the way we serve and price our food gives us flexibility to the menu.”

You’ll find an array of tantalising dishes on display, which you can mix and match at your own choosing. Meals ranging from $13-17 are served in sets with 3 choices of salads accompanying the main dish of your choice. On top of that, they have a delectable selection of sandwiches and brunch items on the weekends. This compact café is perfect for doing work or enjoying a quiet day as even when it’s full, the well-behaved clientele of stylish yuppies keep their conversations hushed.

For a café with a name so focused on the main substance found in a cup of joe, you’d expect it to be a coffee purist’s haven with odd names for drinks with different amounts of milk. But Department of Caffeine is nothing like that; instead it’s got a great selection of light meals and lovely desserts to go with your coffee drinks, which aren’t confusing to order at all.

Its Pulled Pork Sandwich with Homemade BBQ Sauce ($13) was a mass of shredded vegetables and tender meat. The first bite holds a myriad of flavours – sweet, tangy and something almost floral, akin to lemongrass, to balance out the pork’s saltiness. The homemade sauce that lightly marinates the pork is the tangiest BBQ sauce we’ve tried, tasting almost Thai. With soft buns that soak up the flavours, this pulled pork sandwich is definitely not your typical café fare.

The Chargrilled Broccoli Salad ($9/11/13), lightly drizzled in olive oil and seasoned with flakes of chilli and garlic, came as a pleasant surprise. Chargrilled to add a certain depth to its flavour, the salad made for a savoury yet refreshingly juicy appetiser.

Though the Poached Salmon with Yoghurt & Dill sauce ($13/15/17) was cooked very well with its tender insides, it proved too salty even with its creamy sauce. If you’re really craving salmon, be sure to order it with the Sesame Soba Noodles Salad($9/11/13). The salad’s nutty and tangy flavour due to the sesame and citrus dressing, will even out and complement the salmon’s strong flavour.

Nothing like the dried-out muffins you find at Starbucks, the desserts at DOC are creative and made to complement your coffee. “You won’t find anything with layers of cream here. Everything is made to enjoy with coffee,” said Andrew.

The Pear & Amaretto Cake ($5) might be a unique pairing of flavours to most of us, but rest assured, both ingredients go great together. Leaving you with a wonderful nutty sweetness, its only improvement would be if the alcoholic presence of amaretto was more prominent. Be sure to get a strong cup of java alongside this cake as its dense, almost bread pudding-like texture grows cloying with each bite.

The standout dessert is definitely the Honey & Lavender Teacake ($4.50) – soft, moist and lovely with a latte. Delicately flavoured with lavender and topped with a complementary lemon drizzle that offsets the floral sweetness, it’s a must-try.

Providing the coffee beans is the Australia roaster Five Senses, the same roaster that supplies 40 Hands, a popular café in Tiong Bahru, that uses a heavier blend.

A great full-bodied blend, its deep roasted taste hits you at your first sip, giving way to a milder slightly sharper taste. This is a crowd pleaser with its versatile and palatable flavour.

They definitely justify their name by making sure to serve coffee from a variety of roasters other than the mainstay, Five Senses. Every month, DOC features a local and international roaster, this week’s being Nylon Coffee Roasters.

A rather unique blend that comes off as sweet, it’s marked by its strong acidic taste. The taste of milk in lattes made with Nylon beans are much more prominent than in Five Senses lattes, making it more suitable for those with a preference for a lighter coffee taste. Although, it might put people off with its evident sourness.

With so many cafes popping up around Singapore, it’s hard to distinguish the good from the mediocre. But DOC definitely has the formula for your new favourite café: a cosy environment, good food, even better desserts and, of course, a great cup of Joe.

 

Rating: 3.5/5

Price rating: 4/5

Contact details:

Address: 15 Duxton Road

Tel: 6222 4326

Opening Hours:
Mon – Fri: 10:30 am – 7:30 pm
Sat – Sun: 9:30 am – 7:30 pm