Lirra Visits: The Book Cafe
Greetings, fellow readers! This semester, we will be taking you on a journey to explore book cafes in Singapore through a series of reviews starting this month. Through this series, we hope to inspire you with new places to explore in your journey of reading. The first café we have featured here is The Book Cafe, located in the heart of Robertson Quay.
Operating at the corner of Mohammad Sultan and Martin Roads since 2000, The Book Cafe describes itself as a “space where folks can chill, browse, drink and eat.” On the day of my visit, I decided to meet my friends for afternoon tea to seek their opinions on the cafe after our visit. As we arranged to meet on a Saturday afternoon, I visited The Book Café’s website to make a reservation and was met with this response after filling in the reservation details:
I was forced to call the restaurant for my reservation and was told that the café was usually packed on weekend afternoons, thus we faced the possibility of seating in the café’s non-air-conditioned area. However, we managed to snag a seat inside the café when we arrived. The service staff who attended to us was also patient and friendly and informed us to order through an internet link via QR code, which was more hygienic and assuring in the context of the current pandemic.
My friends ordered the American Cheesecake ($8.50) and the Locaba Lemon Cheeseca ($9.50), which was featured as a gluten-free, no sugar and low carb dish. On the other hand, I satisfied myself with a cup of hot piping Cappuccino ($5.20) and Traditional Italian Lemon ($6.95, available only on Fridays and weekends). As we enjoyed our meal, I asked my friends what they thought of the dishes they ordered. My friends felt that while the texture of the Locaba Lemon Cheeseca was light, it was a tad hard and needed to be paired with a hot beverage drink. The American Cheesecake was also a tad too sweet for their tastebuds. However, I enjoyed the Traditional Italian Lemon as the texture seemed to be about right and the lemon taste was neither too mild nor strong. The cappuccino also had a sweet, foamy taste that was just about right and I certainly enjoyed sipping my drink in between my conversation with them.
The café had a variety of books that could easily appeal to any book reader. Books at the café included classics, novels, non-fiction and other self-help books, along with a wide array of magazines that were available for patrons to browse. The spread of travel guides and magazines at the café also contributed to the casual and warm atmosphere of the cafe, as it was unlikely that much heavy reading could be done at the café. However, we were still slightly disappointed by the number of books available as the magazines on display seemed to outnumber the books.
We also did not observe many patrons reading books or magazines during our visit. The large number of patrons also meant that it was difficult to concentrate reading as it was not as quiet as we had imagined it would be. Still, there was a quieter spot available with sofas where patrons were engrossed in reading books, although the pandemic had reduced the number of such seats available. Plug points for laptops were also available for patrons which made it a good place for patrons who were doing their work.
Overall, we agreed that the café’s ambience makes it a good place for readers to dine at, especially on a weekday where the café is less crowded. Notwithstanding the issues we had with reserving seats and the food which could be slightly improved, I would recommend that readers check out what The Book Café has to offer, especially if they have not visited the café previously.
The Book Cafe
20 Martin Rd, #01-02 Seng Kee Building, Singapore 239070
Opening hours: 8:30am to 10:30pm, Monday to Sunday
Ratings
Ambience: 4/5
Taste: 3/5
Service: 5/5
Overall rating: 4/5
Note: The writer and his friends paid for their meals at the café.
By Bryan Chang, ReadNUS Team Member