Carpenter and Cook – Artisan Café At Upper Bukit Timah Serves Excellent Homemade Desserts And Brunch

I was scrolling through my Instagram feed the other day when I came across Carpenter and Cook, a pretty cafe located in Bukit Timah. I had actually heard about this popular cafe from a long time ago, but only went down to check it out recently.

Carpenter and Cook

Carpenter and Cook is a vintage home store and artisan bakery café located along Lorong Kilat in Upper Bukit Timah. It is known for its excellent pastries that are all baked in-house.

The owner, Shenn, trained at the prestigious Cordon Bleu in London and honed her skills at artisan bakery and chocolate shop Cocomaya.

In 2012, together with her friends Eunice and Phoebe, Shenn decided to open a bakery café decorated with beautiful vintage furniture. And that is why the cafe is named “Carpenter” and “Cook”.

Menu (click to enlarge)

The cafe serves a variety of freshly baked goods and confectionery like cakes, croissants, tarts, scones, quiches, and even tiramisu.

Other than pastries, the menu also offers an impressive selection of brunch items and pasta dishes.

The drinks menu includes coffee, tea, smoothies, frappes, and fresh juices.

Cozy Cafe with Vintage Charm

Carpenter and Cook is a charming retro-themed space decorated with an eclectic selection of vintage memorabilia and antiques.

I was intrigued to see that my table was actually constructed from a defunct sewing machine, with the manual foot pedal conveniently serving as a foot rest – quite an ingenious creation.

The cafe is also family-friendly with larger tables available.

acting cool

The swing outside the cafe provides an Instagram-worthy photo opportunity, but on closer look the paint was peeling from quite a few spots.

The staff were generally quite friendly, but I was annoyed by how long my food took to arrive – I ordered at 1pm and the first dish only came at 1.35pm!

Pain Au Chocolat

The Pain Au Chocolat ($4), literally “chocolate bread”, is a French-style puff pastry with chocolate fillings.

The freshly-baked bread had a slightly crispy crust along with an airy texture and a rich chocolatey fragrance. Biting in further, I got to savour the delicate sweetness of the melted chocolate inside.

Thick Cut Brioche French Toast

The Thick Cut Brioche French Toast ($15.50) is topped with strawberries, blueberries, and toasted almonds.

The French toast was sweet and eggy, but was slightly lacking in flavour. Luckily, together with the fresh fruits and lightly musky toasted almonds, this was still quite a satisfying dish.

Cravin’ Crab Cakes

I also tried the Cravin’ Crab Cakes ($20), which consists of two crab cakes served with pastry and salad. Note that this is not a regular menu item.

The crab cake was surprisingly juicy and tender without falling apart. It combined with the flaky pastry and creamy mayo sauce to form a flavourful party in my mouth.

The refreshing salad provided balance to this savoury dish.

Conclusion

Carpenter and Cook, which opened eight years ago, is the eminent elder of the Singapore cafe scene. On the whole, I had a pleasant meal here – the food was good and the cafe had a nice quirky charm. My only gripe was that the food took really long to arrive. Therefore, I suggest eating one of their delicious pastries first while waiting for your mains to be served. The cafe does not charge GST or service charge.

Carpenter and Cook
Address: 19 Lor Kilat #01-06, Singapore 598120
Opening Hours: | Mon to Fri: 10am – 10pm | Sat: 9am – 10pm | Sun: 9am – 9pm |
Phone: +65 6463 3648