For our avid cafe hoppers, aside from the famous Lola’s Cafe in Kovan, you can always travel further north-east to explore the best cafes in Hougang and Sengkang too
Where are the best cafes from Kovan to Sengkang?
Kovan cafes
1. Lola’s Cafe — popular brunch cafe in Kovan
2. Alkove Bistro — French-style brunch and desserts with a Japanese twist
3. FATCAT Ice Cream & Coffee Boutique — Popular handcrafted gelato cafe in Kovan
Hougang cafes
4. Denzy Gelato — Award-winning gelato crafted by Italy-trained chef
5. SOD Cafe
6. Flavour Flings
Sengkang cafes
7. The Apricus — a halal certified Muslim-owned cafe popular for its dessert offerings
8. Tsujiri — well-known matcha place from Kyoto
9. Cold Flings — ice cream and acai place that opens till 2am
Can’t find what you’re looking for? Here are more cafes near Kovan.
Best cafes in Kovan
1. Lola’s Cafe
The first branch of the popular neighbourhood brunch spot, Lola’s cafe, is originally located in Simon Road. This Instagrammable cafe in Kovan is well-known for its cosy Korean-inspired cafe decor and laid back ambience, but more importantly — its amazing brunch.
The cafe offers delectable brunch options like pasta, burgers, and pastries. The crowd’s favourites are Nacho Cheese Tater Tots ($12), Spicy Tomato Crab Rigatoni ($20), and Garlic Soy Fried Chicken Burger ($18).
Their beverages menu features refreshing options like Iced Passion Fruit Earl Grey ($6.5), but the popular choice remains their house-made White ($6).
Lola’s Cafe has another outlet located in Holland Village.
Location: 5 Simon Rd, Singapore 545893
2. Alkove Bistro
Alkove Bistro is a French-style brunch and desserts with a Japanese twist led by Michelin-starred Chef Haikal Johari. Enjoy haute cuisine affordably in this vibrant yellow cafe.
The cafe offers classic French delights such as the Croque Monsieur ($17.9) alongside fusion creations like the Squid Ink Pasta ($21.9). Not limited to that, the cafe is also known for their freshly baked pastries and unique seasonal dessert such as Baklava Croissant and Ile Flottante.
Location: 2 Kovan Road, 01-10 Simon Plaza, S548008
3. FATCAT Ice Cream & Coffee Boutique
FATCAT Ice Cream & Coffee Boutique initially rose to fame with its charcoal waffles salted egg yolk sauce combo when they first opened. Now, they’ve established themselves into a frequent spot for quality handcrafted gelato.
This Kovan cafe boasts delights like Reverse S’mores ($12) and Ice Cream Wafflewiches. The store also offer unique seasonal flavours like Dou Jiang You Tiao and Eggnog Gula Melaka. Single scoop gelato starts from $5.
For drinks, popular picks are the Dirty Matcha, Black Sesame, and Houjicha; each priced at $8. Additionally, their cold brews offering are infused with gelato flavours such as Hokkaido Milk, Mocha, Matcha, and seasonal Peppermint Choco, providing a diverse range of refreshing options.
FATCAT Ice Cream & Coffee Boutique first appeared in Bedok before shifting to Kovan.
FATCAT Ice Cream & Coffee Boutique
Location: 15 Simon Rd, Singapore 545907
Best cafes in Hougang
4. DENZY Gelato
DENZY Gelato stands out for its award-winning creation, Pear, Ginger, and Ginger Flower, crowned “Singapore’s Best Gelato” in 2019. Trained in Italy, the owner of DENZY Gelato ensures all creations to be handcrafted with quality ingredients only.
The cafe serves in over nine retail store country-wide with one of the cafes located in Hougang Village. They offer three types of flavours which are standard, speciality, and premium. Single scoop starts from $4.2 for standard flavours such as Sea Salt Gula Jawa and Black Sesame.
If you’re a fan of this Hougang ice cream cafe, 160z pints are available for delivery order via their website, featuring popular speciality flavour like Roasted Bronte Pistachio ($18) and premium flavour like Raspberry Swirl ($17).
Location: 684 Hougang Ave 8, #01-953, Singapore 530684
5. SOD Cafe
Located in Ci Yuan Hawker Centre, SOD Cafe is a budget-friendly all-day brunch place that offer convenient delectable bites for grab and go.
The HOugang cafe serves an array of quick snacks and hearty dishes, each priced with no service charges. Some of the crowd’s favourites are Chicken Supreme ($10.9), Hawaiian Mini Pizza ($9.8), and The Big SOD Cafe’s Breakfast ($16.9).
You can also get bubble tea here, with the best-seller being the Tan Milk Tea ($4.5), a roasted charcoal oolong milk tea.
Location: 51 Hougang Ave 9, #01-03 Ci Yuan Community Centre, Singapore 538776
6. Flavour Flings
Flavour Flings is a halal-certified cafe known for offering Swiss Raclette Cheese on top of its dishes. Whether on top of beef steak, cheeseburger, and even croissant, experience the melting cheese served before your eyes.
The cafe is also known to blend unique flavours into their menu, for example their Milo Coated Popcorn Chicken with Nacho Cheese Dip ($11), Salted Egg Yolk Fries ($10), and their latest creation of Nutella Bacon Cheeseburger available in the Hougang branch.
Location: 121 Hougang Ave 1, #01-1348, Singapore 530121
Best cafes in Sengkang
9. The Apricus
The Apricus is a Muslim-owned cafe that exclusively serves 100% halal-certified sourced ingredients for their brunch offerings and coffee. The halal cafe in Sengkang boasts a cosy ambience with modern chic decor.
Emerging as a trendy spot in Jalan Kayu, the cafe’s popular menu is their instagrammable dessert, the Apricus Brioche French Toast ($22), where it will be served with a soft serve of your choice on top. If you’re looking for hearty meals, go for their popular pasta choices, opt for Seafood Linguine ($25) or Brown Butter Norwegian Salmon Linguine ($23).
Location: 248 Jalan Kayu, Singapore 799472
10. Tsujiri
Extending its global branch to Singapore, Tsujiri is a famous teahouse originally from Kyoto.
It’s renowned for their offerings centred in tea creations using their star ingredients, O-Matcha. From warabimochi to matcha latte ice cream, you’ll be amazed by the diverse ways matcha can be incorporated into your drinks and desserts.
Indulge in their popular Instagram-worthy desserts like Tsujiri Shaved Ice (From $7.8), Shiratama Parfait (from $8.8), and classic Latte (from $7). Other than matcha, you can also opt for other tea bases like Houjicha, Red Bean, Yuzu, and more.
Location: 70 Compassvale Bow, #01-57 Sengkang Grand Mall, Singapore 544692
11. Cold Flings
Looking for a cafe in Sengkang that opens till 2am for your late cravings? Look no further than Cold Flings.
Known for their acai bowls and ice creams, this cosy dessert place is located near Thammgamm LRT, Sengkang. With all-white interior and charming neon sign, the place exudes a minimalistic charm.
The standouts offerings from their menu are their unique ice cream flavours like Green Apple Yakult and Peanut Butter Jelly. Single scoops start from $4.5 and you can add-ons waffle priced at $6.
Meanwhile, their acai bowls start from $9.9 for medium size.
Location: 21 Fernvale Road, #01-05 High Park Residences, Singapore 797637
Cafes near Kovan, Hougang and Sengkang
If you can’t find any suitable cafes in Kovan, Hougang and Sengkang, hop over to the nearby neighbourhoods. We have compiled various guides of the best cafes nearby:
- Serangoon cafes (1 MRT stop away)
- Punggol cafes (4 MRT stops away)
- Paya Lebar cafes (5 MRT stops away)
- Botanic Gardens cafes (6 MRT stops away)
- Upper Thomson cafes (6 MRT stops away)
- Yishun cafes (7 MRT stops away)
- Bedok cafes (8 MRT stops away)
- Bugis cafes (9 MRT stops away)
- Jalan Besar cafes (9 MRT stops away)
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Insatiable cravings? Here are more desserts to indulge in some of the best cafes in Singapore
