Over the years, Singapore has attracted numerous influential artists and big-name museum exhibitions—from renown Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama to prized specimens from the prestigious Natural History Museum London. In addition to all that rich culture and wonderful art, there are some excellent cafes and restaurants in these museums as well.

We have put together a list of places where you can expect great food and magnificent art under one roof; you’d be surprised that many of these places offer a lot more than just coffee and cake—some even deserve a visit of their own.

Here is a guide to 8 Museum Cafés And Restaurants In Singapore To Appreciate Art And Food.

#1 FABCAFE

FabCafe puts innovative state-of-the-art 3D printers and laser cutters together with food and drinks, creating a space where technology, creativity and food collide. Besides aromatic roasted coffee, you can find your usual fare at this futuristic café such as pastries, cakes and croissants.

If that isn’t enough, FabCafe offers workshops and meetups where you can learn about the latest happenings in the arts and technology fields.

Fab Café
6 Bayfront Avenue
ArtScience Museum Lobby
Singapore 018974
Tel: +65 6688 7023
Daily: 10am – 7pm
Nearest Station: Bayfront

Photo Credit: foodanatomysg

#2 FOOD ANATOMY

Known for their Instagram-worthy dishes shaped in cubes, Food Anatomy recently shifted from Tanjong Pagar to Red Dot Design Museum. You’ll be thrilled to know that the venue not only offers a visual gastronomic experience, they even serve craft beers as low as S$6!

Unlike other museum cafes in Singapore, Food Anatomy exudes a chill vibe very much like the bars in Clarke Quay.

Food Anatomy
1 Marina Boulevard
Red Dot Design Museum Lobby
Singapore 018940
Tel: +65 6514 0111
Mon to Thu: 10am – 8pm
Fri to Sun: 10am – 11pm
Nearest Station: Bayfront

Photo Credit: adjimantoro

#3 FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Set in Singapore’s oldest museum, Food For Thought features a range of delectable dishes that are full of Southeast Asian flavours, such as Red Rice Wine Chicken Leg Mee Sua, Crispy Curry Chicken and Soy Beef Brisket.

The decor of the restaurant pays homage to old-school home-style dining rooms and kopitiams Singaporeans grew up with—a great reminiscent of childhood days.

Food For Thought
93 Stamford Rd
National Museum of Singapore #01-04/05
Singapore 178897
Tel: +65 6338 9887
Daily: 10am – 7pm
Nearest Station: Bras Basah

#4 GALLERY & CO

Housed within the historic City Hall wing of National Gallery Singapore, Gallery & Co is a design store with a bookstore, café, and bar. Featuring a Southeast Asian theme, the café offers an all-day dining menu and seasonal sweet treats that are often inspired by ongoing exhibitions.

If you seek something stronger than coffee, visit the POPbar where cocktails start at S$15 and beer buckets go for S$25 during happy hour.

Gallery & Co
1 St Andrew’s Rd
The National Gallery
City Hall Wing #01-11
Singapore 178957
Tel: +65 6385 6683
Sat to Thurs: 10am – 7pm
Fri: 10am – 10pm
Nearest Station: City Hall

Photo Credit: beckybecsbeca

#5 LOVE PAL CAFÉ

SAM at 8Q—housed right across the street from Singapore Art Museum—is where you can find Love Pal Café.

This quaint spot serves a mix of Western and Asian fare and the Korean Kimichi Shabu Shabu Pork Don (S$7.90) is a crowd favourite. The best part? No GST and service charge and there’s even complimentary WiFi!

Love Pal Café
8 Queen St
SAM At 8Q
Singapore 188535
Tel: +65 6338 1884
Mon to Fri: 10am – 10pm
Sat and Sun: 8am – 10pm
Nearest Station: Bras Basah

Photo Credit: nardypoh

#6 PRIVÉ ACM CAFÉ

Boasting a magnificent view of the Singapore River, Privé at the Asian Civilisation Museum is a casual all-day dining concept which offers both indoor and al fresco dining options. The retro-style cafe is furnished with marble tables, wire-mesh doors and rattan chairs.

Serving simple yet hearty food, this café is perfect for a quick meal during the day or post-work drinks with colleagues at night against the stunning CBD skyline.

Privé ACM Café
1 Empress Place
Asian Civilisation Museum #01-02
Singapore 179555
Tel: +65 6776 0777
Mon to Thurs: 8.30am – 10.30pm
Fri and Sat: 8.30am – 12am
Sun: 9am – 10.30pm
Nearest Station: Clarke Quay

Photo Credit: moycindy

#7 TRATTORIA LAFIANDRA

After exploring the stellar collection of contemporary Southeast Asian Art at Singapore Art Museum (SAM), visitors can drop by charming Italian restaurant, Trattoria Lafiandra for scrumptious Italian cuisine.

From antipasti, homemade pasta, risotto to main courses, you will definitely be spoilt for choices.

Trattoria Lafiandra
71 Bras Basah Rd
Singapore Art Museum #01-02
Singapore 189555
Tel: +65 6884 4035
Daily: 11.30am – 3pm, 6pm – 11pm
Nearest Station: Bras Basah

Photo Credit: visit_singapore

#8 TRUE BLUE PANTRY

If you need a light bite after touring the Peranakan Museum, indulge in nonya kuehs over a cup of refreshing floral tea or aromatic local coffee at True Blue Pantry. Salads and quick nonya meals are available here too.

During Chinese New Year, the café sells festive traditional homemade cookies that are absolutely divine. You can also purchase nonya kebayas, jewellery, bags and beaded shoes from the cafe’s merchandise corner too.

True Blue Pantry
39 Armenian Street
Peranakan Museum
Singapore 179941
Tel: +65 6337 7514
Daily: 10am – 7pm
Nearest Station: City Hall

Culture buffs have to check out these 11 fascinating museums in Singapore to visit over the weekend.

Food For Thought Cafe is one of those places that immediately come to mind whenever someone asks me to recommend a place that serves decent food at affordable prices.

They have recently closed down their original branch at North Bridge Road, and shifted to a much bigger location at Singapore Botanic Gardens. Well, it is probably an understatement to say that it is much bigger. The new outlet can easily accommodate more than 200 people. This is definitely great news for regulars who always frequent the cafe.

Food For Thought (FFT) Cafe at Botanic Gardens is slightly different from both the North Bridge Road and 8Q SAM Queen Street outlets. They have a self-service system where you order and pay at the cashier, and the staff will serve the food to the table.

We were there for brunch recently, and while it was tempting to get extra portions, we decided to order sensibly because we were heading to Brunetti for desserts.

The menu has quite a fair selection of everything: from Salads ($10) like Chicken Caesar and Juicy Portobello; to Pastas ($12-17) like Lemon Butter Mushroom Linguine and Spicy Beef Linguine; to Grilled Burgers ($8-12) like the Classic Beef and Cheese Burger; to Mains ($20-23) like Baby Back Ribs and Pan-Seared Salmon; and desserts ($4-7) like Red Velvet Cake and Hazelnut & Chocolate Cake.

In addition to the ala carte menu, they also have a brunch menu and it’s easy to see why it is so popular. The brunch is just $8 for any three items and you can choose from items like Grilled Mushrooms, Hash Brown, Scrambled Eggs, Bacon, and Sausage.

The food that we had in general was decent, nothing to write home about. I enjoyed the Creamy Pulled Pork Linguine ($16), while the Grilled Basil Pesto Chicken Burger ($9) and Eggs with mushroom & sausages ($8 for any three items) were okay.

The highlight was definitely the Dark Chocolate & Raspberries Pancakes ($12). In fact, I’ll go so far as to say that they have one of the best pancakes in Singapore.

Some of the other pancakes on the menu (from $8-13) include: Mixed Berries, Banana & Walnut, Hazelnut Chocolate and Granola.

Food For Thought at Singapore Botanic Gardens is an ideal place for weekend brunch; you can take a nice stroll in the park after having scrambled eggs and sausages, with a cup of coffee. Moreover, most of the dishes are priced very reasonably. I am sure the new outlet will become very popular in no time.

Food For Thought
1 Cluny Road #B1-00
Singapore Botanic Gardens
Tel: +65 6338 4848
Near Tanglin Gate, Opposite Gleneagles hospital

For more recommendations, read my list of Best Cafes in Singapore

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