Cafeography
Singapore · Novena, Thomson & the north

Cafés in Novena, Thomson & the north

Upper Thomson brunch cafés, a 1959 kopi powder shop on Balestier and a coffee bar inside Bishan library.

Photo: Anita Kieseler, Pexels License

This is a long band of central Singapore rather than one neighborhood: Thomson Road running up from Novena, Balestier Road crossing it, and the housing estates of Toa Payoh, Bishan, Ang Mo Kio and Serangoon beyond. Balestier Road links Thomson Road to Serangoon Road and is named after Joseph Balestier, who set up a plantation here in the 1830s.5

What you drink changes with the address. Upper Thomson Road and Serangoon Garden Way run on brunch and flat whites, Balestier keeps an older coffee trade, and the estates to the north rely on kopitiams (coffee shops), some named for nothing more than their block, like Blk 505 Ang Mo Kio Coffee Shop.

Local tip: Columbus Coffee Co. closes on Mondays, so go from Tuesday, or take the train to Bishan for Kings Cart Coffee, which opens at 10:00 every day.

At a glance

126Cafés listed
25With opening hours
07:00Earliest opening
01:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Wanglee Cafe, from 07:00 (Mon–Wed 07:00–17:00 · Thu Closed · Fri–Sun 07:00–17:00).
  • Closes latest: Rochor Beancurd House, until 01:00 (Daily 14:00–01:00).
  • Most listed streets: Upper Thomson Road (13), Balestier Road (8), Whampoa Drive (4).
  • Most common features: takeaway (10%), open late (6%), bakery café (5%).

COTTAGE by The Straits People Cafe (TSP Coffee)

  • 1 Pemimpin Drive
  • Mon–Tue 08:30–18:00 · Thu–Fri 08:30–18:00 · Sat 08:30–14:30
  • +6592724561
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Balance Coffee

  • 207 Balestier Road
  • Mon–Fri 07:30–20:00 · Sat–Sun 08:00–20:00
  • Wi-Fi
  • Takeaway
  • Air-con
  • Indoor seating
  • Card payment
  • Wheelchair access
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Bao Er Cafe

  • 400 Balestier Road
  • Daily 08:00–20:00
  • +65 8686 9777
  • Takeaway
  • Air-con
  • Partial wheelchair access
  • Smoke-free indoors
  • Brunch
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Nothing matches those filters here. See all cafés in Singapore.

Coffee chains in Novena, Thomson & the north

Upper Thomson Road: lunch-priced coffee

Upper Thomson station has served the road on the Thomson–East Coast Line since 28 August 2021, with MacRitchie and the Peirce reservoirs close by.3 Columbus Coffee Co., from the team behind Atlas Coffeehouse, has a minimalist, Japanese-inspired room and a kitchen to match: in March 2024 its beef steak donburi was S$24.20 plus charges.1

One Man Coffee, at No. 215R, was pouring beans from Nylon Coffee Roasters in an industrial-chic room when City Nomads covered the road in 2020.2 Hello Arigato pairs Japanese-inspired comfort food with Scandinavian-style interiors, including a S$28 gyu sando (beef sandwich) in 2024.1 SOD Cafe undercuts them all, with student meals from S$7.90 plus charges that year.1

Balestier Road and Royal Square

The road's best-known coffee address serves no coffee. Lam Teo Coffee Powder has been at No. 328 since 1959, with old grinders, an abacus on the counter and traditional kopi beans roasted with margarine and sugar; Benny Tan, the original owner's grandson, grinds them to take away.4 A temple from 1847, built to protect plantation workers from the tigers in the swamps, gained an opera stage in 1906, one of the last originals in Singapore.4

Two Men Bagel House, in Royal Square, hand-rolls its bagels, boils them in honey water and bakes them each morning; a spam-and-pineapple Hawaiian cost S$10 in 2019.6 Seating is limited, so many customers carry theirs out.6

For a seat, Balance Coffee keeps two shops on Balestier Road, with Wi-Fi at both and a 07:30 weekday start at No. 207. Rochor Beancurd House stays open until 01:00 every night.

Serangoon Garden Way

Apollo Coffee Bar, at 65 Serangoon Garden Way, comes from the same people as Columbus and Atlas Coffeehouse.7 Heavy metal doors open onto a large communal table and potted plants, with a sheltered, brightly lit seating area at the back and brunch until 16:00 when Eatbook reviewed it in 2020.7 The review called it crowded at peak hours.7

Dessert runs later. Edith Patisserie, on Maju Avenue, serves until 22:00 every day, and Cottontail Creamery on Serangoon Avenue 3 does the same from Tuesday to Sunday.

Bishan and Toa Payoh: coffee between errands

Kings Cart Coffee started in 2017 as a coffee cart for events and opened a Joo Chiat café in 2020, then its second outlet on the first floor of Bishan Public Library on 15 November 2021.8 The attraction is the location: anyone studying in the library can eat and drink without leaving, and a long black was S$4 plus charges at opening.8

Pemimpin Drive has COTTAGE by The Straits People Cafe (TSP Coffee), where a honey mustard chicken burger was S$13.90 plus charges in 2024.1 For an early kopi, Wanglee Cafe on Lorong 4 Toa Payoh opens at 07:00 and closes on Thursdays.

Sources

  1. 15 Best Thomson Cafes For Brunch And Coffee, Eatbook, accessed November 2026
  2. A Dining Guide to Upper Thomson, City Nomads, accessed November 2026
  3. Upper Thomson MRT station, Wikipedia, accessed November 2026
  4. Walking and eating around Balestier Road in Singapore, Expat Living, accessed November 2026
  5. Balestier Road, Wikipedia, accessed November 2026
  6. Two Men Bagel House: filling and satisfying breakfast in Novena, Miss Tam Chiak, accessed November 2026
  7. Apollo Coffee Bar review, Eatbook, accessed November 2026
  8. Kings Cart Coffee Factory has opened a second outlet in Bishan Public Library, Eatbook, accessed November 2026
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In Novena, Thomson & the north, also browse: Bakery cafés Brunch Outdoor seating Wi-Fi Open late

FAQ

Novena, Thomson & the north cafés: questions

Which cafés should you try on Upper Thomson Road in Thomson, Singapore?

Columbus Coffee Co., from the team behind Atlas Coffeehouse, has a Japanese-inspired room and a full kitchen. One Man Coffee was pouring beans from Nylon Coffee Roasters in 2020, and Hello Arigato pairs Japanese-inspired comfort food with Scandinavian-style interiors. Upper Thomson station on the Thomson–East Coast Line is on the road.

Where can you buy traditional kopi powder on Balestier Road in Singapore?

Lam Teo Coffee Powder, at 328 Balestier Road, has been trading since 1959. It keeps old grinders and an abacus on the counter and sells traditional kopi beans roasted with margarine and sugar. It grinds beans to take away and does not brew coffee to drink on site.

Is there a café inside Bishan Public Library in Singapore?

Yes. Kings Cart Coffee has an outlet on the first floor of Bishan Public Library, opened on 15 November 2021. The business began in 2017 as a coffee cart for events and opened its first café in Joo Chiat in 2020. You can eat and drink there without leaving the library building.

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