Caracara at Tanjong Pagar, Modern Japanese Brunch in Singapore

Caracara sits at 77 Neil Road, right in the heart of Tangjong Pagar. Housed in a heritage shophouse, the restaurant shares its address with the Michelin-starred Chaleur, which we previously reviewed. Step inside Caracara and you are greeted by a bright, sleek interior with some gorgeous wooden features. There are 2 sections to the venue, a casual bar area near to the front and then a formal dining hall towards the back of the restaurant, which included a gorgeous 8 seater wooden slab that we were seated at for brunch.

Exterior of Caracara

Caracara's kitchen is helmed by Chef Tan, who draws inspiration from his time training in Japan and Singapore. The food is mainly Japanese inspired and during Brunch, there is a good sized menu featuring Sandos, rice bowls and some healthy dishes like barley risotto. When we went there was also a wagyu ozachuke special available. Our party of 6 had a selection of Sandos and Donburis and although the prices at Caracara are on the higher side, the portions were also large and the ingredients were premium.

The coffee selection is equally important. Caracara had 2 blends on offer when we visited. The Aurora blend, which is their signature "grape coffee". The tasting notes are grapes and rum and extremely fruit forward and sweet. I had it as an iced latte and the grape flavours were pronounced and a nice treat. The last time I had a latte which was so fruit forward was at Nana's coffee, so it was very pleasant to find such a fruit forward blend here at Caracara. The second option is Milkadoodle, which has nutty peanuts and chocolate, more for the traditionalists.

Pork Sando $26

Miso Gindara Donburi $28

Booking

Our group of 5 managed to get a reservation a day ahead at 11am on a Sunday. However, the place filled up quite quickly when we were there, so definitely book ahead if you intend to visit. Do take note also that they may request their tables back. For us, we were not told before hand, but at 1230, that they required the table back. It was not a big deal, but we would have definitely appreciated some heads up when we were seated that they were expecting the table back.

Accessibility

The closest MRT station to Caracara is Maxwell Station, which is an approximately 5 min walk. Alternatively you can catch a bus directly on Neil Road at Stop 05259 (Opp. Maxwell Station Exit 3) where you can find buses 61, 166 and 197.

The Damage

The damage was approximately 41 SGD per pax for a main and a drink. It definitely has been a while since I have been out for brunch, but I would say this is about standard now for a brunch place with specialty beans and a typical brunch main.

Would we recommend?

Maybe! It is a very nice place for a coffee and some food. Nothing extremely spectacular to call out but the food was good, the staff were polite and we enjoyed our time at Caracara. A solid brunch place!