The Bravery Cafe

The Bravery Cafe
66 Horne Road

https://www.facebook.com/thebraverycafe/

Bagel Set With Avocado (SGD $17)

Hipster & Chill

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 6
Ambience & Setting: 6
Food & Beverage: 7
Service: 5
Value for Money: 6
Spent about SGD $25 per person.


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Established in August 2013, The Bravery Cafe is a popular Muslim-owned (halal) hipster cafe, serving a decent selection of modern, all-day brunch dishes. Opened by the folks behind the now-defunct The Plain Cafe, The Bravery Cafe is still going strong and attracting a crowd, especially on weekends.

Ambience at The Bravery Cafe is minimalist industrial. Decently lit by a combination of natural sunlight and warm lights, with low hanging decorative light bulbs taking up a section near the white walls with a weathered-look, the place is tightly furnished with rough industrial metal and wooden communal tables and benches. The open kitchen results in a slight cooking and coffee brewing odour lingering in the air. The door is the most confusing, without any indication of how to open it unless you see it in action.

Service at The Bravery Cafe is partially self-service, with ordering and payment over the counter, though staff will serve orders to your table. They display good product knowledge, able to accede to special meal requests and minor customisations, but fulfilling orders takes awhile as they prepare it fresh. Expect a wait of up to 20 minutes. I note staff clean up efficiently when diners leave. The place is bustling when crowded, and staff seem able to engage with customers.

Food at The Bravery Cafe is halal Modern European cuisine. Dishes are made to order, but ingredients used are sometimes fresh, sometimes frozen. They usually features a robust taste profile, and are medium heavy on sauces to lend flavour. They offer cakes for desserts, but the display is sidelined, without any names (best if you ask). Portions are sized for individuals. Prices are reflective of a typical cafe, budget about SGD $25 per person.


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The Bravery Cafe Exterior

The Bravery Cafe Interior

The Bravery Cafe Menu

The Bravery Cafe Menu

Experience

Decorative Lights

Smooth and sippable, the Chai Latte (SGD $4) has bold earthy spice sweet flavour, with a milky undertone. Fairly drinkable and pleasant.

Chai Latte (SGD $4)

The unique Lavender Latte (SGD $5.50) is their house signature beverage - basically a regular latte, infused with lavender flowers. This lends a delicate floral taste to the milky sweet flavours of the latte. Despite its elegance, the coffee strength is below average, and aficionados won't take a shine to this.

Lavender Latte (SGD $5.50)

Lavender Latte

The Lychee Mojito (SGD $6.50) is a refreshing beverage, but the rendition here is slightly underwhelming. There's sufficient mint leaves, but not enough lychee flavour, resulting in a diluted fruity sweet herbal flavour. Could be improved.

Lychee Mojito (SGD $6.50)

Lychee Mojito

What stood out in the Bagel Set With Avocado (SGD $17) is the beautiful creamy soft scrambled eggs with delicate eggy sweet salty flavour, and the chewy soft raisin bagel with fruity bready sweet flavour. The fresh mesclun salad (chard, mizuna, baby spinach) dressed in tangy balsamic vinaigrette has decent vegetal sweet sour bitter flavour, while the rosettes of average smoked salmon fish was tender soft with a light salty savoury sweet flavour. The creamy soft halved avocado is paired with a sprinkle of lemon juice, and as expected, this is properly vegetal earthy nutty in taste. However, the soft cream cheese seemed an afterthought here. Good!

Bagel Set With Avocado (SGD $17)

Bagel Set With Avocado

I enjoyed the Holy Crab (SGD $15), which is a perfect light dish for brunch. Served with warm bouncy sauteed wild button mushrooms with bold earthy salty savoury flavour, and chilled crunchy slices of pickled cucumber with bright vegetal sour sweet flavour. Topped with a perfectly runny poached egg with hollandaise sauce, the hand formed rounds of crab cake have a crisp crunchy crumbed exterior, and a tender moist chewy interior. The shreds of crab meat carry delicate sweet savoury flavour, and is so yummy. Good!

Holy Crab (SGD $15)

Holy Crab

Holy Crab

Holy Crab

Loved the Pan-Seared Salmon Fillet (SGD $19.90), with its perfectly executed fresh salmon fish fillet. The salmon skin is beautifully crisp, crunching lightly with salty savoury flavour, while the fish itself is juicy tender flaky in texture, with delicate savoury sweet flavour. The rich creamy lemon butter gravy lends a nice contrast of tangy sour milky notes, while the mesclun salad (baby spinach, mizuna, sorrel, red radish, curly endive / frisée) lends a soft crunch with decent vegetal earthy bitter herbal flavour. However, the supposedly roasted herbed tomato tasted like a regular tomato, and I felt it could have been grilled slightly longer for more smoky sweet flavour. But the roasted baby potatoes were nicely starchy earthy sweet with a tender touch. Good!

Pan-Seared Salmon Fillet (SGD $19.90)

Pan-Seared Salmon Fillet

Pan-Seared Salmon Fillet

Pan-Seared Salmon Fillet

Suspect the Grilled Australian Grass-Fed Beef Ribeye (SGD $28) uses frozen beef, or beef that is at least a day-old, as it has a strong gamey taste over the meaty savoury salty flavour. At least it's nicely tender juicy in texture, and the dollop of garlic butter lends good herbal milky spice flavour. The fresh mesclun salad (chard, mizuna, baby spinach) dressed in tangy balsamic vinaigrette has decent vegetal sweet sour bitter flavour, while the juicy grilled vine tomatoes burst with vegetal sweet flavour. There seems to be a base of creamy garlic mashed potatoes puree, which has a sweet savoury herbal flavour, saving the taste of the beef to an extent. This would be a winner with fresher beef. Could be improved.

Grilled Australian Grass-Fed Beef Ribeye (SGD $28)

Grilled Australian Grass-Fed Beef Ribeye

Grilled Australian Grass-Fed Beef Ribeye

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