Gaest

I had very high hopes for this place, since I’ve heard some amazing things about their pork sandwich. I finally decided to go and of course I wanted the classic sourdough bread with my sandwich. We were told to wait a bit because the bread wasn’t ready yet, which we didn’t mind at all — what could be better than fresh bread?!
Long story short, I brought the sandwich back and noticed that the bottom bit of each slice of bread was stodgy and undercooked :(needless to say this was very disappointing, since we had already waited and definitely would not have minded waiting a bit longer for the bread to be fully cooked!
I was also told that the sandwiches have gone down in size since the new owners took over, which I hope isn’t true but would be very disappointing if it is. I will give this place another chance because I did love the pork (and crackling!) but I do hope the bread is usually fully cooked!

Food servings are huge, and the salads are super yummy. Hazelnut spread is nutty and dry — goes super well with bread. :)

I had the pork sandwich. Good bread but the meat didnt have much flavor. I used their hot sauce to make it taste like anything but grease. The salad looked good though.

Whenever I move away from Singapore, this is one place I will definitely miss. Their signature bread is amazing. It makes for excellent morning toast creations and lunch sandwiches, but it can easily stand on its own. I usually grab a piece to go (you can buy slices or even a whole loaf, I think) just because they are so yummy to snack on, even plain.
While I know everyone raves about the pork sandwich, I’m actually partial to Gaest’s breakfast menu: brunch sets on the weekend, the avocado/​feta or peanut butter/​apple toasts, or the simple-​yet-​amazing smoked salmon and scrambled eggs. They do not skimp on the smoked salmon (like most other places do…) — definitely value (and high quality!) for your money.
Highly, highly recommended.

Fast service yet delivers a hearty meal. The area is nice and cozy. The brunch menu had authentic dishes yet catered towards the local taste. Would definitely recommend trying latte here.

I frequent this PORK SANDWICH café during lunch hour — it’s near my office and they offer pretty well made Norwegian sandwiches and coffee. PORK SANDWICH. Very nice café. They serve a PORK SANDWICH pretty good brunch on weekends too.

Gaest is one of those unpretentious cafes located in an upscale building. I love how incongruous that is. More importantly, Gaest shows how you can have a quality brunch without breaking the bank. In my humble opinion, Gaest has the best weekend brunch in Singapore. Yummy, filling, quiet, with great coffees to boot. Honestly, I am frankly surprised it’s bit more popular in weekends. Maybe it’s quiet cos it’s in the CBD. But no matter, I’m glad it’s not packed with hipsters! Unilocalers, consider this secret blown.

Came here for brunch with other Unilocalers. First stop of the food hunt day.
This place was rather small and most of the seatings are on the outdoors. The tables could probably fit two dishes and two drinks so if you come as a group, you would have to combine tables (not good for over-​sunny and rainy seasons).
This place was easy to find as I hopped on the bus prior to coming here. On a Saturday noon it wasn’t crowded but seemed like all seats were taken.
While looking at the menu, I was wondering what dish I would like to try and the ingredients for pork sandwich looks good. For drink, I ordered strawberry nectar. The price is on the pricier end for a sandwich. To order, you would actually need to walk inside towards the cashier.
Food came in bigger portion than expected and the length of wait varied on what you ordered. The sourdough was pretty good but the crust, you have to use a bit of strength to cut it with the knife provided. As the portion was big, I only ate a slice of my sourdough together with the ingredients. The roasted pork was good but the crackling fats, some of it was over crispy which made it harder to chew. Had set some aside. Like what Tzeko commented, this was my first meal and I had to slowly finish up my dish as it had too much ingredients on the sandwich itself. Don’t start with big bites cause it would only last you a couple of times before you put down the sandwich before further bites.
The strawberry nectar was good but as I was provided with a glass of ice, the ice melted much earlier after you poured the nectar on the glass provided so you have to keep stirring on your beverage before taking sips.
Overall, I wouldn’t purposely eat a here unless there is an event. And the lack of staffs might be difficult during peak hours too — expect a slow service.

I came here for a Saturday brunch with the other Unilocalers. As others had mentioned, the place is tiny with most diners sitting outside. The tables are also small and if you order too many items, you will need another table. Be careful as it is easy to knock over a glass or something due to the limited space.
I had the scrambled egg and smoked salmon which came with a slice of sourdough bread with butter and salad. A simple dish for $ 15. It was nice but then again how hard would it be to make scrambled egg? I liked the sourdough bread and wished there were two slices instead of one and toasted instead of cold.
Someone ordered bread with brie and rhubarb compote. For $ 7, it was severely overpriced as it came with two thin slices of Brie and the compote could barely cover one slice of bread (there were two slices).
The menu is also quite limited which is fine as I think cafes should focus on food they are good in and not try to include everything and serve mediocre food. As the food is made to order, it does take some time for the food to be served, especially if it requires cooking.
Bring cash as it is a cash or NETS place.

Just an A-​OK place for brunch located in the CBD /​Telok Ayer area. If you want to opt for something different for brunch rather than the usual egg benny, waffles and toasts, then consider this place.
GAEST serves nordic inspired food. When a member of our monthly brunch meetup suggested this place, it got everyone excited. I have to admit (I’m) a bit clueless at first, not knowing what to expect and order. The only thing I know about Nordic countries are Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Finland and Sweden. I’ve never been to all these countries yet, so the closest encounter to Nordic food was at Ikea — either meatballs, or smoked salmon or the very delicious Daim pie. haha.
First off, the bad. The café is ridiculously small. It took up a small space on the ground floor of a commercial building called The Cliff. Inside, there are only 2 small tables that fit 2 person /​table. The rest of the sitting area are al-​fresco, with tables arranged out along the alleyway. There were 12 of us, so obviously we were seated outside. This café is definitely under staffed. With only 3 people working (one taking order at the counter and doing other general work, while the other two at the kitchen area) so you can imagine during peak hours, things can get pretty chaotic. I stood for almost 10 mins at the counter waiting for someone to take my order, then food order came out fast for some and slow (one of my friends waited almost 45 mins for her food) for others. So if you’re coming in big groups or during peak hours, be prepared to wait a little bit as service could get a bit blotchy.
Food wise, it was just alright. I had the famous pork sandwich ($ 14) and a cup of mocha. Coffee tasted slightly sourish. As for the pork sandwich, you get a generous portion of roasted pork with crackling with bits of fats still intact served with «purple cabbage» ‘slaw and sliced apples. If you’re a pork person, you’ll love this but since it was my first meal of the day, the pork turned out slightly too much for me and ended up being «jelak» (cloying) as I try to finish up everything.
Most of us ordered different items in the menu and ill leave it to my friends to share their 2 cents about this place and the food. I would come back if I really run of place to eat but if i want a healthier option anytime, there’s always Sarnies nearby.

I could live on sandwiches like the Europeans do. Well, that’s if the sandwiches are the hearty types Gæst (pronounced as Guest) makes. This Nordic sandwich shop in CBD is run by Danish owners Kim and Stinne and they serve freshly baked breads daily from 7am and yes, everything is made from scratch.
To tackle their sandwiches for a weekday lunch, the strategy is to dress for a picnic and to get out of office before lunch time. The small kitchen churns out limited quantities of bread and you probably gotta wait to dine alfresco while they prep your sandwich (it takes a while). The better alternative is to head there on the weekends like I did and yes they finally decided to open on Sundays as well. Brunch items are served from 9am on weekends and the menu is different from the weekday one.
Thankfully, the signature Pulled Pork Sandwich ($ 14) is available on the weekends too. One simply has to order this. You gotta screw your diet plan a little or work doubly hard after digging into the roasted pork with crunchy crackling. My favorite part was the refreshing orange marinated red cabbage and with apple slices. The juiciness helped to balance the slightly dry pork that was lacking a little in flavors.
I would have gone for the Scrambled eggs with smoked salmon ($ 15) but the other Mister C had a different idea so it was the boring Brunch Plate ($ 20) for sharing.
Well, I guess the supposed highlight of this dish is the Danish style omelette with potatoes and bacon. This is quite like the Spanish Tortilla in terms of concept but turned out to be more home cooked chinese fried potato egg. I enjoyed the sourdough bread on its own with the rhubard compote, brie, caramel sauce (love!!) and cream cheese.
Other weekend items include Muesli ($ 7) and Potato Sandwich ($ 14), which I thought would be a great vegetarian option with salt boiled potato, lemon and salt marinated leeks, hazelnut and rye crunch with pea tendrils and smoked mayonnaise.
Coffees are strong and decent enough, though a little on the bitter spectrum. I’d probably give their refreshing elderflower and rosemary soda ($ 5) a shot next time.

Hi, I’m an addict of Gaest’s pork sandwich. I’ve enjoyed everything else I’ve tried on the menu, but it’s the pork sandwich that I keep coming back for.
It’s evident that there’s a lot of love in the ingredients sourcing: everything is very high quality. My only personal qualm was that earlier this year they switched to a coffee roaster I’m just not a fan of, so I no longer go for the espresso (but their barista is great), but that’s just me – I hear others enjoyed the switch. And the owners are super nice people.
I gather they’re about re-​open for evenings and start doing wines and craft beers (Mikkeller!), so I’m looking forward to that.

It’s hard not to walk into places like this and expect great things, especially when good hawker food is just across the street and priced 5 times cheaper. Gaest have a more limited menu that features a selection of sandwiches, salads, baked goods and soups — what was impressive was that they bake their beautiful breads in house!
The staff are really friendly and are obviously use to servicing the abundance of office workers around the Tanjong Pagar area. I noticed them greeting quite a few regulars warmly and they made the effort to strike up a conversation with us after we had finished our meal.
The café is pretty small, so if you don’t get in quick, you’ll have to brave the heat and take a seat outside. Personally, I find paying $ 15 for a sandwich and about the same for a salad to be a bit of a sting, but they were both really impressive in their own right. The salad seems to be a changing affair — but they managed to combine quinoa, carrot and cabbage together deliciously!
This seems to be a good place to subdue your bread cravings and to have a quick business meeting but I’d pass on the coffee and stick to their homemade sodas instead. The Rosemary and Elderflower ($ 5) was awesome!

As a Norwegian in the neighborhood I waited a couple of months for this place to open. A good Danish sandwich really is a good thing. I was not disappointed. Virtually all the food is home made and you can taste it. My favorite is the pork w/​crackings, red cabbage and apple sandwich; although it doesn’t really matter what sandwich you get. The freshly backed sourdough is to die for.
Friendly service — great food.

I came here after seeing a friend’s picture on instagram. The bright purple cabbage in the sandwich caught my eyes, and the fact that he stated it was a Nordic sandwich. I actually have no idea what «nordic sandwich» is and still don’t know what makes it nordic, but it sure is delicious! I was told later on that the combination of what goes in the sandwich is what makes it nordic.
I went for the pork sandwich, as recommended by the guy who tended to me at the cashier. It was a good decision. If i remember correctly, the sandwich consisted a crunchy slice of apple, some sort of light cheese, the purple cabbage you see in the picture, and some mayo-​like sauce. The pork was crispy and tender at the same time. The sandwich itself was a good portion, but what makes it even better is the absolutely delicious homemade bread. Just perfect.
Someone on the next table got one of their salad. it looked really good. I recommended this place to a friend who got their salmon sandwich, and got positive feedback for it.
I also got their black coffee, but wasn’t too impressed by it. I’d try one of their homemade soda next time.

This is a brand new place right under the Clifts apartment unit across from the Amoy St. Hawker Center. They serve breakfast and lunch as well as fresh roasted coffee, superb tea and a few hand made sodas. They make their own bread daily and offer muesli /​granola or breads for breakfast as well as sandwiches for lunch and dinner. Their bread is quite good for being made in such a small space and the portions are large. I had the chicken sandwich, and a thyme /​citrus soda I believe it was. Both were great and service was polite and quick. This place is still working out a few last minute details and I can’t remember everything off the top of my head, but I reason they had some more menu items as well I am overlooking.
Overall, it’s hard to find a good simple sandwich in Singapore, but this cozy nordic café does the job well for about $ 12. Really glad to have this as an option without having to go all the way to Ann Sing or Duxton. The owners are super nice folks. They also have outdoor seating. This place seems to be a bit slower in the evenings, but they are open until from 7:30 — 19:30 so you can sneak in a lite dinner like I did.
I promise I have no affiliation — I just really enjoyed this spot and jumped at the opportunity to write their first Unilocal review!