- Gluten-free options
- Vegan and vegetarian options
- Nut-free options
Tucked away in the heart of Bukit Timah, The Living Café has been a pioneer of clean, conscious eating since 2011. With a steadfast commitment to wholesome, plant-forward cuisine, the cafe serves nourishing meals free from cow dairy, red meat, refined sugars, preservatives, and vegetable oils. While a small selection of white meat and fish is available, the spotlight remains on vibrant, nutrient-dense dishes crafted from high-quality, organic ingredients wherever possible.
This cafe is one of the rare cafes in Singapore that offer raw vegan cuisine, with one of the largest and best offerings of raw desserts. Other items on the menu include breakfast foods like vegan big breakfast, smoothie bowls and acai bowls.
Their lunch menu consist of various interesting starters such as vegan “goat cheese” rolls, cauliflower hummus, mains like salad bowls, curry rice bowls, protein rice bowls, as well as burgers and pizzas.
For their drinks menu, I love that they offer a variety of plant milks like almond, oat and soy milk. They also offer the option to swap to healthier sugar alternatives like honey, xylitol and coconut sugar on request. Aside from the usual juices, smoothies, coffee and tea, they also have zero alcohol beers and ciders for those who do not drink alcohol.
If you are a fan of The Whole Kitchen, you might be pleased to know that they also offer some sandwiches and bakes from there, though this is not shown on their online menu.
Right: Chocolate Monkey – SGD12.00
One thing I absolutely LOVE about The Living Cafe is their juices. Unlike most establishments that either serve you juice in a tiny glass or one diluted in tons of ice, the juice here is served in a large, substantial glass WITHOUT any ice. Just 100% PURE, fresh goodness.
Green Vitality is my favourite juice on the menu. It is a blend of cucumber, celery, spinach, parsley, lemon and ginger. This is definitely a must-try for any green juice lovers out there! Ginger is included in all of their juices and they are not shy about using it. The spicy kick is strong and really packs a punch, which makes the juice even more enjoyable in my opinion 😍🫚
The Chocolate Monkey smoothie has banana, raw cacao, medjool dates and cashew milk. Really healthy ingredients with only dates and banana used as a sweetener. This was not too sweet, very rich and thick in texture and moderately chocolatey in taste.
For mains, we had the salmon burger and a pizza. The Herbed Salmon Burger came with a side of sweet potato wedges and coleslaw. The wedges were oven-baked instead of deep fried, and topped with cumin seeds, a combination I’ve not tried before but turned out to be surprisingly good.
The coleslaw with cabbage and carrots was a lighter and more refreshing take of the traditional coleslaw, using vinegar and black pepper instead of mayonnaise.
This burger was excellent and I really enjoyed it. The salmon patty was thick and generous, as you can see from the picture being much larger than the bun! The patty had dill, white onions and spring onions. It had a delicious, briny flavour, with the overall herb flavour being mild and the natural taste of salmon kept the main star of the show 🌟 The bun was also soft and fluffy, not the usual rock hard kind of gluten-free burger buns I’ve eaten before 😅
The cafe used to offer raw pizzas which was excellent and my go-to order all the time. Sadly, they are no longer on the menu. They now have 4 different flavours of baked pizzas on the menu. I opted for the Veggie Delight, which had roasted sweet potato, sautéed veggies, macadamia cheese and pumpkin seeds.
On the whole, I’d say I enjoyed this pizza. The sautéed veggies on this one included capsicum, zucchini, eggplant, mushroom, snow peas, tomatoes and onion, which is an excellent medley. The overall savoury and roasted flavour paired really well with the barbecue sauce and macadamia cheese. I especially enjoyed their macadamia cheese, which had a bold and cheesy, umami flavour 😋
The pizza crust for this pizza is not made from yeasted dough, hence has a cakey texture instead of the traditional bread-like texture. I did not mind it as it still tasted pretty good overall. However for those who enjoy the traditional Italian kind of pizzas made from proofed bread dough, this may not be for you.
I thought I’d also review their Zucchini Lasagne, which I tried way back in 2019. This is a signature on their menu, and consists of layers of zucchini, walnut “taco” meat, macadamia cheese, cashew mayo, homemade pesto and fresh tomatoes.
Their lasagne is really good, but I never ordered it again because it was not filling enough for me with the lack of carbs. The portion size needs to be larger for this to be filling as it only contains veggies. Taste-wise, I’d say they nailed it with all their sauces. Aside from the delicious macadamia cheese, their pesto was definitely noteworthy. It was fragrant, fresh and vibrant. Any pesto lover would definitely appreciate this dish 😊
For dessert, I decided to try their truffles. I got three flavours – Pistachio Truffle, Cacao Truffle and Cacao Nib Truffle. My first impressions of this is that the serving size is generous! This is a pretty huge truffle 😅
All three truffles are made of the same base consisting of cashews, honey, raw cacao and vanilla, with only the exterior coating being different.
The overall taste of this is nice, and my favourite would be the cacao nib one, as I really liked the contrast of the crunchy exterior with the smooth interior.
Texture-wise, if I were to compare this to conventional (unhealthy😜) truffles, this would lean on the stickier side due to the honey being used. Because this truffle also has added fibre due to the cashews, it does not melt as readily in the mouth compared to a full fat truffle without added fibre. Just some things to note for those who are not familiar with the texture of raw desserts.
Lemon Tart – SGD 14.00
Salted Caramel Cheesecake – SGD14.00
Raspberry Brownie – SGD 12.00
I’ve tried several flavours of their cakes over the years, and would definitely recommend you try them if you ever visit. They have the best raw cakes in Singapore in my opinion.
Top recommendations would be the Lemon Tart 🌟, Salted Caramel Cheesecake and Raspberry Brownie. These cakes are rich and decadent, with the right amount of flavour peeking through respectively, from the brightness of the lemon 🍋, roasty notes of the caramel and fruity notes of the raspberry 🍓.
The Lemon Tart contains real lemon juice that gives it that beautiful bright, tangy and zesty flavour which I really love 💛 The curd itself is a creamy blend of cashews which makes it creamy and rich, with extra anti-inflammatory goodness due to the added turmeric for colour. The base contains a mix of dates, pistachios as well as cranberries, which give it a nice pop of chewy goodness.
The Salted Caramel Cheesecake is an interesting take on the traditional salted caramel. Food in raw cuisine cannot be heated more than 40-48 degrees celcius, hence real caramel would not be used here. Instead, The Living Cafe uses raw cacao, maple syrup, coffee essence and carob powder to achieve something similar and I must say this tastes pretty good! There are definitely deep, rich and roasty notes in this gorgeous cheesecake 🍰☕️
The Raspberry Brownie is one that I’d describe as bright and fruity 🌈 The taste of the raspberries really shine through and pairs really well with the cacao layer on top. I would usually be concerned if raspberry desserts might be sour, but this was adequately sweet and not sour at all.
The Chocolate Cheesecake is also pretty good 😊. This was rich, creamy and balanced. No overpowering coconut taste unlike some raw chocolate cakes I’ve tried before. I would describe the level of “darkness” of the chocolate as moderate for this cake.
For the cakes that were pretty average for me, these would be the two. However this may be personal preference so don’t let this sway you from trying them!
For the Tiramisu, my mind is set on how a tiramisu should be light and fluffy. Hence eating it as a dense raw cake required some getting used to. As for the Mocha Mint Square, I reckon I prefer the flavour of mint in an ice cream or chocolate rather than in a dense cake.
Nonetheless, I highly recommend giving this cafe a try—from their vibrant cold-pressed juices and indulgent raw cakes to their wholesome, flavour-packed mains. It’s a refreshing reminder that healthy food doesn’t have to compromise on taste—it can be truly delicious 🤩 🌱☀️
The Living Cafe
Address: 779 Bukit Timah Rd, Singapore 269758 – Map
Website: The Living Cafe
Reservations: https://reserve.oddle.me/en_SG/thelivingcafe/ticket/27
