[New] Surrey Hills Grocer opens a 2nd branch at Ion Orchard☕

Surrey Hills Grocer opened to much fanfare in Feb 2022, with legions of curious consumers travelling across SG to the far ends of Joo Koon to satisfy their cravings for Aussie-styled brunch fare. Buoyed by its success, Surrey Hills Grocer has opened a 2nd branch just nine months later in the heart of Orchard Road. This new location would be welcome news to those who were previously deterred to make the lengthy Journey to the West. However, locating the new café is still a challenge on its own, as it's not located within the mall itself but on the 5th-floor carpark! To make its location slightly more conspicuous among other cars parked on L5, Surrey Hills has its very own car parked just outside the café, decked out in its signature green-&-white theme.

Look out for the green-&-white car parked outside Surrey Hills

At the time of our visit, Surrey Hills' was only into its 3rd day of operations at this new locale, thus there were several congratulatory wreaths flanking its entrance.

Stepping inside the entrance, one is not yet greeted by the cafe itself, but by the groceries section, which was also present at Surrey Hills' first branch in Joo Koon.

Beyond the groceries section lies the café. The café counter displays a smorgasbord of cakes, breads, gelato, draft beers – all vying for one's attention.

the counter displays a variety of cakes, breads and beers

The true beauty of the café lies on the opposite side of the counter, where patrons are greeted by a jungle-like ambience that is very much reminiscent of Greenhouse restaurant in Dusit Thani!

the jungle theme bears much resemblance to Greenhouse restaurant in Dusit Thani

The gorgeous bar serves as a chill spot to knock back a cold one or two.

pick your poison from among beers, wines and cocktails

There's even a cozy spot for those who don't want a full meal but just a snack or huddle.

Surrey Hills also caters to larger-group gatherings such as this table which seats 6 pax.

tables for larger-group gatherings are available too

No self-respecting café is complete without caffeine. The familiar sight of La Marzocco provides comforting reassurances to caffeine-lovers that their needs would be well taken care of here.

Surrey Hills' Orchard branch offers largely the same fare as its Joo Koon branch, but with the addition of some new items such as the Pork Shoulder Benny (S$28++) – an Eggs Benedict served with pork shoulders over-&-above the usual poached eggs, bacon and hollandaise sauce.

To cater to other bread-lovers who aren't muffin fans, an alternative choice would be the Tassie Steak Sandwich (S$30++), which comprises a generous slab of Medium steak wedged between two slices of sourdough bread.

Though pasta-lovers such as myself have three pastas to choose from, there's only one real choice for meat lovers – Chilli Crab Spaghetti (S$26++), as the other two are either vegetarian or quasi-vegetarian (in my books, carbonara fits into this category). Apart from the crab meat, a mound of fish roe provides a different dimension and colour contrast to the dish.

Soups are usually an afterthought in many cafés with their lacklustre offerings, but not at Surrey Hills. Be it Pumpkin Soup (S$15++) or Cauliflower Cappuccino (S$15++), the soups here are served in a large bowl and a slice of sourdough, which makes it suitable for sharing.

While I did not get to try the Pumpkin Soup, I recommend opting for the Cauliflower Cappuccino (S$15++) which appears to be the more unique of the two. There is no coffee content in this soup, but it derives its "cappuccino" name from a thick layer of espuma coating the soup, much like how a Cappuccino has a layer of foam covering the coffee.

Surrey Hills has a wide variety of drinks to suit every palate. For those looking to detox, the Watermelon & Mint Kombucha (S$10++) is one option. I was expecting a red-coloured drink from the word "watermelon", but instead it was a clear-coloured drink served puzzlingly with a carrot😅.

Surrey Hills' caffeinated drinks are one of the priciest I have come across, costing a whole S$2-S$2.50 more than the average café. We ordered the usual suspects such as Hot Chocolate (S$8++) and Matcha Latte (S$8.50++).

Thankfully the drinks did come with latte art, or it would be really hard to justify their sky-high price tags.

To round off our meal, we tried one of their desserts – Queen Victoria Donuts (S$14++). This dessert must have been a new concoction, because in the four years that I had resided in UK, never have I heard of this dessert! It turned out to be a pyramid-shaped dessert with mini doughnuts forming the structure, topped with whipped cream, raspberry jam, crumbly bits, and a bluepea flower. It reminded me somewhat of scones served with jam and clotted cream, which is incidentally a British dessert too.

Overall it was a good experience in Surrey Hill's Ion Orchard. I love its hidden location, jungle-themed ambience, and delectable cuisine, but their drinks are definitely on the pricey side. If it could review the prices of its drinks, I think it would be a lot more accessible to café-hoppers such as myself.

Surrey Hills Grocer Ion Orchard, #05-02

Daily 10am-10pm

ChewAndChill

[New] Surrey Hills Grocer opens a 2nd branch at Ion Orchard☕

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