June Coffee

Tried the popular @junecoffeesg recently and honestly based on the drinks we've had, we feel like it's overhyped 😅

The Iced Black Sesame Latte ($8) had a savoury black sesame cream that was fragrant at the start, but as you drink the coffee, the taste of the black sesame gets more and more subtle somehow. Coffee itself was decent, aromatic but nothing much to shout out about.

The Jasmine & Green Grape ($7.50) unfortunately fell short of expectations as the grapes used were sour and the flavour combination of the jasmine tea and sour grapes did not work out for us!

We queued for at least an hour as we had 4 people; they did not have many big tables so please take note! Just feel like you can get similar standards somewhere else without the queues...

The opening of the new Thomson-East Coast Line Phase 4 stations had definitely brought much convenience to folks from various parts of the island to drop by the East’s various cafes — one of the newest additions to East Coast Road would be that of June Coffee, which is situated at 49 East Coast Road located right across the outlet of 328 Katong Laksa at 51 East Coast Road. A short walk away from Marine Parade MRT Station, June Coffee is a concept by the same folks behind the popular September Coffee that is situated along South Bridge Road — a rather bold move by these folks considering how September Coffee is just a little short of celebrating its first anniversary of operations. It is needless to say that the space at June Coffee is larger than that of September Coffee; unlike the shophouse unit taken up by September Coffee, the shophouse unit at June Coffee is segmented into three (3) sections instead; the entrance leads to an area where one can find the espresso bar and the cashier — four (4) counter seats by the windows are available here, while there are two (2) other dining areas further in. The larger one of the two is the main dining hall that accommodates for bigger groups; all that with a communal table featuring a terrarium in the middle that would also be the key decorative piece in the entire space. The entire space is decked out in a way similar to that of the style which September Coffee had — a rather Scandinavian-esque design with white walls and furnishings featuring darker wood accents; the dining halls further into the establishment also being lit with dimmer, yellow lighting that gives the space a bit of “mood”. The food menu served up at June Coffee differs slightly from that of what is being offered at September Coffee — the menu at June Coffee is being segmented into sections such as All-Day Brunch, French Toast, Fresh Pasta, Sides, Desserts and Pastries, while the list of beverages of which June Coffee offers includes espresso-based specialty coffee, artisan fruit teas, matcha and Signature Drinks (i.e. their very own unique concoctions like the Iced Black Sesame Latte etc.).

Dropping by June Coffee during lunch service on the weekend, there are already a small number of items which have been tagged “sold out”on the online ordering system. Considering how we are looking for something more substantially-sized since we visited June Coffee for lunch, we decided to go for the Rosé Rigatoni that is listed in the “Fresh Pasta” section of the menu. The menu at June Coffee describe the Rosé Rigatoni as a dish that comprises of elements such as Gochujang, Cream, Burrata, Cherry Tomatoes and Fresh Rigatoni. We liked how the dish is presented with generous shavings of cheese as well as how it is being plated on rustic-looking tableware — digging into the Rosé Rigatoni, we did notice that the pasta does come with quite a fair bit of sauce puddling at the bottom. Despite being a pasta dish that came with more sauce than we had initially expected, this was something that we quite enjoyed — the sauce being pretty flavourful considering how it seems to be a combination of both the Korean Gochujang (i.e. Korean Red Chili Paste) and cream; one that carried a slight note of sweetness and a wee hint of earthiness; all that with a slight spicy kick to tickle the tastebuds at a level that should do fine for those tolerable to moderate amounts of spiciness. While a dish that does not come with any meat component to provide a contrast, the burrata does help to add a slight chew and a bit of stringiness to the pasta; all that whilst the Fresh Rigatoni did come al-dente with some bite. With that being said, we did wish that the Fresh Rigatoni can be better executed considering how there were bits of broken up pasta all around.

During our visit, we had also given the Honey, Lemon and Ricotta a go; a dish that featured elements such as brioche, lemon & thyme-infused whipped ricotta and candied pecans — the brioche here is a little bit on the denser side but does come soft and pillowy having absorbed the egg wash. While the lemon & thyme-infused whipped ricotta provides a zingy and tangy note that is well-complimented by the honey after the latter has been drizzled onto the toast with a slightly nuttiness from the candied pecans, we did notice a slight graininess in the texture of whipped ricotta which wasn’t really worked to our preferences. The Truffle Potato Croissant Cube is a variant of a cube croissant that has become trendy in social media in recent times — slicing the croissant cube into half reveals chunks of potatoes smothered in a truffle-infused mayonnaise that went well with the light, flaky and buttery croissant that was beautifully layered within; the top coming with a crusty melted cheese layer for a savoury note. The Iced Pistachio Latte in the meanwhile featured elements such as Non-Dairy Pistachio Cream, Espresso and Fresh Milk — thought that the pistachio cream over the top does carry a slight hint of saltish-ness and nuttiness from the pistachio infused; that being said, we did feel that the notes of the coffee does seemingly drown out the note of the pistachio cream nonetheless. Being a rather newly-opened establishment at the time where we made our visit there, June Coffee definitely does have some kinks to sort out when it comes to their operations — that being said, the quality and consistency of the food feels familiar to that which is being served out of September Coffee. Price points of their individually-sized dishes starts from $15 to $25 — fairly reasonable for an establishment of its type. With the opening of the new Marine Parade MRT Station, June Coffee is a spot for cafe-hoppers to add to the list to explore in the east!