cafe margaret: the rise of insta-worthy cafes (and the downfall of actual good food?)
Before I get #cancelled for the title of this post, let me clarify what I’m trying to get across. As a person who favours cafes over other types of eateries, I feel that, while there are great cafes in Singapore worth the money (like Hello Arigato at Everton Park), many cafes have opened on the premise of being “aesthetic” without having much substance to show for it.
While I don’t hate Cafe Margaret, the hype that it’s been getting—especially since it came from Korea—feels unjustified. Don’t get me wrong, it is a gorgeous place with vintage, cottagecore interior and tableware to match (which I definitely appreciate and respect the effort taken to acquire), but behind that facade lies the disparity between price and quality .
The breakdown: I got two bakes and two drinks, and my grand total came up to $28++. how-
I’ll give it to them for making their bakes look quirky—their entire appeal hinges on the premise of being “insta-worthy”. Appearances aside, though, the food was pretty much a letdown. Let’s talk about it.
For starters, the way I’d determine whether anything is satisfactory is if I could eat it blindfolded and think it’s great. The eyes do play tricks on us and I believe that’s the case at many of these “insta-worthy” cafes.
The Injeolmi Cube Pie ($8.30) was the only thing I liked from what I ordered, but even then, the price was heavily unjustified to me. Yes, the flaky croissant layers were light, crisp, and buttery, the thick injeolmi cream housed within did have that signature roasted, nutty flavour to it, and the rice cake adorning the whole shebang was smooth and chewy. However, for a whopping $8.30, I think you’re mostly paying for how it looks, rather than how it tastes. Moving on, the quirky :P lookin’ Peanut Butter Cookie ($4.90) was where it started to get worse. Is this even a cookie? Cutting into it felt like slicing through a dense pound cake. As a fan of all cookies–be it soft, chewy, or crispy—calling this a cookie felt sacrilegious. Unlike its name, there was no peanut butter flavour whatsoever (false advertising) but I did appreciate the layer of gooey chocolate in the middle of it. Alas, because it was so thick and cakey, I just couldn’t bring myself to finish it since it wasn’t worth the calories. To wash down the prior disappointment which was the bakes, I decided to cleanse my palate with a Matcha Latte and Choco Latte (both $7.50). Unfortunately, I was met with yet another wave of disappointment. To put it simply, the Choco Latte tasted like Cadbury hot chocolate, and the Matcha Latte had a mellow, faint matcha taste. Drinking both of them was like drinking expensive flavoured milk.
So after all that negativity, do I have anything positive to say? Of course I do! While everything is expensive, Cafe Margaret is located in the touristy area that is Haji Lane, so you’re paying for the ambience, air-conditioning, and insta-worthy pics! This entire cafe is pretty—I’ll tell anyone that with full confidence—but beyond being a prop for your IG feed, I’d give it a miss.
Cafe Margaret
Instagram @cafe.margaret.sg
Address: 32 Bali Lane, Singapore 189868
Opening Hours: Daily 10am to 8pm
