Frankie & Fern’s – New Cafe at Holland Road Shopping Centre

Frankie & Fern’s is the new cafe on the rooftop of Holland Road Shopping Centre. The last time I was there was decades ago to attend a wedding dinner at the restaurant. At that time it was called Cafe 211 (I think).

New Cafe on Rooftop at Holland Road Shopping Centre

Holland Road Shopping Centre was once the biggest shopping centre in the Holland Village area. The low rise building has 3 floors of retail space. The most prominent shops are Cold Storage and UOB on the ground floor and Lims antique and furniture stores on level 2. Now it is dwarfed by the much larger One Holland Village shopping mall which just opened months ago. I cannot recall exactly how the old restaurant at the rooftop looks like but the new cafe certainly looks very attractive and contemporary. Most of the dining space at Frankie & Fern’s is indoors and air-conditioned. A small section is sheltered but outdoors without a/c (picture below).

When Frankie Met Fern

According to the cafe website, Frank and Fern met at a flea market, where Frank ran a coffee stand. With a common interest in vintage items, food and art, they collaborated to set up this “whimsical cafe where daring flavors and tales of treasures abound.”

I must say that the interior design is very appealing. Light wood furniture and lots of light from large windows is a winning formula. We thought we would beat the lunch crowd by going early. But at 1130 am it was already almost a full-house. Reservations are recommended, even on a weekday.

Frankie & Fern’s Menu

Here are pictures of the Brunch Menu, Set Lunch Menu and a la carte menu. The menu items look like typical hip cafe dishes, such as all day breakfast, different types of toast for brunch and roast chicken, steak and fish for lunch. But we were pleasantly surprised by how different they turned out from typical cafe food.

Portobello Toast

The portobello toast ($18) was the first to arrive. It was a beautiful dish of French toast topped with truffle cream cheese, brie, portobello mushroom, yuzu apple and some other condiments. The result was a dish that was enjoyable on the eyes and tastebuds.

Frankie & Fern’s Set Lunch

A two course set lunch at F&F costs $35 with the option to have dessert by paying an additional $5, which was what we did. For starter, we decided on the sourdough and almond hummus. The presentation was top notch. This would not look out of place in a fine dining restaurant. Taste was wonderful as well.

Our choice of main course was pan-seared halibut. Once again it looked very appetising. However in this case we thought the fish was somewhat too soft in texture. Other than that, the rest of the dish such as potato puree and mussels were good.

Dessert was Mandarin Crema Catalana, which looks like a Spanish form of crème brûleé. It was a really sophisticated dessert which we did not expect in a casual cafe like Frankie & Fern’s. This dessert is listed in the a la carte menu priced at $14. Assuming it is exactly the same as the lunch version, it is certainly a good value for money item to add on for lunch. Flat white was ($5.50, not included in lunch set) quite average.

Overall, we were very impressed with our lunch at F&F. Service was prompt and friendly. The rooftop cafe is accessible by stairs and by lift (level 4).

Ratings:
Food: 4
Service: 4
Value: 4
Atmosphere: 4
Overall Rating: 4 TOPs 

Frankie & Fern’s
211 Holland Avenue, #04-03 Holland Road Shopping Centre
Singapore 278967

Opening Hours:
Monday to Thursday: 9.30 am – 5 pm
Friday: 9.30 am – 9.30 pm
Saturday to Sunday: 9 am – 9.30 pm

Nearby MRT Station: Holland Village (CC21)

Website