Bacha Coffee – Singapore

Whatever else one wants to say about the Singaporean-Moroccan Bacha Coffee chain, which has become a sensation in Singapore and several other Asian countries over the last several years, this company is a world-class master of presentation and baking. When visiting this chain’s Singapore coffee shop-bakeries in 2023, we took multiple opportunities to sample various versions of the most impressive laminated croissants we have found anywhere, including an unforgettable blueberry lavender. The flavors, presentation, and range of options were incredible.

Yet despite its talents, Bacha has spawned a collection of critics thanks to questionable marketing. The young brand began operating restaurants in 2019 after renovating an abandoned Moroccan cafe dating back to 1910, then pitched itself as continuing a legacy that began over 100 years earlier. Armed with unquestionably strong industrial and interior design skills, Bacha built cafes around arrays of gorgeous metallic coffee tins in multiple colors, highlighting a range of flavored coffees that critics have chastised.

Bacha shops have been multiplying in tourist areas as first-time visitors are wowed by the displays. The allure of fantastic packaging and shiny metal-clad windows routinely draws people in to sit for fancy table service with golden serviceware, or purchase fairly expensive coffee grounds to bring home in their suitcases.