Bakery Brera (Empress Road)

Bakery Brera on Empress Road is an artisan bakery known for handmade croissants, cruffins and sourdough. This is the original shop, which opened in 2016 at 8 Empress Road. Brera bakes all of its pastries, breads and cakes in the kitchen here.

Founder Thrina Low worked as an engineer and in HR before she turned to baking. A chance meeting with a retiring baker on Empress Road led her to start the business. Bakery Brera is also a social enterprise. It hires people with special needs, caregivers and young interns, and it takes part in community projects.

What to order

The bakers start well before dawn, and fresh trays come out in waves. Croissants and pastries are ready first, loaves follow soon after, and pies, tarts and a second round of cruffins arrive later in the day. Brera works with French and Japanese flour and real butter, with no premixes or preservatives. Good picks include:

• French Butter Croissant and Kouign-Amann, two classics that show off the layers
• Almond Croissant and Pain au Chocolat
• Cruffins, a cross between a croissant and a muffin. The Ferrero Rocher Cruffin is a bestseller.
• Basque Burnt Cheesecake, one of the signature cakes
• Savoury bakes such as the Mushroom Onion Cheese Danish, the Triple Cheese & Ham Croissant and curry puffs
• Breads such as Pain au Levain and the Rustic Country Sourdough

The shelves also hold muffins, scones, tartines, pies, tarts, buns, brioche, baguettes and handmade cookies. Takeaway coffee is available to go with your pastry.

Good to know before you go

• The Empress Road shop is set up as a bakery rather than a cafe. It sells takeaway coffee, and there is a toaster in the shop for warming pastries.
• Popular items can sell out, so it pays to go earlier in the day.
• Gift sets and same-day delivery can be ordered through the website.
• If you want a sit-down meal, the newer Bakery Brera Cafe at National Gallery Singapore serves pastries, sandwiches, salads and all-day breakfast.

Getting there

The shop is behind Empress Road Market & Food Centre, about five minutes on foot from Farrer Road MRT station on the Circle Line. Botanic Gardens station is one stop away. That makes Brera an easy breakfast stop before a walk in the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

Nearby

Empress Road is a short ride from Holland Village and Dempsey Hill. Our guide to Dempsey Hill and Holland Village covers the cafes, restaurants and walks close by. You can also browse restaurants in Dempsey, Tanglin and Holland, or our list of cafes and bakeries in Singapore. For the full range and gift boxes, visit the Bakery Brera website.