Kurasu Singapore

Kurasu Singapore is a specialty coffee café from Kyoto, at Waterloo Centre on Waterloo Street. The coffee on the menu matches what Kurasu pours in Kyoto, and fresh coffee is sent over from Kyoto by express each week. The shop also sells beans, tea and Japanese brewing gear.

Kurasu means "to live" in Japanese. Founder Yozo Otsuki started it in 2013 in Sydney, as an online shop for Japanese homeware. Coffee gear soon became most of the sales, so he refocused the business on coffee. The first café opened in Kyoto, his home town, in 2016. Kurasu came to Singapore in July 2017, starting inside a co-working space at Odeon Towers. After three years in the city, it moved into its own flagship store at Waterloo Street.

What to order

Coffee is the focus here. Hand-drip coffee lets you taste single origins and seasonal blends one cup at a time. Eatbook's 2026 review liked the iced cold brew, made with a medium roast blend. It also praised a hot white made with a single-origin Brazilian coffee.

If you prefer tea, the iced matcha latte uses ceremonial-grade matcha from Kyoto. It is on the sweeter, milkier side.

The coffee menu changes through the year. Recent beans in the online shop include a 2026 seasonal blend called Aki Urara and a light roast from Frinsa Estate in Indonesia.

The setting

The café is calm and simple, in the clean style of Japanese coffee bars. Seats run along a counter facing the baristas, so you can watch the brewing. There are also a few small tables near the entrance and some quieter corners. Warm yellow lights keep the room cosy. On weekends you may wait up to half an hour for a seat, according to Eatbook.

Good to know before you go

• Brewing gear: the range includes drippers, grinders, scales, kettles and filters from Japanese brands such as Hario, Kalita and Kinto.
• Takeaway in Orchard: Kurasu also runs The Stand, a takeaway coffee bar at 1 Grange Road, near Orchard Road.
• Daytime only: the café keeps daytime hours, so plan it for a morning or afternoon. It also closes for maintenance on one day each month, so check its social media before you go.
• Getting there: Eatbook puts the café about three minutes on foot from Bras Basah MRT station, or five minutes from Bencoolen.
• Shop online: beans and gear are also sold on the Kurasu Singapore website.

Nearby

Waterloo Street is an easy walk from Bugis. Bugis Street is close for shopping, and Kampong Glam and Haji Lane are a little further on. Coffee fans can compare cups at Apartment Coffee on Selegie Road.

Nearby hotels include Raffles Hotel Singapore and Carlton Hotel Singapore. For more cafés, browse our cafés and bakeries, read our guide to cafés and coffee or see all restaurants in Bugis and Kampong Glam.