The Commons at Bangkok is a 4-storey building of cafes, food kiosks, and restaurants. And fronting the Commons is Roast, which is said to have brought the cafe culture to Thailand. And when we arrived at 8.50am–it opens at 9–there was already a queue.

The all-day breakfast menu is quite extensive–from egg dishes to pastas and meats–and requires some time to study it. If only they asterisk their signatures.

Complimentary bread

Very few things in life are better than freshly-baked warm bread with creamy, rich butter. And eating this has put us in a very good mood.

Latte

Roast is very serious about their coffee. In fact, it starts off being a coffee specialty before it builds its name as a cafe. (If you just want to try their coffee, they have a kiosk on the first floor called Roots.)

Their signature, iced espresso latte (120 baht, S$5.40) has sparked off many copycats. It consists of ice cubes of espresso, accompanied with a small jar of cold milk. You pour the milk over the ice cubes and wait for them to melt so that it becomes a latte. It is nice but I’d suggest them serving it with warm milk.

Their foxy latte (100 baht, S$4.50) art is on point and their coffee is delicious. It’s fruity, almost raisin-like, before mellowing into a bitter chocolate aftertaste. Superb. One of the best coffees I have tasted.

Corned beef hash

They have problems with their eggs. One of the eggs in each dish, corned beef hash (280 baht, S$12.60) and huevos rancheros (350baht, S$15.80), is overcooked.

The corned beef hash consists of two poached eggs on house-made corned beef, and sauteed potatoes. The beef is too dry and comes off hard, not crispy. Individual elements of the dish have no interactions with one another although the potatoes are super delicious.

Huevos Racheros

I thought the heuvos racheros is done the style of shakshuka since the menu states that it is “baked eggs, tomato, chorizo, cilantro sauce” with tortilla. But it turns out to be a dry shakshuka. It is not too bad but it would be better if it has more sauce.

S’mores custard cake

The S’mores custard cake (280baht, S$12.60) is a three-layer cake: meringue, chocolate custard (which is like mousse), and graham cracker streusel. It can be overly sweet to some people but, to us, the coldness and the high-quality chocolate give a great satisfaction. It’s paired with banana ice cream, which may sound strange, but it goes superbly with the cake.

Although the mains could improve, the decor / ambience and the great service make up for them. This is a place where tourists and rich Thais patronise because the food is not cheap. In fact, the food is priced similarly to Singapore’s cafes. We paid about S$60 (1300baht) for two persons.

Menu

Food: 7/10
Price: 5/10
Ambience / Decor: 7/10
Service: 7/10

You may be interested in…
–R-Haan ร้้านอาหารไทย‎, Bangkok: Food Critic Recommended this Michelin-Starred Restaurant Which Serves Royal Thai Food
–Issaya Siamese Club, Bangkok Thailand: #39 Best Restaurant in Asia
–Newly Open: Central Village เซ็นทรัล วิลเลจ, the first Luxury Outlet Mall in Bangkok, Is Not Worth the Visit
–Bo.Lan, Bangkok Thailand: #37 Best Restaurant in Asia

Written by Dr. A. Nathanael Ho.