Common Man Coffee Roasters Review: Five Outlets, One Roastery, and Which One to Go To (2026)
A roaster that runs cafes, not a cafe chain that buys beans
Martin Road opened in 2013 and is still the flagship: the roastery, the barista academy and the wholesale business all sit behind it, which is why the coffee programme is deeper than the brunch menu suggests. The group has since grown to five Singapore sites, including Joo Chiat, a CBD outlet, Sentosa at Quayside Isle and a Queenstown location on Alexandra Road. Same beans across all of them, quite different rooms.
you want specialty coffee from people who roast it, and a proper sit-down brunch rather than a takeaway cup.
you are after a quick cheap kopi, or you want a quiet table at weekend brunch without waiting.
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee and espresso drinks | On the menu |
| All-day breakfast and brunch | On the menu |
| Evening menu, Joo Chiat | On the menu |
| Retail beans and wholesale | On enquiry |
Is Common worth it? The math
The reason to come here rather than a generic third-wave cafe is vertical integration: they roast, they train baristas, and they supply other cafes, so what lands in your cup is their own product rather than a bought-in blend. Across 3,075 Google reviews the flagship holds 4.4, which for a high-traffic brunch room is a good result rather than a remarkable one. The trade-off is the brunch crowd, which is what most of the middling reviews are about.
What they serve
- Specialty-grade Arabica, roasted in-house
- All-day breakfast and brunch
- An evening menu at Joo Chiat trading as Common Man Night Shift, with natural wines
- A barista academy running training courses
- Wholesale coffee supply to other cafes
Worth ordering
- The Martin Road flagship, where the roastery sits behind the cafe
- Night Shift at Joo Chiat, which turns the same room into a wine bar in the evening
- The Quayside Isle site at Sentosa, the only one with a waterfront table
Good to know
What diners actually say
Coffee quality is the consistent praise, and it comes up more often than the food does, which is the right way round for a roaster. The brunch dishes draw solid rather than ecstatic reviews. Two gripes repeat: weekend waits at Martin Road, and prices that read Robertson Quay rather than heartland. Worth knowing that the five outlets are genuinely different rooms, so a review of one is not a review of the group.
Common Man Coffee Roasters FAQ
How many Common Man Coffee Roasters outlets are there in Singapore?+–
Five: the Martin Road flagship at Robertson Quay, Joo Chiat, a CBD outlet, Sentosa at Quayside Isle, and a Queenstown site on Alexandra Road. Martin Road has been open since 2013 and houses the roastery.
Does Common Man roast its own coffee?+–
Yes. Roasting is done in-house and the group also runs a barista academy and supplies coffee wholesale to other businesses, so the cafes sit on top of a roasting operation rather than the other way around.
What is Common Man Night Shift?+–
The evening service at the Joo Chiat address, which turns the daytime cafe into a wine bar with natural wines and a menu that leans Japanese and Mediterranean, including sourdough pizzas.
Which Common Man outlet is best for brunch?+–
Martin Road is the original and the most complete expression of the brand, but it is also the busiest at weekends. Sentosa's Quayside Isle site is the one with a waterfront table if the setting matters more than the queue.
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By the MoreBetter editorial team. How we check: we read the price off the venue's own page, quote it verbatim, and date it. If it moves, the badge date moves. Back to Reviews.