Marymount Bakehouse Review: Popular Sourdough Bakery Moves To Farrer Park

Marymount Bakehouse moves to Farrer Park

If you’re a big sourdough fan, you’ll likely be familiar with Marymount Bakehouse. This popular bakery, which started as a home-based business in 2020, rose to fame for their beautiful sourdough loaves and focaccia.

Just last year, they shifted their operations to a brick-and-mortar store along Upper Thomson, before recently moving to a full-fledged cafe in Farrer Park. Along with this shift comes a whole new lineup of hearty mains, largely centred around their famous sourdough. Read on for our review!

Food at Marymount Bakehouse

The menu is pretty extensive for a cafe, with options ranging from tartines and pies to sourdough pasta mains. As of now, prices remain nett, without extra charges.

The Shakshouka ($14.90) displayed at the glass counter was the first thing that caught my eye.

Inspired by the classic Tunisian breakfast dish, the Shakshouka at Marymount Bakehouse comprised a thin sourdough flatbread topped with house-made spiced tomato stew, two baked eggs, roasted pepper puree, creme fraiche, smoked ham, and nduja—a spicy sausage spread.

I enjoyed the tangy notes of the tomato, offset by the dollops of creme fraiche. The spicy sausage paste and roasted pepper puree added a lovely smokiness to the overall combination, too. This flatbread would’ve been perfect if the yolks were runny!

The Potage of Celeriac and Mushrooms ($12) was another new starter on the menu, comprising a bowl of celeriac and mushroom soup, accompanied by crispy sourdough toast.

Interestingly, the toast was the highlight of this dish. I loved the elaborate arrangement of the edible flowers with roasted chestnut puree and charred scallions on the crispy toast, which was absolutely delicious on its own. The soup, on the other hand, was a tad bland. I’d recommend dipping the toast into the soup for an elevated experience!

Next up: the Harissa Confit Tomato & Burratina Tartine ($25), where Marymount Bakehouse’s signature sourdough toast gets loaded with sweet confit cherry tomatoes, fresh greens, and parsley oil, then crowned with a blob of creamy burrata.

While I enjoyed the fresh flavours in this open-faced toast, which held up excellently against the rich cheese, my dining companion would have preferred for the burrata to be swapped out for a poached egg instead.

A unanimous favourite we could agree on, however, was The Basque Tartine ($29).

Firstly, this toast was a thing of beauty. You get the same sourdough toast loaded with a smorgasbord of toppings: sauteed porcini and chanterelle mushrooms, melted brie, foie gras, and two sunny-side ups, finished with plenty of fresh dill for brightness.

The whole thing was drizzled with a burnt butter balsamic sauce, which added a lovely layer of umami.

My only gripe? I thought the slab of foie gras was unnecessary, considering how there were already so many flavours going on here.

Besides toasts, you can look forward to hearty mains that are not commonly found on cafe menus. For instance, there’s the Wagyu Stew and Potato Puree ($32), where Wagyu beef is slow-cooked with pumpkin and carrots, served on a bed of creamy mash.

While the portion was generous and the Wagyu chunk was packed with flavour, the meat was less tender than I’d liked. Perhaps a different cut of beef would’ve worked better here, as the beef was a little stringy.

If you only have room for one main, you have to get the Morel Brocollini Lemon ($22), starring house-made sourdough pasta with charred brocollini and morel mushrooms drenched in a creamy lemon sauce.

The fresh sourdough pasta was perfectly al dente, each strand coating the luscious, slightly tangy lemon sauce. I mopped up every bit of this and was sad when it ended.

If you still have room for dessert, order their Apple & Rhubarb Custard Pie ($15.90), a four-inch sourdough tart filled with house-made custard and rhubarb puree, finished with a maple glaze.

The sourdough-infused crust boasted a savoury note, complementing the sweet and tangy fruit puree. I also enjoyed the creamy custard middle, which wasn’t too sweet. This pie would be lovely for teatime, paired with a hot cuppa.

Ambience at Marymount Bakehouse

Marymount Bakehouse takes over the spot where Madu The Bakery used to be. The cafe sits along a quiet stretch of shophouses, approximately seven minutes by foot from Farrer Park MRT Station.

The cosy cafe isn’t the most spacious, with a capacity of just under 20 diners. There are a handful of tables for groups of four, along with a row of counter seats along one side that overlooks the kitchen space.

I foresee it being crowded and cramped on the weekends, so it might be better to come by at an off-peak time.

The verdict

Although there were some minor misses on our visit, our experience at Marymount Bakehouse was pleasant overall. I’ll consider visiting the cafe again after they’ve settled into their space and ironed out any opening kinks!

Do also note that this new menu will only be rolled out from 5 October 2024 onwards.

In related cafe content, check out our Johor Bahru cafe guide if you’re crossing the border soon! Otherwise, read all about DipnDip’s new savoury menu, featuring crepes, sandwiches and more.

Address: 421 Race Course Road, Singapore 218668
Opening hours: Wed-Sun 9am to 5pm
Website
Marymount Bakehouse is not a halal-certified eatery.

Photos taken by  John Lery Villanueva.
This was a media tasting at Marymount Bakehouse.