The Bravery made itself a neighbour to Windowsill Pies on Horne Road in Jalan Besar, the latest hippiest neighbourhood to name. It brilliantly made use of red and gold on its window glass, giving a very bright and loud store front which grabs the attention of any passerbys. Behind these refractive glasses is a great hangout place serving good coffee and great pancakes.
LOOK & FEEL
The cafe is open and spacious, with no pillars and partitions. At every seat, you could have a full view of its unique interior and the gold aluminium horse at the communal table. The cafe has a distinct industrial style for its interior, making use of raw and unrefined materials as parts of its furniture and structure. Industrial style is not meant to be comfortable, so the seat might poke you and sharp edges of your table might bump you too. However, it makes up with an atypical ambience, where you are free to imagine and create.
Conversations bounce off the walls and make a really nice muffled background noise, at the level just comfortable enough for you to relax in your own conversations or type away on your laptop.
The window seats are also good for crowd gazing, or for a view to relax to.
The cafe has an interesting lighting in the evening, when the floodlights from Jalan Besar stadium comes on.
Even though the selection of music is pretty unique I say, the ambience is really comfortable and casual. The staff also chats with customers like friends, making it an extremely relaxed environment where you can unwind in conversations. The cafe is also pretty empty on weekdays from late afternoons onwards, so you could stay for longer hours to do your work or read, without feeling an unnerving anxiety to leave.
FOOD & DRINKS
The Lavender Latte stood out the most on its menu. The last flower-flavoured coffee I had was a rose latte, which I have a good memory of. This Lavender Latte did not disappoint too. The moment it was placed in front of me, the mood lifting fragrance quickly floated to my nose. The coffee doesn’t taste like lavender, it was mainly the scent and fragrance. This mix was perfect, because any stronger lavender taste would have made me feel like I was drinking some air freshener. On its own, it was light enough to need no sugar and it also gave a very aromatic breath after every sip. Such flower flavour is not a mainstream taste, and those who don’t usually like flower flavours should stick to the normal latte.
I’ve heard that the food here is good, so I heed the staff recommendation and ordered the Pancakes Stack. Though it is easily one of the most expensive pancakes around, I must say the taste makes it worth the indulgence. The pancake was very moist and soft, with bits of bananas in it. Taking it with a small slice of banana and honey sauce would send you to cloud nine.
The coffee addict in me shouted for a second coffee and I ordered a Cafe Latte. Light and smooth.
IN A NUTSHELL
Overall, The Bravery was a nice stay, and I really enjoyed the coffee and pancakes. Its welcoming and relaxing ambience makes it perfect for gatherings and lone hangouts too. If you are exploring Jalan Besar, be sure to make this a stop!
