The world is flat(bread): Are focaccia sandwiches the new toast of the town?
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(From left) Cat & the Fiddle's beef pastrami schiacciata sandwich, Mamma Mia Focaccia's 'Nduja sandwich.
PHOTOS: CAT & THE FIDDLE, MAMMA MIA FOCACCIA
- Focaccia and schiacciata are emerging as popular Italian flatbreads in Singapore, with eateries now offering them as innovative sandwiches.
- Establishments like Cat & The Fiddle and Mamma Mia Focaccia offer diverse fillings, from traditional Italian meats to Asian-inspired and dessert options.
- This new sandwich trend shows high demand, with bakeries adapting textures for local palates and actively introducing new fusion fillings.
AI generated
SINGAPORE – After the Covid-19 sourdough
Now, two Italian flatbreads are ready for the spotlight: focaccia (say foh-KAH-chia) and schiacciata (say skia-CHIA-tah), a thinner version of focaccia.
Restaurants, cafes and bakeries – such as Da Paolo, One Prawn & Co at New Bahru, Little Farms at Tanglin Mall, Marymount Bakehouse in Race Course Road, Nick Vina Artisan Bakery at Tanglin Mall and Burnt Ends Bakery in Dempsey – now offer focaccia.
These dimpled slabs of tray-baked Italian flatbreads, often with big holes in the crumb, are usually topped with olive oil, salt and rosemary. But purveyors here also offer focaccia topped with truffle, cheese, olives and cured meats such as prosciutto and salami, among other things.
What is new are the places turning focaccia into sandwiches.
Cat & The Fiddle, the cheesecake chain, has opened two concept stores serving sandwiches made with schiacciata; and newly opened Big Mouth Bakehouse has focaccia sandwiches on its menu. In October 2025, Mamma Mia Focaccia opened, offering them for takeaway; and the Yeast Side chain of cafes put the sandwiches on the menu in April 2025.
Other places to get a fix include Super Dario Lasagne at City Square Mall. Its Stuffed Focaccia ($12.50) is filled with mozzarella cheese, sundried tomatoes and a choice of pesto, olive paste or truffle cream, and has been on the menu for about nine years.
At L’Arte Pizza & Focaccia at Guoco Tower in Wallich Street, focaccia sandwiches have been on the menu since 2022, a few months after it opened. There are three variations, priced from $19 to $22. Fillings include Italian cured meats, cheese, tomatoes and rocket leaves.
Mr Aaron Ang, 34, its deputy general manager, says the restaurant will offer new variations, including fillings with an Asian accent. Two upcoming variations are smoked salmon paired with stracciatella, a soft cheese; and roast beef and caramelised onions.
He says: “The more robust fillings complement the light, airy texture of our housemade focaccia.”
Here is where else to get focaccia sandwiches.
Thinner, crispier
Cat & The Fiddle
Where: 01-41/42 Tampines 1, 10 Tampines Central 1, and 01-11 Westgate, 3 Gateway Drive www.catandthefiddle.com
Open: 11am to 10pm daily
Info:
Cat & The Fiddle's new schiacciata sandwich, stuffed with beef pastrami.
PHOTO: CAT & THE FIDDLE
The Cat & The Fiddle chain is well known for its cheesecakes and desserts, but at two new stores, it is offering schiacciata sandwiches. The flatbread comes from the Tuscany region of Italy.
Cat & The Fiddle founder Daniel Tay, 55, says: “The schiacciata is crisp on the outside and soft and airy on the inside. It has enough structure to hold generous fillings and absorb flavours without becoming dense.”
Diners at the 12-seat Westgate store, which opened in December 2025, and the six-seat Tampines 1 store, which opened in January 2026, can order from a menu of four sandwiches: Turkey Ham ($12.90), Honey Baked Chicken Ham ($12.90), Beef Pastrami ($15.90) and Smoked Salmon ($15.90).
These are fully loaded sandwiches, spread with mascarpone, Emmental cheese, grated parmesan, rocket and spinach leaves, tomatoes and condiments such as balsamic vinegar, olive oil and pesto.
Mr Tay says: “Singapore diners are open to trying new things, especially when it comes to bread and sandwiches. Schiacciata feels different without being unfamiliar. It’s filling without being heavy and it works just as well for dine-in as it does for takeaway.”
The bread is made with pate fermentee or fermented bread dough, to add a deeper, nuttier flavour to the bread. It is fermented in the fridge for 12 hours and baked at high heat in a steam oven.
Spanish inspiration
Mamma Mia Focaccia
Where: 94 Amoy Street @mammamiafocaccia
Open: 9.30am to 9.30pm (Mondays to Fridays), closed on Saturdays and Sundays
Info:
Mamma Mia Focaccia's sandwiches.
PHOTO: MAMMA MIA FOCACCIA
The sandwiches at Mamma Mia used to sell out by 1pm, so the owner delivered more bread for the post-lunch demand. Then customers wanted it to stay open beyond the original closing time of 4.30pm. So, from Jan 1, the grab-and-go sandwich place is open on weekdays until 9.30pm.
And to think chef-owner Houssein Haffian wanted to open a pastrami bar.
The 39-year-old says he was inspired by how focaccia sandwiches were taking off in Spain, where he was born.
“Focaccia was up and coming for dining and grab-and-go, and people genuinely loved the idea,” he says. “We imported high-quality cold cuts and cheeses and decided assembling the sandwiches in-store would be better. It allows us to control the quality and consistency. Every time you come, the sandwich tastes exactly the same.”
The entrepreneur is also behind Spanish restaurants Asador in Joo Chiat Place and Next Door Spanish Cafe in East Coast Road, and The Champagnery, a champagne bar at the back of Mamma Mia.
The focaccia dough is proofed for 24 hours and then there is a second, three-hour rise before baking. He describes the texture as crispy on the outside and fluffy inside.
Customers can choose from 10 sandwiches, which are available in full and half portions. He sells 70 full sandwiches and 144 half sandwiches a day.
The sandwiches are priced from $14 for a Vegetariano, filled with grilled zucchini, red pesto, mascarpone, pickled onions, tomatoes and grilled artichokes; to $24 for a San Daniele, filled with the Italian ham, buffalo mozzarella, pesto and tomato. Half portions are priced from $9 to $14.
There is even a dessert sandwich, Nutella ($9 or $14), filled with the chocolate hazelnut spread, mascarpone, pistachio shavings and pistachio cream.
Chef Houssein says: “Focaccia is simple and easy to eat. We wanted a well-filled bread without too much of a mess. The area we chose to open in – Amoy Street – has a natural mix of expatriates and locals who love something quick for lunch.
“The Singapore market is well-heeled, people know what they want and will pay if the food and experience are right.”
A gentler bite
Big Mouth Bakehouse
Where: 01-06 Wisma Geylang Serai, 1 Engku Aman Road @bigmouthbakehouse
Open: 10am to 6pm (Tuesdays to Sundays), closed on Mondays
Info: Call 8058-4825 or go to
Big Mouth Bakehouse's Thai Beef Salad focaccia sandwich.
PHOTO: BIG MOUTH BAKEHOUSE
When baker Nursyazanna Syaira Md Suhimi was running Fluff Bakery, she would sell small slabs of focaccia with different toppings. It was very popular with customers, she says.
At her new business, Big Mouth Bakehouse in Geylang, she has turned that focaccia into a sandwich. The 20-seat cafe offers a Thai Beef Salad focaccia sandwich ($12.50), and recent weekend specials included Mexican Chicken With Pineapple Salsa and chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, and Avocado Fried Egg Chilli Crisp, both priced at $12.50 each.
Her focaccia is tailored to local textural preferences.
The 38-year-old says: “Personally, when I eat a sandwich and the bread is too crusty, it hurts the top of my mouth. I think we Asians inherently like something softer. Look at our cakes – chiffon, sponge, castella. We do not like dense, hard things.
“So, our focaccia is lightly crusted and can be very crunchy when heated up. The crust shatters on top and it’s super soft and spongy inside. But it has structure without being too floppy.”
Her bread dough ferments for 12 to 15 hours. She says it is the perfect vehicle for sandwiches.
The beef sandwich is inspired by a dish her mother-in-law’s helper whips up at home, using sliced shabu shabu beef and oyster sauce. The sandwich also has a Thai green chilli sauce, similar to nam jim seafood, a dipping sauce for seafood.
She says: “The sauce gives a spicy lift to the sandwich and you get a nice, moist beef sandwich.”
Other fillings are in the offing, she adds. “What excites me is that I can incorporate so many flavours into the focaccia,” she says. “It looks and tastes great, and can be a hearty meal.”
East side sandwiches
Yeast Side
Where: Outlets in myVillage, KAP Mall, lyf@Farrer, Trifecta Riders’ Lounge www.yeastside.sg
Info:
Yeast Side's Mr Crabs focaccia sandwich.
PHOTO: YEAST SIDE
The focaccia sandwiches at Yeast Side veer east, with options that include Sri Lankan Chicken ($16), filled with Sri Lankan-style curry chicken, hash brown and lime yogurt; Miso Prawn ($16), with a prawn patty and red miso butter; and Mr Crabs ($18), with crab meat and green harissa.
One of its bestsellers is Bestside Sandwich ($15), filled with maple bacon, egg salad and fried onion rings.
The chain, with four outlets, started serving focaccia sandwiches in April 2025, a spokesman says.
“Reception was initially slow mainly because focaccia isn’t widely known among customers here,” the spokesman adds. “Since it’s a new concept for many, we’ve been taking time to introduce and explain the product.”
The bread is made in-house using a biga, which is an Italian pre-ferment used to add flavour to bread, and is proofed for four hours before being baked at a high temperature. The result, the spokesman says, is a light and airy texture.
Come April, new fillings for the focaccia sandwiches will be added to the menu.
