The Front Door Cafe @ Grocer’s Inn, Jalan Sultan, Kuala Lumpur [CLOSED DOWN]

Browsing through the soft launch menu of The Front Door at Grocer’s Inn, everything seems standard for a cafe with promising salad, big breakfast, omelette platter, pasta initially, until we flipped to the second page and discovered something beyond the normal- The Front Door Signature Toasts, which deserved overwhelmed response.

Humbly located along Jalan Sultan Kuala Lumpur, The Front Door Cafe shares the same corner lot with Grocer’s Inn next to Hock Bee Hiong Dried Meat seller, a few doors away from Cafe Amo famous for their 3D coffee art. More directions, it is one street away from Petaling Street.

This hidden gem welcomed us with a huge front door and facade painted in black, a bright yellow shop sign written with 雜貨行; the next second we were drawn in the spacious interior, thoughtfully designed but remain most of the olden structures to capture the timeless beauty of the bygone eras in this herritage street.

High ceilings, Chinese folding gates, symmetrical patterned floor tiles, rusty electrical box, chairs and oil barrels, exposed bricks wall with influence of old-colonial architecture for the rustic, vintage scene…

Wooden tables with chairs and stools in black and white to urshered in a sense of modernity, elegance upscale with chandeliars, walls painted in black…

From ceiling to floor, from furnishing to decorations, nothing is too much, but strives to make your visit worthwhile, more than just a place for good coffee and smørrebrød.

We love the Wide hallway at the end of the cafe, adorned with rows of birdnest-shape pendant lights, connecting the entire space visually and physically to achieve a warm, spectacular environment that doubles up the old world charm with a touch of modernity.

The Front Door Signature Toast RM6/slice, RM18/3 slices, RM25/6 slices
The Front Door’s Signature toast, or smørrebrød, or open sandwich is as noteworthy as their interior, with toasted bread as the base, further topped with a plethora of ingredients from sweet to savoury or creative matching of both to create exciting, gorgeous flavours.

The toast is priced at RM6/slice, RM18/3 slices, RM25/6 slices, with 10 flavours to choose from. We suggest 3 to 5 for each individual, as one is never enough. On top of that, the inviting scene of toasts brimming with colourful toppings not only fill the hungry tummy, but also makes diners go light-hearted for its gorgoues presentation. Greedy Hint: Order all 10 if you not sure which one to choose.

No.1 Honey/cheddar/bacon/strawberry
Begin with mouthful of texture and flavours, combining smoky chew of bacon and cheddar with a sweet touch from honey, and surprisingly, goes well with the extra strawberry toppings.

No. 2 Cream cheese/asparagus/sautéed mushroom/hard boiled egg
The vegan friendly choice in the savoury list, yet not shadowed by other non-vege version. Burst of juiciness from mushroom and asparagus is the winning point, touch up with a dash of pepper and a layer of cream cheese.

No. 3 Bacon/lettuce/cheddar/cherry tomato
Bacon, lettuce, cheddar, cherry tomato toast sounds similar to Honey, cheddar, bacon, strawberry; yet not. While the later is more playful in its combination, the former is more practical, summing up balanced flavours and nutrition, like putting a bed of salad over a toast.

No.4 Cream cheese/cucumber ribbon/smoked salmon/capers
Summerkid’s favourite, also a choice that reminds us of cocktail party appetizer. Cream cheese thickly slathered on toast, enveloping with smoky and briny sensation of salmon plus refreshing, crisp flavour from cucumber. Who doesn’t love this?

No. 5 Pesto/grilled chicken/caramalized orange
Generous spread of healthy, green pesto on toasted bread, piled with protein goodness from grilled chicken, complimented with vibrant citrusy from caramalized orange-the item which we found comes in just right to flavour up the less appealing chicken breast.

No. 6 Mozzarella/green apple/almonds/salted caramel
Unexpected mix and match that we grow fond on as we tuck in more. Complex but interesting in taste with contrasting texture, started with chewy toast smothered with mozzarella cheese, followed by pleasant sweetness of sliced fresh green apple, toasty, nutty crunch of almonds, finally amplified with salty-and-sweet caramel sauce.

No. 8 Pizza Sauce/Mozzarella/Pepperoni/Fresh Basil
Toppings that you will come across in your pizza, but The Front Door has it upside-down with pepperoni on top of a bed of cheesy, melting good cheese. Said it as the most classic choice among all, and you will hardly go wrong with delicious, smoky pepperoni packed with punch of spices’ aroma.

No.9 Cream cheese/slice avocado/fried egg
Go for No. 9 on The Front Door Signature Toast if you loved heaps of creaminess laid on your toast. Cream cheese, hearty slices of avocado and handsomely fried sunny side up.

No.7 Cheddar/jam/strawberry
After taking in enough of the savoury, we switch to the sweet toast, equally wonderful. Summergirl used to sandwich her bread with cheddar cheese and strawberry jam, but she said The Front Door’s version is more fine tuned with fresh chopped strawberries. It delivers more bites, more zesty and appetizing. Better than hers’ of course!

No.10 Peanut butter/ Caramelized Banana
Summergirl’s favourite. Cultura at Bangsar makes good banana peanut butter toast, and The Front Door makes sweet, layers of peanut creaminess with soft, caramelize banana, better if they added in a scoop of vanilla ice cream and drizzles of chocolate sauce!

Flat White RM9
Coffee lovers will not be disappointed, as The Front Door serves coffee too.

Mocha RM10

Tapping Tapir Hibiscus & Lime Soda RM9
Tried out The Tapping Tapir, thirst quenching natural sodas made from fresh juice, herbs and spices. Grapefruit & Chamomile, Apple & Vanilla, Pear & Lemongrass, Orange & Jasmine are worth-checking-out options too.

In short, it is indescribable on how much we love every single flavour of these signature toast customized by The Front Door KL. Summergirl went hyper happy by just looking at them. Highly recommended for those who loves venture into hidden cafes in KL & Klang Valley. We will surely be back to try out their pasta, and perhaps the not-yet-on-the-soft-launch-menu new dishes in future.

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Photography: Summerkied
Write Up: Summergirl

Address:
The Front Door at Grocer’s Inn
78, Jalan Sultan,
50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Business Hours: 10:00am – 6pm (closed on Thursday)
Contact: 016 – 222 7940
Email: thefrontdoorcafe@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Front-Door