The beloved NAFA café opens a second location at Scotts Square, trading its cozy dine-in vibe for fast-casual hand rolls and a seriously deep matcha menu.
If you’ve spent time in Bencoolen—recently crowned Singapore’s coolest neighbourhood of 2025—you’ve likely spotted Skosh. The Japanese café, tucked inside the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), has been a student favourite since 2024, celebrated for its onigiri and sandos. Now, the brand is expanding westward, launching a second outpost at Scotts Square in the heart of Orchard Road, this time with a focused menu of hand rolls and matcha-based drinks.
A Casual, Grab-and-Go Affair
Unlike the snug NAFA space, which operates as a proper dine-in café, the new Skosh Hand Roll & Matcha Bar is built for speed. Located at a kiosk in the mall’s basement level, directly opposite FairPrice Finest, the setup is lean: just 20 seats scattered around the counter, with a handful of tables nearby.
A word to the wise: the open seating area is primarily reserved for customers of neighbouring Suukee Coffee. But when things pick up during peak hours, the two cafés share the space, so don’t be shy about grabbing a seat if you spot one.
Hand Rolls Done Right
The menu features 12 hand rolls, and the fundamentals are nailed. Each roll starts with plump Haenuki rice from Yamagata Prefecture, tossed with red sushi vinegar from Gifu for a subtle sweetness, then wrapped in crispy Nico Nico Yaki Nori from Setouchi. Every roll comes with a plastic wrapper—a thoughtful detail that preserves the seaweed’s crunch from first bite to last.
Prices range from $4.50 to $10.80 à la carte, or you can opt for a set of three ($12.80) or five ($18.80). For a more indulgent spread, the Skosh Tasting Menu ($32.80) showcases five hand rolls topped with premium ingredients like snow crab, torched octopus, Hokkaido N34 beef, aka ebi, and negitoro.
Our recommendation? The engawa hand roll ($6.50)—a generous slice of fatty, torched fluke fin topped with shredded tamago, wasabi mayo, furikake, and spring onions. The simple pairings let the fish shine. Seafood fans can also explore versions with Hokkaido scallops ($6.50), maguro ($5.50), or unagi ($5.50). Meat lovers aren’t left out either: the Hokkaido N34 hand roll ($10.80) is glazed with yakiniku sauce, while the karubi wagyu ($5.50) brings texture with sautéed onions, truffle pearls, garlic chips, and spring onions.
For something uniquely local, try the samsui scallion chicken roll ($4.50)—a clever nod to chicken rice, featuring slow-cooked chicken breast, scallion sauce, chilli sauce, and garlic chips.
If you’ve still got room, sides like sesame lotus salad ($5) or a comforting bowl of white miso soup ($3) with shimeji mushrooms, tofu, kombu, carrots, and onions round out the savoury options. Desserts include kinako mochi with brown sugar syrup ($6) and a slice of mochi matcha Basque cheesecake ($12).
A Matcha Lover’s Playground
The drink menu is where Skosh really flexes. With more than 15 matcha beverages and over 20 drinks in total, there’s plenty to explore. The café sources three types of matcha from different Japanese growing regions: Mizu matcha from Nishio, Aichi; first-harvest Ayame matcha from Shizuoka and Kagoshima; and first-harvest Kirameiki matcha from Uji, Kyoto. Each has a distinct character—whether you prefer something balanced and smooth, floral and umami, or rich and full-bodied. Purists can enjoy them straight (from $7 to $13), served hot or cold.
For those keen to recreate the experience at home, Skosh offers in-store exclusive take-home matcha kits ($58) and standalone matcha tins (from $21 to $42).
Adventurous drinkers should look beyond the classics. Menu highlights include strawberry matcha and coconut matcha ($9 each), but the more experimental options—miso brown sugar matcha, yuzu matcha, and crème brûlée matcha—are worth a try (all $9). There’s even a boozy matcha lychee lager ($15), spiked with lychee-infused beer. And if you’re after something entirely different, the natural cola ($7) is made in-house with house-made cola syrup and soda water.
Two standouts: the kinako matcha ($9) blends house-made kinako paste and Japanese brown sugar with a rich matcha base, finished with a creamy kinako foam. The taro matcha ($9) is equally satisfying, featuring a savoury-sweet purple taro foam with a distinct yam fragrance. Both are well-balanced and never overly sweet.
The Verdict
Rating: 4/5
Skosh Hand Roll & Matcha Bar is a welcome addition to Orchard Road’s dining scene, offering quality hand rolls and a serious matcha programme in a no-frills, grab-and-go format. It won’t replace the charm of the original NAFA café, but it doesn’t need to—it’s carving out its own niche, one perfectly wrapped roll at a time.
Skosh Hand Roll & Matcha Bar is open daily from 10am to 9pm at 6 Scotts Road, Scotts Square, #B1-K1, Singapore 228209.