Bottomless Brunch in Singapore: Brunch Towers at SO Sofitel’s Xperience Restaurant Perfect for the Young at Heart
PUBLISHED September 25th, 2020 06:00 am | UPDATED September 28th, 2020 01:01 am
Six months after our last boozy brunch, we’re back to this form of weekend indulgence post pandemic with SO/ Singapore’s new over-the-top concept that’s surprisingly pocket-friendly. Every Saturday from noon to 2pm at the lifestyle hotel’s all-day dining venue Xperience Restaurant, diners can expect three-tiered towers – laden with an abundance of food and made for sharing, so bring your pals – served straight to the table.
Both tower options come in two sizes; medium feeds two to three people while the large will satisfy a party of up to five. Folks who enjoy brunch staples like smashed avocado and feta on sourdough, sautéed wild mushrooms, and beef sliders will be perfectly happy with the SO/ Brunch Tower (S$88/S$178), which rings in at under S$45++ per person for a whole lot of food. We, however, couldn’t resist the siren song of an aptly named The Mother of All Towers (S$138/S$268) that comes amped up with cold cuts and cheeses and a damn good roasted spring chicken.
Other components of our three-storied feast that provided gustatory satisfaction include the vegetable frittata (great way to get the kiddos to eat veggies), grilled fresh tomatoes, and the nicely-textured house cured salmon that had the sweet and savoury flavours balanced well. The chili con carne was delicious, but we suggest skipping the cheap-tasting cheese drizzled over it, and we would have preferred our Australian striploin closer to medium rare.
The myriad robust flavours, complete with a Paddle Pop-like ice cream cone atop a pancake stack surrounded by fresh fruits, made us wish that the Seafood Platter (S$138) arrived earlier rather than after the tower. While certainly a lavish selection of seafood – think Boston lobster, tiger prawns, mussels, Hokkaido scallops and a dozen pacific oysters – they came across pretty bland in terms of taste and textures after tasting everything in our brunch tower.
What can we tell you about the free flow boozy package? Well, you can expect to fork out S$48++ for two hours (last call happened at 2pm on the dot for us) of drinking time of unlimited commercial beer, red and white wines, and Santa Margherita Prosecco Extra Dry. Hailing from Veneto, the bubbly was light yet flavourful enough; coupled with a nice acidity, it’s not difficult to get stuck on these Italian bubbles the whole meal.
An additional S$20++, though, will put Taittinger Brut and G&Ts from their gin cart on your already-laden table. The premium bubbles itself is worth the extra cash but we had hoped for a glitzier gin cart, because why drink sparkling water when you can have a G&T? Albeit the different fruit and herb garnishes we could choose, our gin options were limited to Tanqueray, Bombay Sapphire, and Gordon’s Gin – hardly what we expected of a five-star hotel.
With all said and done, we think that a free flow boozy brunch with more than enough food for potentially under S$100 is not a bad way to kickstart your weekend.
Xperience Restaurant & Bar is located at SO/ Sofitel Singapore, 35 Robinson Road, Singapore 068876, p. +65 6701 6800. Brunch is available every Saturday 12-2pm, bookings are essential.
