Restaurant Review: Fire Up The Night At 1-ATICO’s FLNT and FIRE in Orchard Road, Singapore
PUBLISHED April 29th, 2021 05:00 am
Standing 218 metres tall, the 1-Group’s (known for 1-Altitude, Monti and 1-V:U) newest rooftop destination 1-ATICO is a three-in-one social experience that gives you a high you won’t want to come down from. It’s split into three defining dining experiences starting at Japanese-Peruvian style lounge FLNT, FIRE its main Argentinian-inspired restaurant, and finally culminating in the ATICO Lounge.
On a fine evening, we made our way to FLNT lounge – located on the first floor of 1-ATICO’s two-level penthouse restaurant – a Nikkei-influenced sumiyaki bar and grill, the first of its kind in Singapore. It’s the most spacious of the three dining experiences, with high chairs and an open bar area that serves specialty sakes and cocktails.
Their Ceviche Nikkei (S$25) embodies the Japanese-Peruvian fusion. Fresh yellowtail is marinated in leche de Tigre, and tossed with lime, yuzu, roasted hazelnuts, shallots, tomatoes, avocado and white corn. While the Foie Gras Taco (S$12 per piece) is another collaboration in cultures of sorts – a mini taco elevated with grilled foie gras, topped with rocoto yogurt and flying fish roe.
It’s not a rooftop bar without cocktails. FLNT’s signatures pair Japanese sakes with bold Peruvian flavours. The Mizuame (S$25) mixes Japanese notes of Kyoho grape sake and cherry blossom syrup with a zesty blood orange liqueur and Cognac. It’s a tasty start to our culinary journey, but the main course is what awaits us at FIRE.
On the second floor of 1-ATICO, FIRE heats up with wood-fired grills and sky-high views. True to their Argentinian cuisine, FIRE throws it back to the simplest form of cooking, but delivers on hearty flavours. It’s all about communal dining, so portions are served in large quantities – a style that reflects the Argentinian way of eating.
We’re greeted with the ‘Devesa’ Argentinian grain-fed OP Rib 1kg (S$210), grandly laid out on a large platter for sharing. The meat is tenderly cooked and cut cleanly into slices – although no matter how much we eat away at it, we never seem to run out. That’s definitely a good thing! It’s accompanied by the Plato de Verduras (S$36), wood-fired greens that include sweet Pickled Heirloom Carrots and Palermo Peppers seasoned with smoked salt.
If that wasn’t enough, for dessert, the Flan ‘Adriana,’ Dulce de Leche (S$24) is very sweet and indulgent. But it’s authentically Argentinian – named after Mrs Adriana Fabrini, the wife of the Ambassador of Argentina to Singapore, whose family recipe is used for this traditional dessert. In the spirit of communal dining, you may only be able to take a few scoops of this incredibly rich dessert, but pass it around to share and it’ll be devoured in seconds.
At the very end of the night, 1-ATICO’s ultra-lounge is just starting to liven up. The lounge has only recently opened, owing to COVID-19 restrictions, but we were able to have a taste of the latest 1-ATICO addition. Like its dim lighting and plush couches, the food of ATICO lounge is much more casual. With the lounge stretching across floor-to-ceiling glass windows, we enjoyed another Japanese-inspired drink, Fantaji (S$25), fearing shiso-infused gin, butterfly pea flower tea, and yuzu, while overlooking the city. Along with some crunchy Japanese snow crab croquettes (S$24), Crispy chicken winglets (S$22), we capped off our night in the clouds.
1-ATICO is located at 2 Orchard Turn, #55-01 ION Orchard, Singapore 238801, p. +65 8028 1489. FLNT is open from 11.30am – 11pm, daily. FIRE is open from 12pm – 2pm & 6pm – 11pm, daily.
