Restaurant Review: Kinou Is All About Ceviches, Tartares, and Cocktails on Tras Street, Singapore

PUBLISHED September 28th, 2018 11:08 am | UPDATED May 18th, 2020 04:23 pm

A newcomer has joined the bevy of cool restaurants along Singapore’s Tras Street, and its name is Kinou. This casual small plates restaurant focuses on ceviches and tartares, along with a mixology bar dishing out creative cocktails that might soon become the talk of town.

The space is bright and open with an air of carnival-like playfulness and experimentation, and as we stepped in, we are quickly welcomed by Benjamin Tilatti, the owner and head chef from France. There is a nicely built bar in the middle with plenty of premium spirits and liquors on display, and since we were waiting for our starters to arrive, he recommends that we give the drinks a try. One thing to note is that the beverage menu here is gargantuan, with at least one page each for everything from martinis and mules to juleps, mojitos, tikis, and Old Fashioneds. Clearly, they are very serious about their alcohol, going to far as to launch ‘Konnoisseur’, a concept lounge above for patrons to enjoy exclusive wines, champagnes, sakes, and spirits like a Forsyths WP 502 White Jamaica Pure Single Rum.

The sake-based Japanese Iced-Tea ($21) is sweet and sour, prepared with Beefeater Gin, musk-melon liqueur, and fresh yuzu. It’s easy drinking, and a cocktail that’s not dissimilar to another drink from Kinou’s signature section, the Asian Granny Panties ($21) – gin infused with jasmine tea, elderflower liqueur, grenadine, and grapefruit juice. For something a little more hard-hitting, you won’t go wrong with an extra sweet Canadian Old Fashioned ($21) – of course there’s maple syrup in it.

Kinou is big on fusion, which stems from Ben’s travels to Asia, Latin America, and other parts of Europe. Try the Kinou Prawning Spot ($14), a Spanish-inspired tapas dish of fragrant freshwater prawns gently poached with garlic and quality olive oil. It’s a waste to leave the leftover sauce untouched, which is your cue to order a sourdough bread basket to assist with the ‘clean-up’.

A highlight is Bone to Be Wild ($16) – buttery roasted beef marrow served with a garlic dip, more sourdough toast, and pickled greens. Think of this as an interactive challenge: the dish comes with a Tennessee surprise, where a stream of Jack Daniel’s Gentleman Jack is poured down the bone into your mouth. Like fat washing, but not really.

This is a place where you don’t necessarily have to order dishes a la carte. If you are in a large enough group, go for the option of creating your own sharing platters, from a choice of 3, 5 or 7 ceviches and tartares at discounted rates. For ceviche, we had the visually appealing Kinou, Lost in Peru ($22), which features the fish of the day with a bright and tangy tomato and lime leche, as well as bits of corn and guacamole. Although light in flavour, the dish is fantastic for stimulating your appetite. 

Then, some tartare. The Kinou Signature Beef Tartare ($20) brings a yummy twist to the table, swapping the usual raw egg yolk with Comté cheese for extra sharpness and nuttiness against the backdrop of raw tenderloin beef. As for Whack A Quack ($21), it’s a wild duck breast tartare that can be quite difficult to get down due to its strong gamey taste; which is why there is a bit of foie gras, blackberries, and warm ginger bread that come along.

The ultimate Kinou experience comes in the form of the Vegan Nightmare Platter ($99), which comes with 220g of wagyu ribeye, the restaurant’s signature burger with tender Wagyu beef patty, Moulard duck breast seasoned with Sichuan pepper, wagyu sausage, and spicy Merguez-style lamb sausage. In fact, why not add on another hunky wagyu tomahawk ($90/1kg) for good measure? This easily feeds four people, of course.

One thing’s for sure: any vegetarian or vegan visiting Kinou is not going to be too happy.

Kinou is located at 81 Tras St, Singapore 079020, p. +6224 0463. Open Tue-Sat 3pm – 12am. Closed Sun-Mon.