PUBLISHED January 31st, 2013 12:34 am | UPDATED March 28th, 2016 10:04 am
After finding out that one of my favourite local European restaurants (Brasserie Wolf) was to close down in Robertson Walk, I almost cried. It was one of my go-tos for delicious, reasonably priced European cuisine in Singapore and my firm favourite in Robertson Quay. One of the things that made it so great was Swiss-born Executive Chef Claudio Sandri, a young and energetic European who makes some cracking dishes, both traditional and contemporary….so when I heard through the F&B grapevine that Chef Claudio was going to be heading up the kitchen at a new casual European dining venue on Mohamed Sultan Road called Spathe, I immediately dropped by in person to make a reservation for myself and 7 friends later that week.
Where this Chef is cooking, I want to be eating…and just for good measure, I made a point of pre-ordering some of my favourite classics such as Steak tartar and Beef bourgignon (as sadly they are not on the menu at Spathe – though you can pre-order which I highly, highly recommend doing).
Other dishes on menu well worth a try are the Smoked duck salad ($16) which comes in a decent portion served with some soft goat’s cheese. Dee-lish! The Smoked salmon tartine ($12) is also quite good. Quality salmon and freshly cut to order.
It might sounds silly but you better make sure you order a side of French fries here (garlic, truffle…and the other styles). They are just superb. Soft inside and crisp exterior with excellent flavour. I’m not even a fries fan and on my two visits to Spathe this month I have wolfed down an entire serving each time.
Also, be sure to try Chef Claudio’s soups. French Onion, Smoked tomato ($11) or Chestnut are all tasty options.
Some items to be wary of however are the pumpkin gnocchi ($18) which while being quite good could do with some more…well…gnocchi. Also, the burgers ($22)…don’t go in expecting what you are used to. Think of it more like a ‘burger-sandwich’. It’s not exactly an American restaurant after al
Anyway, after an absolutely sumptuous feast, with out bellies popping out and smiles all round, the bill came…..I had to blink…$50 each…..!! For the sheer quality (and quantity) of food we all had, this bill in most brasseries would have been closer to $100 or more per person. What an absolute bargain.
To quote my friend, that evening, her Facebook profile status afterwards read ‘Just had one of the best meals I’ve ever had in Singapore – at Spathe’.
To me, Spathe is part of a new food revolution taking place in Singapore’s F&B scene where top trained Chefs have ‘had enough’ of the pomp and fluff of fine dining and are now opening up more casual, low-key and reasonably priced establishments… And for consumers like myself, I couldn’t be happier.
I’ve already made another reservation at Spathe Public House and will be back later this month. Excellent food, excellent prices.