PUBLISHED July 27th, 2012 09:35 am | UPDATED May 18th, 2020 04:34 pm
I’m not going to lie….it took a little convincing to come visit the Wine Connection Tapas Bar located at Robertson Quay. While it’s definitely visually pleasing with sleek modern design, it’s just so large! Not exactly a hidden gem by any stretch of the imagination.
Despite all this, in the interest of fairness, it would be wrong to not at least try it, especially when they are one of the only places in Singapore to serve wine at super reasonable prices…
Starting with a couple of salads, we ordered the tomato mozzarella salad ($13), and the rocket and smoked duck breast salad ($13) deciding to pair them with a champagne – Drappier Carte d’Or ($15); and a rosé – Cotes de Provence – Les Vignerons de Saint Tropez ($8). I love a bit of champagne and rosé to start a meal, and seriously – who doesn’t?
The rose had some nice floral notes and was dangerously drinkable. A nice compliment to the savoury pesto flavours of the tomato and mozzarella salad.
As for the Drappier champagne, it was a welcome liquid luxury to cut the slightly too oily dressing of the duck salad.
Moving on to pizza and pasta, we tried the highly recommended Salmon Ravioli ($13) – I have to admit, both myself and Ms Demeanour were impressed with this dish. Just simple comfort food. I could imagine this being one of my go-to “can’t-be-bothered-to-read-the-menu” kind of dishes. And paired with a glass of their La Chablisenne ($14) was even better. Nothing like a full buttery Chablis (Chardonnay) with some creamy pasta sauce..mmmmm.
As for the pizza, we went for the Rucola and Goat cheese ($15). Decent serving and the rucola and goats cheese made for a nice topping. Can’t say I was over-impressed by the pizza base though. Still, decent for sharing in groups I’d say.
Finally, moving towards the end of the meal, we had to try the grilled Aussie ribeye – at $22! Bargain! It turns out that Wine Connection sources all their meat from Huber’s butcher, which is really quite encouraging…As for the steak (paired with a glass of their Californian 7 Deadly Zins Zinfandel at $12), it’s no CUT, but for $22 it ain’t too shabby either! It was cooked well, portion was good, and the accompanying sauces complimented the flavour of the meat.
Whilst the salads and the tapas weren’t anything to write home about, I have to admit the pizza, pasta and mains are pretty decent here. And considering that they pretty much all cost around $13-20 a plate, that’s some very competitive pricing. If you couple that with the fact that you can actually get some decent wine here as well, either by glass or by the bottle for under $50, it definitely adds to the pros of visiting Wine Connection.
There is however one con – the service. I noticed it and I’d heard from other visitors there, so sadly I don’t think it’s a one off. I can’t say there was anything particularly ‘bad’ about the service at our table on the day, but it was clear from looking around that there was a level of disorganization amongst the waiting staff. I’d also be worried about their knowledge of the food menu and wines.
I know this is something they are working on so hopefully it’s just a short-term issue.
Personally, Wine Connection is the kind of place I’d go with a big group of friends, down several bottles of wine, order a load of different dishes and go home safe in the knowledge that our wallets were still intact.
At the end of the day, Wine Connection is a safe choice. It’s not going to blow your mind, but for a regular hangout, it’s a worthy option.
On this occasion, the meal was kindly sponsored by Wine Connection.