I've always wanted to visit Pasta Brava when I was working around the Tanjong Pagar area -- however I've always managed to miss that. So it was with great joy when my bestie's birthday came around and I suggested we check this place out since we both like pastas! It is supposedly award-winning.
It was around 8+ when we were there on a Friday evening. It was rather crowded and we were told to wait 20mins, but it was alright. We were sitted upstairs, where there is a bar and lounge/waiting area. The service was harried - they have too many customers. Kinda turned off.
The decor is very homely, very Italian traditional. Their menu is quite extensive.
We ordered the parma ham with rock melon for starters. It was rather alright. Very average.
Next the birthday girl ordered the porchini mushroom risotto with white wine and parmesan cheese ($23)! It was a wrong choice because well.. the risotto just tasted like porridge! I am not kidding. If not for the arborio rice used, you can easily mistake this for porridge.. it was watery and the flavors were very plain.
OK so, I was hoping the restaurant will be amazing but it turned out to be really just mediocre - perhaps its the food choices, but ultimately what spoiled our experience was the service and ambience. Our waiter was this really surly faced middle-aged man who was very brisk in his attitude and very cold in his manner with us. It felt as if we were wasting his precious time when we asked him to recommend some items which he did in a very robotic way. There was no smile, no chatty conversations.
At the same time, there was a huge group of Indians who sat at a large table at the start of dinner and they were a really rowdy bunch. I felt like they could have closed off the upstairs for this group, because they were just so noisy - and us poor diners hoping to get a quiet meal with candlelight were just rudely interrupted for 2 hours. I know we weren't the only ones annoyed with it because I saw another couple frowning at the noise as well. We did not just pay for overpriced italian gimmicks in a food court, but we did.
I am giving this a neutral rating once again because I am putting what we had - food, service and ambience as a rare combination of bad luck. Perhaps if I do return one day, I might get a much better experience but for now, well, I am not willing to do that and I sure hope you guys will have a better time if you do take the chance. Just be warned!
Pasta Brava Restaurant
11 Craig Road, Singapore
+65 62277550
Mon–Sat: 11.30am – 2.30pm, 6.30pm – 10.30pm (Closed on Sun & PH)
Menu
It was around 8+ when we were there on a Friday evening. It was rather crowded and we were told to wait 20mins, but it was alright. We were sitted upstairs, where there is a bar and lounge/waiting area. The service was harried - they have too many customers. Kinda turned off.
The decor is very homely, very Italian traditional. Their menu is quite extensive.
We ordered the parma ham with rock melon for starters. It was rather alright. Very average.
Next the birthday girl ordered the porchini mushroom risotto with white wine and parmesan cheese ($23)! It was a wrong choice because well.. the risotto just tasted like porridge! I am not kidding. If not for the arborio rice used, you can easily mistake this for porridge.. it was watery and the flavors were very plain.
I had the ravioli with gorgonzola cheese sauce ($22.50). It was pretty good - except there were only about 12 to 13 pieces of ravioli in there. Sure it makes it less overwhelming, but I can't help but feel extremely ripped off. First time an Italian restaurant under-served in the portions!
Lastly, I ordered the panna cotta with amaretto liqueur ($10) for dessert. We were slightly stuffed by then, but I wanted to give this a try and have a sweet ending to our otherwise disappointing mains.
And here's bestie! Happy birthday to her, lookin' good as always!
OK so, I was hoping the restaurant will be amazing but it turned out to be really just mediocre - perhaps its the food choices, but ultimately what spoiled our experience was the service and ambience. Our waiter was this really surly faced middle-aged man who was very brisk in his attitude and very cold in his manner with us. It felt as if we were wasting his precious time when we asked him to recommend some items which he did in a very robotic way. There was no smile, no chatty conversations.
At the same time, there was a huge group of Indians who sat at a large table at the start of dinner and they were a really rowdy bunch. I felt like they could have closed off the upstairs for this group, because they were just so noisy - and us poor diners hoping to get a quiet meal with candlelight were just rudely interrupted for 2 hours. I know we weren't the only ones annoyed with it because I saw another couple frowning at the noise as well. We did not just pay for overpriced italian gimmicks in a food court, but we did.
I am giving this a neutral rating once again because I am putting what we had - food, service and ambience as a rare combination of bad luck. Perhaps if I do return one day, I might get a much better experience but for now, well, I am not willing to do that and I sure hope you guys will have a better time if you do take the chance. Just be warned!
Pasta Brava Restaurant
11 Craig Road, Singapore
+65 62277550
Mon–Sat: 11.30am – 2.30pm, 6.30pm – 10.30pm (Closed on Sun & PH)
Menu
Just a small observation, raviolis tend to be served in somewhat petite portions. And sadly so.. :(
ReplyDeleteAhh.. that could explain why. Thanks for commenting on my blog! I've added your blog to my blog links, hope you don't mind :) I enjoy reading your blog a lot.
DeleteAlso I plan to give Pasta Brava a second chance because after this post I got a lot of vehement "pasta brava is nice what!" comments. Haha! Have you tried, did you like it?
Love their squid ink pasta - the best in Sg in my opinion, the seafood pasta in parchment paper, the duck parpadelle pasta and the scallop homemade pasta in saffron sauce... dessert is hit and miss but if you fancy Tiramisu thats not too creamy and sweet, theirs is perfect. Oh, their calamari is good too... hope you have a better experience next time, it's my fav comfort Italian place and for many friends of mine :)
ReplyDeleteLiverella
The post is a review of the Pasta Brava at 11 craig, Read to know more
ReplyDelete