L’Entrepot

I read about Chef Suffian Zain, who relinquished his position as head chef of renowned fine dining restaurant, Iggy's,to join L'Entrepot, a new casual bistro by the Esmirada group serving up classical French food. And that was good enough reason to give the newly minted restaurant a shot.

Aptly located at Clarke Quay, along the Singapore river (entrepot is French for warehouse and is a place where import and export activities take place), L'Entrepot's al fresco and indoor dining area is seperated by a pedestrain walkway. While the al fresco area offers a venue to take in the sights and sounds of the Singapore river, the indoor area doesn't have much of a view to offer. It is however, a rather cozy place with a seemingly huge wine cellar showcasing dozens of bottles of wine.

Lobster Bisque - Apparently a must try at L'Entrepot and one that garnered rave reviews in a certain newspaper, the lobster bisque was disappointing to say the least. As with any lobster bisque, there were a few small cursory pieces of lobster flesh but the soup was rather watered down and lacked richness. The puff pastry, though flaky, wasn't buttery enough in my humble opinion.

Angus Rossini (Pan Roasted Angus Tenderloin, Mashed Potato, Duxell Mushroom, Pan Fried Foie Gras, Red Wine Sauce) - The tenderloin came in 2 chunks, both done medium rare as per request. Although the meat was relatively tender, it did seem a little dry and void of the beefy taste that most beef lovers would appreciate. The mushroom duxell(e) came sandwiched between the 2 blocks of beef and tasted rather bland and watery - not exactly ideal. As for the foie gras, it was thinly sliced and decently soft and quivery on the inside. I understand that it was better then the foie gras dish some of my dinner companions had ordered as appetisers.

On my part, the bill came up to about $47 after a 20% discount ($59 without discount), which is rather expensive for the quality of the food. We were so disappointed that we made the decision to adjorn elsewhere for desserts. Service was decent but that's not good enough reason for me to want to return. I had definitely expected more from Chef Suffian Zain.

See all my pictures here.