Singapore: Spruce

[klyeoh]

Singapore: Spruce
This two-month-old place must be the one of the hottest weekend breakfast joints in the city at the moment - I heard that getting a reservation there can quite be a challenge.

Spruce has a lovely garden setting (reminiscent of those Dempsey Hill eateries) but without the noise & crowds. Its patio is large, bright & airy, surrounded by lush greenery, and set far enough back from Tanglin Road to make you forget that you're just spitting distance way from Orchard Road, with its perpetual shopping crowds.

The food is not bad - modern American. I lunched with a friend there yesterday, and we shared
- onion confit wrapped in crepe, sitting on a pool of creamy cheese sauce. Nice concept, no surprises here, but a bit rich for me. Perhaps a grating of lemon zest would have helped in cutting the extreme richness of the entire dish;
- ahi tuna tartare, served with sliced avocado & some very good lightly toasted ciabbata. Lovely marinade. Perfect starter;
- a hearty kurobuta pork ragu on tagliatelle;
- fish and chips, very well-done.

Panna cotta for dessert - it's surprisingly light. Lightly toasted muesli on top provided a perfect crunch, whilst blueberry compote below contrasted beautifully with the tangy light yoghurt centre.

We didn't try the house specialty: Spruce burger - looked huge - we didn't want too much red meat for lunch.

The mint lemonade was nice - not overly sweet, but perfectly balanced - like everything else we had there. Obviously, deft hands rule the kitchen.

Read in Straits Times yesterday that they have Eggs Benedict served atop a corn-studded waffle for weekend brunch. Sounds overly rich, but irresistible! I'll need to try that sometime.

A nice plus at Spruce - friendly, competent & very professional wait-staff who know their work & makes very good recommendations: a rarity in Singapore.

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Spruce
Phoenix Park, Tanglin, Singapore 24, SG

[M_Gomez]

You're lucky, dear, some customers had complained about the less than satisfactory service in the past. But since it's very new, may be teething problem. You seem to like the food - I've also heard about their inconsistency in cooking. The chef Travis Masiero is talented so if he's cooking, then no problems.

I wonder what's the relationship between Spruce and Absinthe (French restaurant in Bukit Pasoh Rd?), I saw a stack of Absinthe name cards at Spruce's counter the last time I dined there. Absinthe, as we know, is related in turn to Oso Ristorante. Seems like we have a new restaurant group here.