When I heard that 49 Seats had launched their newest branch at Orchard Central and that it would be open for both lunch and dinner, I was just thrilled because the original outlet at Kreta Ayer Road only operates during dinner & supper and it’s always busy!
Count the number of chairs when you’re here as there should be just exactly 49 seats, hence the name. This casual dining restaurant has a similar industrial chic look like its Kreta Ayer outlet with bright hanging lights, metal chairs, etc.
A glimpse of the entire menu: (click to enlarge)
49 Seats generally serves up what I call young people’s food. Mainly Western fare and some with East-meets-West flavours. Prices are kept affordable and student-friendly. Best of all, the prices are NETT with no GST or service charge – bonus point!
One thing that left a deep impression in me was this Cheese Fries ($7.90) not because it was relatively cheap or tasted like it was out of this world but it was because they were generous with the amount of cheese sauce that went on top of the shoestring fries. It wasn’t spectacular because these were just frozen fries thrown in a deep fryer and then fried to a crisp (what could go wrong?) but it was comfort food to me. The cheese sauce tasted exactly like those nachos cheese sauce – so rich, creamy and just ultra cheesy. Yum.
Another notable dish would be this Tom Yum Seafood Pasta ($14.90) which obviously was a fusion creation. The spaghetti was a little overdone so it didn’t have that firmness and chewiness that I like with al dente ones. But the sauce was really rich, creamy and packed with a spicy punch. There was indeed a slight taste of tom yum and it had more of a tang that really lifted the senses. Came with an ample portion of seafood like prawns, mussels and clams – all were juicy and fresh. Worth trying if you like big flavours.
My favourite dish got to be this Fish and Chips with Al Scampi Sauce ($16.90). The sauce was served separately in a bowl and resembled a thick and creamy chowder.
Inside the bowl of sauce were seafood like prawns, mussels and clams. The battered fish was nicely fried to a crisp and crunch and the crust wasn’t thick or heavy but it was a little under-seasoned if you were to eat it on its own so the best thing to do was to either dip the fish into the Al Scampi sauce or just douse it over the fish like what I did. The combination was brilliant. The sauce tasted like a mix of seafood broth, carbonara sauce and alfredo sauce – so tasty and moreish. I even dipped the fries and salad greens into the sauce, couldn’t waste a single drop of it, lol. Must order!!
49 Seats
181 Orchard Road
#08-08, Orchard Central
Singapore 238896
Tel: 6509 5895
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/49Seats
Opening hours:
11.30am to 2.30pm, 5.30pm to 10.00pm (Mon-Fri)
11.00am to 10.00pm (Sat-Sun)
The location of their original main outlet is as follows:
49 Seats
49 Kreta Ayer Road
Singapore 089007
Tel: 6225 4332
Opening hours:
6.00pm to 1.00am (Mon-Thu)
6.00pm to 4.30am (Fri-Sat)
Closed on Sundays
Seems a pleasant place, and I like the food presentation! 🙂
The food was good too 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
Wow! I wish there’s a place here in America that’s comparable to this. The menu looks fantastic. I could visit everyday with different dishes. Seafood is my ultimate favourite, though i’m allergic to crustaceans I still eat as much as I can without blowing up like a blowfish-
Lol, I think the diners in America serve better food (with more variety too) than this place 🙂 It’s been almost 10 years since I went to America and I still remembered those wonderful pancakes, cheese steaks, burgers that were so decadent!
I’m sure.. but not all restaurants servings are the same. I eat small portion so I end up taking left overs-
The Fish and chips with al scampi sauce looks like it had a breaded crust rather than a battered crust from the pictures. Gonna try out this place real soon!