Update: Javier’s Rotisserie & Salad Bar had ceased operation w.e.f. 10 January 2016. 

If you had been a fan of Ponderosa and/or Sizzler in the good old days, you probably would have known about Javier’s Rotisserie & Salad Bar for its similar salad buffet.

Javier’s is actually named after the son of Aston Soon, the man behind Astons brand – the well-known local food chain that offers value-for-money steaks and western fare. For their salad buffet, expect to see the usual side dishes that you’d find at Astons – think coleslaw, potato salad, mac & cheese, onion rings and the like.

Image source: Javier’s Rotisserie & Salad Bar Facebook Page

It was a weekday late afternoon when Bud and I came by City Square Mall and we spotted this lunch deal promo that stretched till 5pm so we jumped at the opportunity to have an early dinner since we both are big fans of salad bars and of course, Astons too. Haha.

From the DIY section where we could make our own salads with different dressings to choose from to pre-mixed salads and assorted hot side dishes – the variety of the salad buffet wasn’t fantastic but it had almost everything that we wanted. There was gravy but just no mashed potato! 🙁

Among the three soups available (mushroom, vegetable and beef), I liked the beef one best as it was flavoursome. The mushroom soup tasted so-so and was a little watered-down. The vegetable soup was super oily that I couldn’t really sip another spoonful of it.

Soft drinks, coffee and tea were also included in the salad buffet.

Though this was supposed to be a buffet, we didn’t feel like we needed to eat more than our money’s worth (not possible anyway with these ordinary fare) because it is really an affordable buffet in a casual dining environment.

Here’s what I took from the buffet spread:

Did my own salad with some caesar dressing and I enjoyed it because I could pick ingredients that I would eat, not that I was fussy or anything, haha. The pre-mixed salads of potato salad, coleslaw and pasta salad were consistent with what we would normally get from Astons. Loved the creamy potato salad best because they used red potatoes with skin and the dressing had a good balance of mayo and Dijon mustard flavours. Yum.

And this was what I got from the hot food section. I liked the cheese sauce (similar to the cheese dip that we would have with tortilla chips) so I doused a generous amount of it over my macaroni to make my own mac & cheese and used it as a dipping sauce for my onion rings too, lol. While the potato wedges were cold, I thought the hash browns tasted quite good – freshly fried to a crisp and they didn’t ooze any oil out too. The juicy sauteed mushrooms were quite delish too though they needed just a bit more salt.

With a top-up of only S$3, we added a main course (Signature Quarter Chicken) to share. Portion wasn’t huge but because we were given a breast quarter with wing, it was sufficient for the two of us as it was meaty. The chicken was surprisingly tender, moist and juicy and its skin that was well marinated was pretty tasty too. The sauce that was salty and rich-tasting gave the chicken even more flavour – I just wished they could give more of that sauce!

There were also fresh fruits like watermelon, rock melon, grapes, etc but we forgot all about them, haha.

Overall, the salad buffet at Javier’s was average. Nothing from the salad bar really stood out but their rotisserie chicken was worth a try. For that price, I had no complains and I wouldn’t mind coming back again to try out the other mains. It’s also a good place for a fuss-free, cheap meal with family or friends.

Javier’s Rotisserie & Salad Bar
180 Kitchener Road
#04-14/16, City Square Mall
Singapore 208539
Tel: 6509 5751
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/JaviersRotisserie
Opening hours: 11.30am to 10.00pm daily

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