I actually thought I had already blogged about Senso Ristorante earlier but I’ve only just realised that these pictures have been sitting in my backlog. And I forgot all about them until my friend, Pinky mentioned to me about her unpleasant dining experience there with her boyfriend so this post might come a little belated but my thoughts on my dining experience are still fresh in the mind because my husband and I didn’t enjoy ourselves either.

Simple yet classy table decor

Basket of warm bread and grissini

I can never resist warm, moist bread and I must say this basket is filled with fresh assorted breads and delightful bread sticks. Here, being an Italian restaurant, only serves premium olive oil which you can dip the bread in. The husband loved the olive oil but I really preferred butter instead which was obviously not available here. Eat my bread the French way, that’s my preferred style. Nevertheless, these carbs still tasted good and fresh on their own.

Complimentary amuse-bouche from the chef

This was some scallop tartare on the house. Serving size was too small to properly gauge the taste but it was a nice gesture from the chef. The amuse-bouche varies every night depending on what the chef comes up with.

Pan-Fried Buffalo Mozzarella wrapped in Parma Ham

Mozzarella and Parma Ham. What could go wrong? The sharpness and the saltiness all married together in this. However, pan-frying the parma ham had made it a little chewy because this was way done yet not to the crispy stage. Not doing justice to the ham.

Pan-seared Goose Liver ‘Rougié’ with caramelized poached pear in spices, wine and balsamico di modena vinegar

A perfectly pan-seared piece of foie gras that was creamy and flavoursome but we didn’t think it went well with the poached pear that tasted flat in texture. The balsamic dressing, bitter greens and caramelized pears just didn’t complement the lovely liver.

Bisque of Shellfish Italian-style, served with Grissini all’aglio

This was too fishy for our liking and the husband thought it tasted a little weird but we couldn’t tell what it was. I loved the grissini though.

Rack of lamb

The carnivorous husband went for his usual dose of meat. I couldn’t remember the full name of this dish but anyway this is no longer on their menu now. The lamb done medium was full of skin and fats that made the cuts really tender and juicy (and sinful). There wasn’t any unpleasant gamey stench too. Not the best rack of lamb I ever had but still decently executed.

Homemade Fettuccine in Butter Sauce with Italian Summer Black Truffle

This was supposed to be one of the restaurant’s signature dishes. It was simply a plain fettuccine dish topped with generous shavings of black truffles and with no other ingredients. The black truffles gave the pasta a subtle, earthy flavour. Rather unique in taste. What I found gratifying in this dish was the rich buttery sauce, rather than the truffles.

We came here on a mid-weekday evening but there were only 2 tables occupied in the dining room and another table of friends in the outdoor courtyard. It was an extremely quiet dining room (probably quieter than a library). So quiet that we found ourselves a little uneasy when dining as we didn’t want to make any clattering sound with our cutlery that might cause heads to turn. 

It wasn’t the first time we had fine dining like this but never had we felt like that before.

I asked the husband about his impression on the whole experience. He said, “I feel we are in a friend’s house but being ignored and neglected”. True enough, there wasn’t much interaction between the service staff and us though the front-of-house did pop over to our table once out of formality to check if everything was going well but he seemed in a rush to get away after barely a few words. Such lukewarm hospitality. The funny thing was, the same person went over to the other two tables (where Caucasians were seated) and behaved extremely friendly with them. What the ****?

We cancelled desserts and left. For a meal that cost over $200, we could have gotten better service elsewhere like my all-time favourite Au Petit Salut (read my post here). The food here was mediocre, overrated and simply too pretentious because they had placed too much emphasis on luxurious ingredients. A good dish that is well executed doesn’t need additional icing. Simplicity is good enough.

My verdict? Obviously we will not be back again. Same goes for Pinky and her boyfriend who had the exact same thoughts as us.

Tags: black truffles singaporefine dining club streetfine dining restaurant in singaporefine dining singaporefoodsenso club streetsenso reviewsenso ristorante singaporesingapore food blogsingapore food reviewsingapore restaurant review