I know they are in Singapore, and I don't want to spend a boatload of money. I will be visiting Singapore in mid September and my aunt lives in Singapore. I promised to take her to a decent/nice place that's French or Italian, preferably Italian.

She's actually a native Singaporean, born in India, but raised in Singapore, either a citizen or PR, but the way the community goes, its very India based and so she has no idea about this stuff in Singapore, because it doesn't interest anyone in her community or family...

Any comments would be appreciated!

I know they are in Singapore, and I don't want to spend a boatload of money.

What's a boatload for you in $$$ terms (US or SGD - you choose). Even though opinions will differ, but I still like Michelangelo's in Holland Village. Was there in May for the last time with a colleague and we had 2 aperitifs, two appetizers, two main courses (fish, meat), a dessert, two large bottels of sparkling mineral waters plus a bottle of NZ Sauvignon Blanc. Total around SGD 260 which is about USD 150 (10% gratuity is included in SING). However, cut out the wine and the two alcoholic drinks and the price drops to about USD 70 - 75 depending on the exchange rate. Not too bad for a rather posh Italian.

Unfortunately I only know most of the hotel Italian's (e.g. Pete's place at the Grand Hyatt) and none of them is much cheaper or significantly better than than Michelangelo's, but maybe some "insiders" can enlighten us on great Italian food for less $$$.

Cheers ...

What's a boatload for you in $$$ terms (US or SGD - you choose). Even though opinions will differ, but I still like Michelangelo's in Holland Village. Was there in May for the last time with a colleague and we had 2 aperitifs, two appetizers, two main courses (fish, meat), a dessert, two large bottels of sparkling mineral waters plus a bottle of NZ Sauvignon Blanc. Total around SGD 260 which is about USD 150 (10% gratuity is included in SING). However, cut out the wine and the two alcoholic drinks and the price drops to about USD 70 - 75 depending on the exchange rate. Not too bad for a rather posh Italian.

Unfortunately I only know most of the hotel Italian's (e.g. Pete's place at the Grand Hyatt) and none of them is much cheaper or significantly better than than Michelangelo's, but maybe some "insiders" can enlighten us on great Italian food for less $$$.

Cheers ...

yeah 70-75 would pretty much be the limit.. us dollars of course and neither of us drinks...

yeah 70-75 would pretty much be the limit.. us dollars of course and neither of us drinks...

I hope some Singapore insiders will provide you with some more tips regarding cheaper (but good quality) places for French/Italian food. I think if neither of you drinks alcohol, you could have soft drinks, two appetizers and main courses or two main courses and two desserts at Pete's Place (Grand Hyatt on Scotts Rd) for about 90 SGD = USD 50. Quality is quite decent.

A decent and not extremely overpriced French one (there is a tendency for that in Sing in regards to French cuisine) IMHO is Au Petit Salu (name could be slightly different) which is also in Holland Village very close to Michelangelo's. Price would be similar to Michelangelo's too.

Cheers ...

Distinctly an insider option would be The French Stall, which as the name promises is basically a souped-up hawker stall selling French food. It's way cheaper than anything suggested so far, but I haven't been there and the reviews I've heard are a little mixed. Location 544 Serangoon Rd (out in the boonies north of Little India), and here's what The Economist thinks:

http://www.economist.com/cities/displayobject.cfm?obj_id=1131384&city_id=SG

Probably not the kind of place you want to take your aunt to though... but I'm afraid I can't offer any better options for that, all other French places in SG are pretentious and overpriced, and I haven't had the chance to sample too many Italians yet (although Pete's Place is OK).

You can try the forum at www.makansutra.com

Maybe do a search for "italian"?

example

http://www.makansutra.com/forums/singapore/viewtopic.php?t=4716&highlight=italian

Quote: "There's this new little restaurant at 906B Upper Thompson Road S 787110 called Piccolina, and they have really cheap and good italian food."

Michelangelo's is nice...they have a very nice wine collection, but be prepared to pay quite a bit if you start looking at the wine menu.

I'm not one for eating in hotel restaurants...my favourite Italian restaurant in Singapore is the East Coast (Seasports Centre) branch of Pasta Fresca da Salvatore (http://www.pastafresca.com/rest/singapore/index.html)....they have the menu (http://www.pastafresca.com/menu/index.html) on their site as well. The restaurant is outdoors, very laid-back, with tables set up on the sand all the way down to the high-tide level. Its open till midnight (1am on weekends and because its near to Changi, you get a great view of airplanes on their descent but you're far enough to not hear any noise. You might get lucky if its a cloudy night - the planes on their approach cast an eerie glow as they move through the clouds.

If you do go there, I recommend the Crespelle Alla Nizzarda. You can tell any taxi driver to go to "the East Coast Hawker Centre", which they all know - once you get there, you will see signs to Pasta Fresca which is about 100m away.

Salvatore himself spends a lot of time at that restaurant - very nice man who walks around asking if everything is to your satisfaction and he is known to give a complimentary Grappa or two :D

Highly recommended:

Italian - Garibaldi
36 Purvis Street #01-02

French - au Jardin Les Amis
1 Cluny Road
(located in the Botanical Gardens)

I would encourage you to book well in advance; especially for au Jardin

http://www.lesamis.com.sg/webtop/aujardin/

Have a great time!

Cheers, gb.

French - au Jardin Les Amis
1 Cluny Road
(located in the Botanical Gardens)

Au Jardin Les Amis is both somewhat overpriced -- it's among the most expensive restaurants in Singapore, the meal alone for one will cost the original poster's US$70-75 limit without wine and such -- and the food isn't so much "French" as "pretentious". A more detailed review:

http://www.singaporeexpats.com/forum/ftopic2924.html

Do note that I'm not saying that it's a bad restaurant, it isn't. But I do think there's better value for money to be had elsewhere.

Au Jardin Les Amis is both somewhat overpriced -- it's among the most expensive restaurants in Singapore, the meal alone for one will cost the original poster's US$70-75 limit without wine and such -- and the food isn't so much "French" as "pretentious". A more detailed review:

http://www.singaporeexpats.com/forum/ftopic2924.html

Do note that I'm not saying that it's a bad restaurant, it isn't. But I do think there's better value for money to be had elsewhere.

Did you enjoy your dinner when you ate at this restaurant? What did you find pretentious? Other than price, how was the service, preparation, presentation, wine list etc.?

Did you enjoy your dinner when you ate at this restaurant? What did you find pretentious? Other than price, how was the service, preparation, presentation, wine list etc.?
Poke the link above and find out... but to summarize: the food is a bit hit-and-miss and seems to utilize truffles, foie gras, caviar etc not so much because they fit the dish, but because they're status symbols. (In a word, pretentious.) Wine list is ridiculously huge, but they do have a sommelier to consult. Service is more obsequious than unobtrusive and the atmosphere of the restaurant is rather stuffy, a bit like eating at your rich great-aunt's funeral or something. Presentation was flawless though.

So yes, in all I enjoyed my meal, but I've had much more enjoyable meals for a much better price. One of my favorites, Halia, is also within the Botanical Gardens only a stone's throw away from Les Amis and half the price...

Probably way too late, but I thought I'd just post for anyone who might find this relevant in the future.

Although there are several popular places for Italian in Singapore, I honestly haven't come across any that make me feel like I've gotten my money's worth. It seems one either pays a fair bit for something mediocre, or gets @#$% when going to more "affordable" places (e.g. Da Paolo for the former, Pasta Fresca for the latter)

I did however hear good things about this Casa Roma place on Bukit Timah Road, in the same building as the Renault dealership somewhere near 6th Avenue. I haven't tried it myself, but I do value the opinion of the friend who did and liked it. For Pizza, Spizza at Holland Village is OK, but portions are a little tiny.

Unfortunately, it seems that French in Singapore tends to be generally expensive and/or pretentious. No thanks (in part at least) to the Les Amis types of places that seem to be so popular here.

Sorry to bring up an old thread especially almost 3 years after I started it. But I finally took my aunt out for that Italian meal, and it was at Menotti in Raffles Plaza (Owned and run by the Garibaldi group). Set lunch was a pretty good value, allowed my aunt to have a good variety of dishes with dessert. She thoroughly enjoyed the experience and only set me back something like 50-60 USD.

I'll probably take her to Garibaldi next time unless something else nice pops up.

Thanks to everyone for the tips.