The Current Crowd Favourite For Good Italian Pasta
If you’ve been craving authentic Italian food in Singapore, Scarpetta should definitely be on your radar. Tucked away in the Central Business District, this restaurant delivers a balance of traditional and modern refinement, to deliver authentic Italian cuisine.
We went there on a weekday afternoon to try our luck at getting a table. We reached at about 1.15pm and the manager said he would try to get us a table by 1.45pm. Last order for lunch was at 2pm and they would close lunch service by 2.30pm.
Ambience & Atmosphere
Scarpetta greets you with a modern yet welcoming vibe. Think soft lighting, minimalist interiors and an atmosphere that feels equally suited for a date night or a group dinner with friends. It was quite loud and bustling in the restaurant but Scarpetta maintains a comfortable, relaxed pace – perfect for lingering over good food and conversation. Do note that as the restaurant is quite small in size, larger groups of more than 4 have to be seated at the counter.
The Menu & Highlights
Scarpetta is known for its signature pasta, hence we decided to skip the starters and go with 3 pasta dishes to share among the both of us. We asked him for the crowd favourites and he pointed to us it would be the first and last two items on the pasta menu. So it was Cacio e Pepe with Crispy Guanciale, Bolognese Ravioli and Al Granchio e Limone and we ordered Tiramisu and Gelato con Olio for dessert.
Cacio e Pepe with Crispy Guanciale
This was our first Cacio e Pepe. I have seen several videos of chefs making this dish on Youtube. A simple dish but requires technical skills to perfect it so I am certainly will not the best judge of this dish. However I would say this pasta dish is our favourite out of the 3 and it is probably the version of how I would expect a good Cacio e Pepe to taste like. The type of noodles used was pici, a thick hand-rolled Tuscan pasta, with an emulsified sauce of pecorino romano cheese, black pepper and crispy salty guanciale. Truly savoury but not overly salty.
Bolognese Ravioli
This was a version of bolognese we have not seen before. Hand-pulled beef cheek meat stuffed with bone marrow, sun-dried tomato and parmigiano with a white sauce gravy like. The ravioli was tender and its structural integrity was not compromised. The gravy was not heavy, but sufficient to coat and add more savouriness to the ravioli.
Al Granchio e Limone
Tagliolini pasta was the choice of noodles for this dish, a long and thin pasta. The texture of the noodle was not al dente, too soft and I would think angel hair pasta would be better for this dish. Anyway that’s just my opinion. You get shreds of blue swimmer crab and the sweetness and umami of seafood flavour.
Tiramisu
This is a must order after the savoury and rich pasta dishes. A sweet ending to the meal with strong espresso and alcoholic notes and this is one of the best versions we had in Singapore.
Gelato con Olio
They use Hokkaido Milk for the gelato and drizzle it with extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) and sprinkle of sea salt. We had this type of gelato in another restaurant and we thought this is the better version. The sweetness of the gelato contrasted nicely with the aroma of the EVOO and the sea salt.
Final Thoughts
This is a small restaurant setting so don’t expect too get to comfortable but I think it would help turn over the tables faster so that more people can get to try their food. It is certainly not easy to find good pasta in Singapore and I think this is why Scarpetta turned into a crowd favourite overnight. And its not hard to see why. Hopefully we can return to try their other items when the crowd sort of eases a bit.
Rating: 4 / 5
Scarpetta
47 Amoy St, Singapore 069873
Google Maps Link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/DwY8C8ZTu
