Griglia Open Fire Italian Kitchen
We witnessed many F&B establishments falling victims to the pandemic and wrapped up their operations in the last couple of years. But interestingly, the challenges that killed so many existing businesses have also helped fuel the growth of many new restaurants and food businesses that not many had predicted. Griglia was one of them.
Opened its door along Craig Road six months ago, Griglia is an Italian restaurant that aims to showcase the culinary essence of the Grigliata (Italian Barbecue) in a modern way. The dishes are created based on traditional classic recipes but presented in a refined contemporary style on handcrafted Mediterranean-style tableware. They are served in smaller sharing portions to encourage tasting of the wide selection on offer.
This is the family’s first visit to Griglia so we let Chef Federico Schiraldi decide and design our dinner menu based on their signature dishes.
Traditional Cannelloni pasta tube is stuffed with beef short ribs ($23) and served in a dish of Taleggio cream sauce and garnished with polka dots of sauce made of San Marzano tomato and Ligurian basil, showcasing the three distinct colours - white, red and green of the Italian flag.
I enjoy the refreshing and briny Hokkaido Scallop Crudo ($24). Sashimi-grade Hotate is sliced and slightly torched and served with sweet white corn, Amalfi lemon and Capers sauce.
From the garden, charcoal grilled eggplant ($19) is layered with refreshing confit tomato and finished with smoked 'Caciocavallo' fondue crafted from creamy Caciocavallio cheese. This is like a very refined version of Eggplant Lasagna.
Burratina ($24) is served on a tart crust filled with Zucchine alla Scapece, pine nuts and mint.
Al dente house-made pappardelle ($23) tossed in golden creamy sauce cooked with crispy cured Guanciale and braised pork jowl. Pasta lovers would say yeah!
Whole Spanish Turbot ($108) and 100-day Barley fed bone-in Ribeye ($158) are grilled over open fire on a customised cast iron charcoal grill and served with mash potato ($12) and green asparagus ($14). Charcoal flames lend an additional element of heat and smoke that other cooking techniques just cannot replace. And with good ingredients like these, our love affair with Grilgliata continues throughout the night at Griglia.
Sweet ending comes in the form of Cappucinomisù ($12) - A tiramisu variation that uses Buffalo mascarpone and Port wine and topped with Cappuccino foam. And Capri in a cake ($14) - Lemon cream layered between fluffy Limoncello Caprese and served with olive oil gelato.
We love the way comforting Italian dishes using tradition ingredients are given new interpretation and presentation here at Griglia. Considering the smaller serving portion (one portion is just nice for sharing between 2 pax, you would need a few orders of the same dish for bigger group), final bill might not be the cheapest but definitely worth a visit.
