The newly revamped Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel has cleverly come up with an innovative Sunday Champagne Brunch. They have combined three of their dining concepts–the buffet restaurant Food Capital, the Italian restaurant Grissini, and the bar Tempo–to give an extensive and delicious brunch.

There are about 15 stations, serving unlimited foie gras, Western delights, Chinese stir-fry, Indian food, salads, Japanese food, oyster and cold seafood, desserts, cheeses, antipasti, pasta, pizzas, Josper grilled items, etc.

I don’t want to oversell it, but this buffet is pretty good. The Josper grilled items, which are at the al fresco area, are the best food in the buffet. You have to walk outside of the hotel because they cook it a la minute and the fumes would need to escape somewhere. (Sorry, Indonesia. You’ve to suffer our BBQ haze.)

The grill serves Australian Wagyu, lamb chop, tiger prawns, and a very delicious and tender chicken. You can taste the smokey aroma on the meat, and I like it that they don’t season the meats, so you can add salt and pepper to your liking.

Another great thing about the buffet is that you get to enjoy Grissini restaurant’s food (Grissini is usually a fine-dining Italian restaurant). Grissini has received favorable reviews, and you can sample some antipasti, pizzas, charcuterie, and pastas before you commit yourself to the fine-dining experience on most days.

We enjoyed the vinegared artichoke, and the lobster linguine. We would prefer if there was more lobster, less pasta, but the pasta is cooked al dente, and has a great texture. The tomato sauce is also nicely balanced, just acidic and tangy enough without being sour.

The Chinese station is not bad too. They have a spicy chilli crab. Everyone loves the laksa which comes with see-hum (cockles). I hope you have your Hep jabs, because hums are delicious.

The Cantonese roast is not bad too. The roast duck is livery, and the Hainanese chicken rice is tender and savory with the soya sauce.

I don’t want to give the impression that everything is dainty. The Indian food section needs some improvement. Except for the tender lamb, which is grilled and displayed as a whole, a grim reminder of memento mori, the rest of the items isn’t well spiced.

Also skip the roasted items at the Western food section. The ribs are tough, and you’re better off eating at grilled items from the Josper. The sashimi is also disappointing, limp and dry.

Some desserts are merely sugarbombs but there are enjoyable ones. For instances, the ice cream is extremely rich; the matcha cake has the pleasant bitterness of tea; the chocolate tart is gorgeous, rich but not cloying.

On the whole, Grand Copthorne Waterfront’s buffet is quite good, one of the better ones we’ve visited lately. The newly revamped space with natural light gently streaming through tall French windows gives the restaurant a luxurious and dreamy atmosphere. There is a DJ who plays awesome music. It’s very smart of the hotel to pool all the resources together to present quality food that can rival other hotels’ Sunday champagne brunch. We are impressed!

Introductory Buffet Price on 28 August, 4 and 11 September
$88++ (with flow of juices and soft drinks)
$128++ (with free flow of Perrier-Jouët  Grand Brut Champagne and house pour wines, juices and soft drinks)

From 18 September onwards
$98++ (with free flow of juices and soft drinks)
$138++ (with free flow of Perrier- Jouët Grand Brut Champagne and house pour wines, juices and soft drinks)

Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel Buffet
392 Havelock Rd, Singapore 169663
T: +65 6233 1100
Sunday brunch 12pm-2.30pm

Ambience/Decor: 7.5/10
Price/Value: 6/10
Food: 7/10
Service: 7/10
Overall: 3.438/5

Written by A. Nathanael Ho.