A friend recommended Bruno’s at Tanjong Katong as his favorite restaurant in Singapore. It serves comforting Italian food. Strangely, the restaurateurs and chefs, Bruno and Romain, are French, not Italian. They do have a French restaurant, Bruno’s Bistrot, at Telok Kurau.

Actually, Italian food is easy because it’s just pasta, sauce, dough, and toppings. It should be taken for granted that an average Italian restaurant is good. Therefore, on a bell curve, good Italian restaurants should be excellent. And Bruno’s is outstanding.

In addition to pages and pages of menu, there are also plenty of specials on 3 or 4 chalkboards. The pricing also reflects a wide range, from $20 to $60 for a dish. Obviously, the restaurant has benefitted from their years of experience, to provide a wide selection of dishes at varying prices. So you can spend $20++ a pax or $100++ a pax, depending on your budget.

For starters, the mussels in white wine ($28) are quite standard. Clean, bright, sweet flavors. No complaints here.

The pizza crust from the seafood pizza ($25) is really fantastic. It’s crispy, nicely chewy, and savory, which matches well with the tomato paste. The abundance of finely julienned basil brings out the fragrance, and the squid isn’t rubbery, and overdone.

The squid ink ($27.50) is the best dish we had here. The tagliolini is a little too nuah but the taste is amazing complex. The distinct squid ink taste comes first, followed by the fragrance of olive oil, and ended with a slight tinge of spiciness.

The only thing I didn’t like was the chocolate cake ($12). The exterior is crisp, but overly so, that it sticks to teeth. And the inside isn’t as flowy as I’d like it. I thought the chocolate is generic, which pairs badly with a generic, icy vanilla ice cream. And what is that dried fruit, whose texture is like gummy bear, about? Should have gone for a classic tiramisu.

But on the whole, the restaurant is what my ideal restaurant should be. It’s a cozy quaint restaurant at a small corner of Singapore, striving quietly to provide excellent, homely Italian food. This restaurant brings you to Italian countryside. We paid $108 for 3 persons. I only wish it’s at a more convenient location so I can visit it often.

Bruno’s Pizzeria & Grill
344 Tanjong Katong Road, Singapore 437113
T: +65 6440 4525
12pm-2.30pm, 6pm-10.30pm, closed M
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Food: 7.5/10
Service: 7.5/10
Decor/Ambience: 7/10
Price: 6/10
Overall rating: 3.5/5

Written by A. Nathanael Ho.