Bottura (Closed)

I came to Bottura to celebrate my mother’s birthday las week and it was the first time for me. I was absolutely surprised by both the quality of the food and the attentiveness of the service. The restaurant was full but dishes were served fast and the waiters were checking on our table regularly. We tried in this order:- guazzetto: perfect starter with clams and calamari in a light soup- Lasagna: simply delicious, I never had such a good lasagna in Singapore. Clearly it was fresh and hand made- Zebrati: it’s the signature dish, a lovely dish with really balanced flavours. I really liked the texture of the handmade tagliolini- Pizza rock melon: another signature, thin crust with the right level of crispiness and a very interesting combination of flavours. A real gourmet pizza- Extra large pizza: totally value for money, it’s a pizza as big as the table and great for sharing. It’s even more thin crust than the normal round one and we choose arabiatta, parma ham and capricciosa topping- Bomba: it’s the signature dessert, with different types of chocolates and cream and it’s a real bomb of taste in the mouth. If I still had some space in my stomach, I would have definitely had a second one!- Gelato: also home made, I tried Mr.Tobby and Malaga flavours, and they were really goodOverall, outstanding food and great service. And prices are very good and affordable. Thank you! continue reading

Bottura in Suntec City was opened in May 2015, by ex-banker and 5th generation Italian restaurateur Luca Bottura, a native of the city of Bologna in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, and cousin to 3-Michelin star celebrity chef Massimo Bottura of Osteria Francescana. A multi-faceted concept store, Bottura is more than just a restaurant, also offering a cafe-lounge, a wine bar, a gelato bar, and a gourmet retail store stocked with imports from Italy! However, their main draw is still the Bottura restaurant, which offers decent, tasty Italian food in a casual setting, with affordable prices.Ambience at Bottura is akin to a casual bistro, with simple, modern furniture in tones of metal, wood, and black, neatly laid out within a wide open, spacious area. Its location comes with a balcony which overlooks the main foyer, great for people watching. Suitable place for business meals, or simply chilling with friends. The gourmet retail store itself is rather small and non-descript, you wouldn't even know it's there unless attention was called to it. I like the attractive and bright display of the gelato bar, great eye-catcher!Service at Bottura is their weakest point. While I understand it's meant to be casual, staff aren't observant, and it takes quite a while to attract their attention even during non-peak periods, as they tend to stand around and talk amongst themselves. At least guests are quickly ushered to seats, and orders taken quickly as well. I do commend staff for being efficient at clearing empty / dirty tables, possibly the best thing about the service here. Also inconsistently performed is requesting for feedback, sometimes staff do so, and other times they don't. Oddly, despite being a tableside service restaurant, payment is self-service.Mistakes are made with requests, staff once asked if I wanted cheese or chili flakes, and even after I requested only chili flakes, the staff brought me pepper and cheese. On another occasion, I had to ask for my dessert twice, and waited over 20 minutes for it to be served. Finally, we once visited at 9:10pm (Bottura last order is at 9:30pm), but staff refused to seat us, saying they had already stopped service. Well, they're right...Food at Bottura is the closest to authentic Italian you'll find at a really affordable price range... so wallet-friendly that even students can dine here! Portions are medium-sized to large, and usually very filling, making Bottura great value for money. On top of that, the taste of their Italian food is usually average / decent, to above average, though not the best I've had. The highlights are their homemade pastas, made fresh daily, cooked till al-dente, and gently covered in tasty sauces. Even their bread and gelato are made in-house, thumbs up for the level of effort! Overall, Bottura is worth visiting for their decent, affordable Italian food, provided you can stomach the inconsistent service.The Tagliolini Zebrati Con Gamberetti E Zucchini (SGD $18), or Zebra Tagliolini Pasta With Shrimp And Zucchini, features a visually pleasing duo of tagliolini pasta; a bright egg tagliolini, and a dark squid ink tagliolini. Pleasing to the palate as well, with its combination of al-dente texture, earthy and eggy tastes, and light cream sauce. The fresh, crunchy, thinly sliced zucchini round out the plate, along with 4 fresh but small shrimp / prawns. Completely delicious, and worthy of being a bestseller here. Highly recommended!Full Bottura review here: http://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.sg/2015/11/bottura.html continue reading

Both my partner and I had an unpleasant dining experience here previously. Luca, the owner had emailed to apologise for the unpleasant experience and offered to refund the money paid for the previous meal. We decided to accept his apologies and give this place another chance again after much deliberation. Had used the refund to offset this meal. Glad we came back again, we (including my sister who was dining here for the first time) unanimously agreed we had a good meal here.Had noticed service seems to improve that day, not sure if that's because the boss is around ? continue reading

For the complete review, click here:http://www.chubbybotakkoala.com/2015/07/bottura-eat-drink-italiano.htmlWalking past the newly opened Bottura on second floor of Suntec City Mall, you will probably think, “Wow! What a huge Gelato desserts bar!” Well, you are not wrong. Bottura is a full fledge modern Italian Restaurant hailed from Bologna, Italy. Overseeing the first overseas expansion for Bottura is Luca Bottura, fifth generation of restaurateur who was a banker before his passion of food come calling. Unlike other authentic Italian restaurant in Singapore, Bottura aims to be your affordable day to day restaurant.Gone are those candles, dim lights, table clothes and padded chairs. Instead, in Bottura you will find modern and simplicity with a touch of industrial theme of the restaurant. There are even a high bench tables with tall stools and low lighting that nicknamed “Instagramer Tables”. While the outlook are modern, Bottura's dishes which includes pastas, mains, antipasti and desserts came directly from Bottura's family cookbook. All ingredients and equipments where possible are imported from Italy, mainly from Bologna. These include the wines, coffee bean, truffle oil and other products as well. Some of the products are available for sale as well. We started the tasting with Tagliere di affettati e formaggi misti con tigelle e marmellate ($22). The cold cuts platter, cheese and marmalade. The size is good for 2 to 3 person, as it consist Prosciutto de Parma, cooked ham and mortadella ham, with Pecorino, aged Pecorino and parmesan cheese. Each of the ham has different characteristic, while the Prosciutto de Parma remain my favourite. For cheese, aged Pecorino has the strongest aroma, so only those with the acquired taste should try it. Tigelle bread, rocket leaf, orange marmalade and olive oil complete the platter. Tigelle bread has similar texture as baguette, however it is more dense and crispy compare to baguette. What a good way to start. Please note that from the beginning we were informed, in Bottura, they only use Olive Oil. No Butter!!! Piadina (flat bread) with Prosciutto di Parma, stracchino, rucola ($12) is next. The house-made stracchino cheese is a must try here. It is soft, almost cream like texture but with a hint of subtle buffalo mozzarella taste is just an absolute delight. Combine with my favourite ingredient Parma ham and rocket, I can have this everyday. I must confess that I had more than one slices. Yum Yum. Arancini al ragù ($8) Arancini with ragù and tomato sauce. Italian version of rice ball. This tasty risotto ball are packs of flavour. While it is mould in round ball shape each grain of rice retain its shape and not mushy and filled with ragù. The acidity in the tomato sauce provide a good balance to the robust Arancini. For those who like their risotto on the softer side of al-dente, you might need to get used to the harder texture of the rice here. Moving on the main staple of Italian cuisine, Pasta. Gnocchi di patate ai 4 formaggi e rucola ($14) Four cheese gnocchi with rocket pesto. A pasta dish created for the cheese lover. You can smell the aroma and taste the different type of cheese. Pungent or Fragrant, depends on your preference. The gnocci is soft, springy and absorbs the cheese sauce nicely. Foglie di polenta con ragù e besciamella ($18) Polenta lasagne with traditional ragù and béchamel sauce. My first experience with polenta was not a memorable one. Although it has mash potatoes texture, I find the grit was just to much for me. However this dish truly change my opinion on polenta. Cooked, chilled and cut in lasagne shape, each polenta layer absorbs the ragù nicely. Almost like eating mash potatoes with ragù. Ravioli panna prosciutto e funghi ($14) Ravioli with cream, ham and mushrooms. Creamy, cheesy and with a nice burst of flavour when you bit into the ravioli. Meanwhile Tagliolini zebrati con Gamberetti e zucchini ($16) are delightful to see. Two type of tagliolini, egg and squid ink each brings different texture and flavour to the dish. It looks contrasting, however the taste complement each other. I personally like the tomato base sauce. Spaghetti alla carbonara ($12). One of the best known spaghetti and the perennial favourite. Luca said this is the best selling pasta here. I just let the photo speak for itself. Once the pasta is cooked, the chef just slide the egg on top of the pasta. The egg got heated up slightly and resulting in this fine dining esque presentation. Smooth, creamy with al-dente spaghetti with a touch of salt from the bacon. What else can you ask for? From pasta we move on to Bottura 12” signature pizza. Melone, prosciutto di Parma, mozzarella ($24). This is Luca's interpretation of favourite combination of parma ham with rock melon. Instead of making it as an appetizer, he did it in pizza form. Combining the sweet, salty and mozzarella is just fantastico. Did I mention the crust of the pizza is light and crispy as well. Meanwhile Arrabbiata (spicy sauce): pomodoro, capperi , aglio, peperoncino, mozzarella fior di latte, rucola ($18) is definitely for those who like their pizza spicy. Forget about Tabasco sauce, just go for this pizza. It has Tomato, capers, garlic, chilli, mozzarella and rocket. Although the texture is good, it was just too spicy for me. The chilli was like a landmine for me. Well, we finally reach the desserts. If you want to impress somebody during dinner, order this “SPAGHETTI” GELATO ($7). The vanilla gelato went through the presser resulting in spaghetti shaped like desserts. However, you better eat this fast, as the gelato slowly melts, the form turns into a big lump of ice cream again. Bottura also created its own version of Tiramisu ($8). Round in shape, light and fluffy in texture. It has a well balance taste of coffee, chocolate and cream. Unlike the traditional version where it can get to mushy due to prolong soaking by coffee. For something lighter to go with your coffee, I will recommend Pasticceria mignon fresca ($2.5 each) Fresh mignon pastries with Marsala zabaglione. In simple summary, Italian version of profiteroles. The filling is just light and smooth. Overall, Bottura is on the right track to achieve its objective to incorporate modern setting with traditional recipes. You can feel the food are made from the heart and is pocket friendly as well. So if you are near Suntec City Mall, give Bottura a try. Saluti! Cheers!Thank you very much to Bottura team and Pronounce team for the tasting invitation. continue reading

For pictures and full review, pls visit:http://madamechewy.com/2015/07/25/bottura/There’re no lack of Italian restaurants in Singapore, but newly open Bottura sets itself apart by combining wallet-friendly, homely dishes with quality and finer details you’d expect from much more expensive places.The casual Italian resultant, conveniently located in Suntec City, is opened by Luca Bottura, a 5th generation descendant of a family that runs restaurants, pizzerias, bakery shops and a catering business in Bologna. The decor is modern and can accommodate 144 diners at one time.The menu features a spectrum of Italian classics and traditional homemade Italian recipes from the Bottura family’s kitchen. You can be sure of the restaurant’s authenticity when its dry ingredients, used in the making of fresh pastas, bread and pastries, along with kitchen equipment are imported from Italy. Oh, and did I mentioned that the chef and pastry chef are from Italy too?We started the meal with a generous platter of antipasti, Cold Cuts and Cheese Platter ($22), comprising of appetizing cold cuts from Emilia Romagna, premium cheese, stracchino and orange marmalade. This is my first encounter with stracchino and I adore it. The delicate cheese is made in house and tastes sparklingly fresh. Even hubby, who is adverse to cheese, gave 2 thumbs up.Have a glass of red wine to accompany the antipasti. Bottura’s house pour, Chianti ($8.50/glass), is smooth and it’s quality is way above average compared to house pours served at most establishments. Seriously bang for buck!Stracchino makes another appearance in Parma Ham Piadina ($12) along with rocket leaves. An obscure Italian flatbread in Singapore, Piadina has a smoky aroma, crisps texture, and goes well with a multitude of ingredients. Made in house, the Piadina at Bottura is absolutely commendable.I usually avoid lasagna because I find them too rich and heavy, hence was pleasantly surprised by the Polenta Lasagne ($18). Made with thin polenta sheets that melt in the mouth, traditional ragu and béchamel sauce, this rendition has light texture, but full flavor. Its comfort food at its finest, without the guilt!Pastas here are freshly made with a rustic handmade element. The Egg and Squid Ink Tagliolini ($16) with shrimp and zucchini, twirled it way into my heart. Cheese fans will love the Four Cheese Gnocchi with Rocket Pesto($14), chewy nuggets doused in sauce that is not at all cloying. Do note that pasta pictured in this blog post are of tasting portions.Clocked in cream sauce, the Ravioli with Ham and Mushrooms ($14) were expertly crafted- each parcel is constructed with thin pasta sheets, unlike the usual overly-thick suspects. The Tagliatelle with traditional ragu ($15) is another gratifying dish-crumpled ribbons of homemade pasta tossed in hearty minced meat sauce.For the fickle-minded, the Degustation Set ($18) of 6 pastas, including a glass of Italian red or white wine, will be most suitable. It’s available on weekdays after 5pm on all day during weekends.We could not wait to sink our teeth into this enticing pizza. Set your taste buds ablaze with Arrabbiata Pizza ($18 for 12 inch) with elements of tomato, capers, chilli padi, mozzarella and rocket. For something refreshing, go the Rock Melon, Parma Ham and Mozzarella Pizza ($24 for 12 inch). The pizza base is outstanding- nicely blistered and paper thin, boasting crusts that crackles with each bite. Luca, who has a diploma in pizza making under this belt, spent several months experimenting to perfect the pizza base recipe. It’s evident his efforts paid off.Moving onto sweets, the alcohol-free Tiramisu ($8) is children-friendly and has airy mascarpone while Fresh Mignon Pastries ($2.50/ piece) with Marsala come in bite size portions.Moving onto sweets, the alcohol-free Tiramisu ($8) is children-friendly and has airy mascarpone while Fresh Mignon Pastries ($2.50/ piece) with Marsala come in bite size portions.To ensure freshness, Gelato ($5/scoop) is made in-house by the pastry chef every couple of days. With 16 flavors to choose from, you’ll be spoilt for choice. Coffee here is excellent as well, prepared with Italian beans and a coffee machine revived from the 60s.On weekdays, take advantage of the value-for-money set lunches which start from $14.50++.Cooking enthusiasts will be thrilled by the retail corner, which stocks award-winning olive oils truffle oils and balsamic vinegar from Italy. A selection of wines and coffee beans are also available. All items are imported directly (no middle-man cost) and are exclusive to Bottura. continue reading