New: La Cantine by Bruno Menard

 Upon reading that Chef Bruno Menard's new restaurant's open, I quickly told the boy "Hey!!! Let's go down this Friday to try it out!!!" The restaurant is still in its soft-opening period so no marketing was done yet but they're fairly busy I'd say! Okay more like very busy as the night goes on! For this, I'm very happy for Chef Bruno since his endeavors have been successful so far :) The chef is also an extremely friendly guy, he came out to talk to us when there wasn't a big crowd in the restaurant. The official opening is 18 Sept, not too sure which. If the soft opening's alr crowded, can't imagine the actual opening!!

Many people were enjoying this happy hour promo :)

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Pictures of the menu below! Do note that this is the soft opening's menu so I'm not sure if they'll make changes for the official opening's menu!

I like that his entrees arent the usual grub you can find at French restaurants in Singapore but they all come w a new interesting twist!

I've heard diners that day saying the Onion soup's good! A review online said so too, so perhaps you might want to try it!

Recommendations by waiter -

Seafood: cod fish & gratin of lobster

Meat: beef flank

Of course I'd say dont go for burgers here but try the other dishes instead! 

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Restaurant decor pics!

I quite like their ambience, its an eclectic mix of quirky, bistro, opulence and bar-like! Somehow, all these meld together quite well for this restaurant.  You'll see what I mean below.

Bistro-like seats

Quirky lamp shades

Opulence

Cute table design

Quirky ceiling design there!!

Complimentary Bread

I'd call it a mixed grain brain. Wholemeal kinda texture but toasted till the crust is crispy. Studded w seeds. I loved this bread! But the boy, who isn't a fan of wholemeal bread, didnt enjoy this. A little too dense/hard for him? I like the texture though!

Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinegar

I'm not too sure if this is balsamic vinegar or some fruit vinegar, I'm guessing the latter 'cos the colour's too light + the taste isnt as strong as balsamic or perhaps my knowledge of balsamic vinegar's limited hence the ignorance but this tastes like some fruit vinegar!! Not strong at all. Olive oil was quite mild imo but goes well w the bread! I ate like 4 slices of bread in total :)

When the bread was served, no butter/olive oil was served, would be good if the restaurant can serve it automatically/ask if we wanted anything to go w the bread! But they were v friendly and prompt when I asked them for this!

"La Tomate farcie"

$14

Momotaro tomato filled w zucchini chutney. Olive oil, yuzu-kosho tarragon sorbet, Parmesan cheese & arugula

 This, according to a friendly waiter, was what most people ordered and he says is good as well! We were alr set on ordering this, but upon listening to him, our hopes were pulled higher! It didnt disappoint us though. I loved that the tomato was super cold and the zucchini chutney in it went really well with it! The sorbet didnt really do much in terms of taste for me. Arugula leaves made a nice contrast to the generally sweet dish with its bitter aftertaste. 4.5/5

 Steamed Cod Fish

$30

Vegetable 'nage' & olive oil emulsion, parsnip puree & salmon roe

One of the "cheaper" cod fish dishes around and I'd say I was surprised at the huge portion!!! Usually a small slab is given, even for prices >$30 so this was certainly a good sign! However the actual dish itself didn't blow me away. I'm someone who likes natural flavours of the fish and to me, the natural sweetness of the cod didn't shine through but was instead covered by the puree. The puree was quite creamy for me. Fish was also not the soft flakey kind that I'd prefer! Redeeming factors would be the yummy cubed potatoes found below the fish which had a good soft-hard ratio and soaked up the broth nicely. Also, the salmon roe was a good taste contrast to the fish + broth as it's slightly salty and when eaten tgt w the cod, forms a nice accompaniment. 3.8/5

 La Bavette

$35

Beek flank with caramelized onion, "Royan" ravioli gratin, &made BBQ sauce

 Initial reaction from the boy when he cut the beef flank was - it's not soft enough!! However as he cut the beef flank towards the middle, gloriously, it was extremely soft and yummy. So it was done well in this sense! The boy liked the ravioli, don't mistake it for mashed potato!!

Caramel Hot Lava Cake

$15

Please allow 15mins of cooking

The waiter cuts the lava cake for you and its a little awkward cos then the knife will be "dripping" with caramel and then he'd take it away. So either you like your customers cut it themselves or get a cloth to wrap the knife with? Anyhow on to the dish now!

We previously tried our first caramel lava cake at La Petit Cancale and we felt that this one had a more charred taste to it! The ice cream given was a huge portion and this is, if I'm not wrong, what they use in &made's sundaes! Cos the taste is awfully reminiscent! 'nuff said about the decadence and deliciousness of this dish once you see the picture :) 4.5/5

 Raspberry, rose & lychee sorbet

$14

On a bed of seasonal berries

I thought that 3 scoops of sorbets would be served but turns out they're all mashed together into one! You can catch hints of lychee but raspberry predominates and lychee's lost in the process. The berries, well, I'd love it if it was colder? Like it just came out of the fridge kinda cold cos honestly, not that a huge fan of semi-warm berries! Didnt think this dish was worth it in a sense though so much berries were given 'cos you can easily recreate this at home though not w this 3-flavoured sorbet! So perhaps you might want to try something else! But it is quite a nice end to the meal given that its sour and light. 3.6/5

Overall comments: its a nice place to dine in with rather friendly prices! The menu is filled dishes that aren't classic French but with added twist/new dishes.

Service: prompt, friendly, and I'd say very warm! The opening team I saw at &made were there as well, to make sure things run smoothly. Water was filled up constantly, we were asked if we wanted more bread, things were served promptly, very ready to help and polite!! When I went to the toilet, one of the managers or sth opened the door for me and showed me the way. Then when I came back, he very cheerfully said, "Welcome back!!!" :)

Ambience: 'nuff said on top

So those working in the CBD, you might want to give them a try for lunch/dinner!! Its a pity they dont open on weekends :/

La Cantine

Mon-Fri 10am-10pm

#01-01 Asia Square Tower 1 (Where Zaffiro used to be)

62385549