I went to Chicco Pasta Bar sometime back with my group of Pastafarians after hearing that it was by ex-Salted and Hung Chef, Drew Nocente, who also helms Cenzo nearby. Pasta places are a hit and miss and the only way to find out if its any good is to try it out. I'm happy to report that Chicco was quite a good experience overall.
The shophouse restaurant is located in the buzzing area of Telok Ayer St. and took over the old Market Grill. While there is no food smell in the well-ventilated semi-air conditioned gastrobar, my only tiny gripe was that sound bounces off the walls and surfaces of the place and it can get quite noisy.
Here's the menu, which I appreciate for its size. Just 8 pastas as well and most of it fall below $20.
Drinks are pretty good as well especially the happy hour and cocktails. We ordered a bottle of Italian white wine to share instead.
We first started with the Spaghetti (S$18) with clams, pancetta and seaweed broth. The seafood combi enhanced by the broth with the spaghetti instead of the typical tomato or aglio olio was a good touch and ingredients were also quite generous. The only gripe was the pasta was a bit sticky and soft. 3.5/5
The second pasta was the Rigatoni (S$18) with guanciale, egg and pepper. A classic take on no-cream carbonara, it really showed off the skills of the kitchen team to balance out the cheese and fattiness of the pork cheek. Very classic and well-executed. 4/5
More at https://www.alexischeong.com/2024/03/italian-food-review-chicco-pasta-bar-at.html
The shophouse restaurant is located in the buzzing area of Telok Ayer St. and took over the old Market Grill. While there is no food smell in the well-ventilated semi-air conditioned gastrobar, my only tiny gripe was that sound bounces off the walls and surfaces of the place and it can get quite noisy.
Here's the menu, which I appreciate for its size. Just 8 pastas as well and most of it fall below $20.
Drinks are pretty good as well especially the happy hour and cocktails. We ordered a bottle of Italian white wine to share instead.
We first started with the Spaghetti (S$18) with clams, pancetta and seaweed broth. The seafood combi enhanced by the broth with the spaghetti instead of the typical tomato or aglio olio was a good touch and ingredients were also quite generous. The only gripe was the pasta was a bit sticky and soft. 3.5/5
The second pasta was the Rigatoni (S$18) with guanciale, egg and pepper. A classic take on no-cream carbonara, it really showed off the skills of the kitchen team to balance out the cheese and fattiness of the pork cheek. Very classic and well-executed. 4/5
More at https://www.alexischeong.com/2024/03/italian-food-review-chicco-pasta-bar-at.html
