French cuisine is often misunderstood as the atas food which is expensive and never fills up the stomach. Being a foodie, while French food is not at the top of my list of cuisines, I do appreciate the fine details put into cooking an authentic dish. I do wish to visit more French restaurants by saving enough for a splurge once in a while
Located on Club Street, L'Angelus is one of the oldest French restaurants in Singapore. Started in 1998, the restaurant prides itself as an authentic single-location French restaurant with notable awards like Restauranteurs de France. Owned by 2 French owners, the restaurant maintains its quality by sourcing its ingredients from France and offering an entirely French wine list to complete the French gastro experience
The restaurant's exteriors remind me of a cosy cottage restaurant in an idle French town while the interiors immediately transport you to an eclectic Parisian Cafe. Decorated with vintage posters, floral arrangements and traditional French artifacts, the restaurant has a weird sense of cohesiveness which matches the entire vibe of the space
We started the meal with warm dinner bread where the texture and crust were like a baguette roll. The bread was fluffy inside and great with the butter provided. We were probably hungry so we finished the bread pretty fast but it was pretty general bread and nothing too spectacular
We visited during the escargot buffet night on Wednesdays where you can get a free flow of escargot at the price of SGD 23 but there was no sharing so everyone at the table had to pay for the buffet and the escargots were served in 6 servings per plate. We figured out that we wanted to try other dishes so we just got 1 serving of the escargot which is also priced at SGD 23. A speciality of L'Angelus, Burgundy snails is served in small clay pots topped with a piece of baked crispy bread. The escargots were very different from the previous ones I had which were drenched in olive oil and minced garlic. I liked that there was sufficient olive oil and garlic to give the snails perfect flavour and not overpower the natural taste. It is no wonder people visit them for the escargots as they are really well-prepared
We order 4 sets of 2-course menus to taste different dishes and add on a la carte orders like the escargot and seafood bouillabaisse. For the 2 course menus, we ordered the foie gras. For the foie gras, we added 2 more pieces so each of us could get 1 piece each. The foie gras was pan-fried and drizzled with a hawthorn puree and bak kwa sauce. It was one of the nicer foie gras done correctly, which we truly enjoyed. For the soup, it was airy and light with strong seafood umami flavours. Made of oyster, leek potato emulsion, cucumber granite and served with pickled daikon and rice crisps, the dish is a mouthful of fanciness which leaves you wanting more
For mains, we ordered all the options on the menu, the duck confit, miso glazed Patagonian toothfish, Wagyu Steak and lobster risotto. They were all served at similar times and we were given sharing plates. The duck confit was served with duck gizzards, cannellini beans casserole and lardon. The skin was crispy and the duck was flavourful but slightly dry. The beans provided a nice creamy sauce to balance out the dryness of the meat. The fish was tender and creamy with a melt-in-your-mouth texture. The uni butter sauce added a deep layer of umami flavour to the otherwise natural-flavoured fish. For the risotto, it was airy and light with strong seafood umami flavours. Made with lobster stock-infused risotto and sea urchin foam, the dish is a fanciness mouthful, leaving you wanting more. The wagyu steak flanks picture is quite blurry but according to my friends was quite well done
The dish we ordered from the a la carte menu was the bouillabaisse, a saffron seafood stew packed with squid, prawns, scallops, Snapper fish and rouille sauce garlic croutons and cheese. At SGD 68, this dish was quite pricey in my opinion. I expected a hearty pot of stew when the serving was more for a 1 to 2-person share. The broth was separately served in a porcelain pot for a fancy presentation. The dish itself was good with extremely fresh seafood and very flavourful yet light broth. I am just not too sure if the dish is worth the price tag
We had the creme brulee and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I personally did not taste the desserts so I cannot provide a review but my friends mentioned that they were just ok and nothing too fantastic
Overall, the meal was quite enjoyable with fantastic service. While not all dishes were great, some were just alright, the entire atmosphere is quite livid and feels like a nice sidewalk restaurant in Paris. If I wanted a full Parisian experience, I would come back for some of the dishes they have on the menu and forgo the set meals
Address: 85 Club St, Singapore 069453
Operating hours: 12 pm to 2.30 pm and 6 pm to 10.30 pm ( closed on Sunday)
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