Portico Prime is one of three Portico restaurant outlets under the Portico group, and is located along Dempsey Road where many other fine restaurants are located as well.
Portico Prime prides itself as an European restaurant bar with a nice colonial style to both its external as well as interior architecture. Modern European cuisine is served here, including signature dishes such as their Roma Tomato Salad, Chilled Truffle Pasta, Seared Hokkaido Scallop, Baked Cod Fish, Braised Wagyu Beef Cheek, and their signature dessert dish Deconstructed Black Forest.
Their menu is really extensive, with a huge range of soups, salads, pastas, seafood, steak, as well as desserts. Protico Prime recently went through a revamp of their team as well as menu, to include new additions and variations to their dishes. I tried a few of the popular dishes so if you foresee yourself having some trouble deciding what to order, this short guide will be of much help to you! I must say that the food here is really top-notch! I was also extremely impressed with their excellent and highly-efficient service.
Entrance to Portico Prime
Bar
Nice classic long wooden tables
Menu
//SEARED HOKKAIDO SCALLOP// $24
Cos lettuce, sous vide 63 degree egg, dehydrated bacon, brown anchovy mayo, freshly shaved Percorino cheese
I have to say that the dishes here are all extremely well prepared (cooking + presentation) and even well thought out during the creation of the menu. For starters, I ordered the recommended Seared Scallops and they were REALLY GOOD melt-in-your-mouth kind of scallops haha. If you're tired of the usual Truffle fries, I suggest you give either the scallops or the Mussels a try! You'll have no regrets!
//CHILLED TRUFFLE-SCENTED ANGEL HAIR PASTA// $30
Avruga cavair, kawa ebi shrimps, dehydrated kombu shio
To be honest, I came here primarily to try this dish! I've heard a lot about it and was pretty excited to try it. I really like how the interesting use of ingredients and herbs have made the dish taste so flavourful and rich. This is hands down the best dry pasta I've ever tasted. The truffle taste really stands out so much yet doesn't overwhelm, making every mouthful of pasta extremely delightful. This dish is a MUST-TRY!
//BRAISED WAGYU BEEF CHEEK// $38
Grain mustard mash potatoes, yuzu Nasri pear and sautéed white button mushroom
With such an extensive menu, it was difficult to decide on which mains to try. My friend at Portico, as well as the waitress at our table both recommended this dish so I decided to give it a try.
The Beef was extremely tender and if I must say, mouthwatering! It's like everything at Portico melts in your mouth! hahaha. I didn't really appreciate the pear that was added on top of the mash but overall this dish was really good and filling!
//DECONSTRUCTED BLACK FOREST// $18
Max Felchin 70% dark chocolate mousse, edible hazelnut soil, cherry coulis and caramel ice cream
I really like how a lot of the dish descriptions are so atas and cheem that I don't know half of what they mean. Okay this dish still not so bad, quite comprehendable.. but I guess their whole point is that a lot of thought and effort have been put into the creation of the dishes, from the choice of ingredients to how they want to market their dish.
This is Portico Prime's all-time favourite and signature dessert dish. When I first glanced at the dessert name I thought it was some kind of Black Forest cake and hesitated ordering it because.... well, Black Forest cake reminds me of the kind of cake you order for a friend's birthday if you have no idea what cake to buy. Well let me reassure you this is no Black Forest cake (I have nothing against Black Forest cake btw), this is DECONSTRUCTED Black Forest Mousse that tastes heavenly!!! Upon tasting it, it reminded me of all the ingredients used to make a Black Forest cake all in one bowl, just without the cake itself! Hence the term deconstructed.
I really enjoyed this dessert, especially when the ice cream and mousse mixed together, perfect combi! This dessert is also a MUST-TRY!!!
I really enjoyed my dinner at Portico Prime and was as equally impressed by their service! With such an extensive menu and high-quality food, you'll be spoilt for choice when ordering! I appreciate how a lot of effort has been put in by the team as well as management to make every aspect of the dining experience a very pleasant and memorable one- from the ambience, to the service, and finally the food. Would def come back here in the future!
Portico Prime
Address: 10 Dempsey Road, #01-20, 247700
Nearest Mrt Station: Holland Village
Buses Available (along Holland Road, entrance to Dempsey Road): 7,75,77,105,106,123,174,564
Phone: 6474 7427
Open Tues-Sunday: 1130am-1030pm (Closed on Mondays)
Food: 9/10
Ambience: 8/10
Service: 8.5/10
Value for Money: 8/10
Website: http://portico.sg/portico-prime/
Portico Prime had been awarded the prestigious Singapore's TOP Restaurants 2016 Award by WINE&DINE under the Modern European Category.
Cheers!
Gabs
