Situated at the top of National Gallery, Art di Daniele Sperindio (previously Art Restaurant) helmed by newly minted chef-owner Daniele Sperindio is an Italian fine dining restaurant with 1 Michelin star under its belt. The panoramic view of Marina Bay Sands from the spacious restaurant is just the cherry on the cake. Recently, I was there to experience Art 4.0, the fourth iteration of the chef’s menu of conversation cuisine.
Before getting into the 7 course degustation menu proper, we started with 2 cocktails recommended by the team – a rum cocktail, and the Beeswax which are available on a separate drinks menu. Both were sweet cocktails which suited my palate.
Our first course, the Aperitivo, 4 Amici al Bar, was a series of 3 apetizers – swordfish ham, stracchino cheese tart, and chutoro – which whet our appetites. The chutoro made a lasting impression.
The next course, Cappon Magro, was topped with Siberian sturgeon caviar and easily made the most prized dish of the tasting menu.
For the bread course, Pane e Poesia, we were served two types of bread, pagnotta rustica sourdough and toasted malt ciabatta. We also got to pick from 3 types of EVOO originating from different regions.
Then it was Tea Time, featuring glazed hen-of-the-wood, an edible wild mushroom, with cardo tea poured into the dish. Surprisingly, it was tender and delicate, almost as though we were tucking into a hearty meat dish. On the side, we had a giarratana onion tart for pairing.
The pasta course, La Superba, was my favorite – taglierini made with 32 yolks for every kilogram of flour served in an infusion of clams and stock fish. The sauce was very savory but not overbearing, while the texture of the pasta was chewy and firm.
As an accompaniment, we had a spoon of colorful pasta topped with a slice of winter truffle, and artisanal focaccia to be dipped in a Genoa meat sauce – the focaccia was so fluffy like a brioche!
We had two mains, the first being Estate ad Albenga, featuring sardinian seabass, mozambique scampi, baby artichoke and royal oscietra caviar (yet another prized item).
The second main, Winter is Coming, was a honey-ed quail dish. We found the quail wing to be slightly gamey while the quail breast had a cleaner taste.
For dessert, we had the Tourists on Mount Vesuvio, featuring buffalo milk gelato topped with a deconstructed classic Napolitan biscotto all’amarena made from glazed amarena cherries and chocolate. As a finishing touch, 3 drops of 40 years old aged balsamic vinegar was added – this had a really thick and deep flavour. Yet another one of my favorite courses!
Lastly, the petit fours, Piccola Pasticceria, was served. It was a galore of traditional Italian pastries – the baci di dama (Northern Italian sandwich cookie), amaretti morbidi (soft amaretti cookie), occhi di bue (Italian shortbread cookie filled with apricot jam), mini cavolino espresso tarts, gianduiotto chocolate, grape tart, sfogliatelle (Italian pastry) and almond cake. Not the easiest to finish since it was full of dough and butter.
The 7-course degustation menu is served during dinner at $298++/pax, while the lunch degustation menu (choice of 4 or 5 courses) is priced at $138++ and $158++/pax respectively.
1 St Andrew’s Road, #06-02, National Gallery Singapore 178957
Tues to Sun 12pm – 2pm, 6pm – 10pm (closed on Mon)
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