New offerings from the likes of Table65 at Resorts World Sentosa and La Brasserie with its Le Petit Chef pop-up aim to create a buzz without sacrificing the quality of the food
While the closing of Michelin-starred restaurants Joël Robuchon and L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon (a few months after acclaimed Restaurant André also shuttered) last year was a big blow to Singapore’s culinary landscape, it provided restaurateurs with the opportunity to reassess their businesses, as well as look into new and inventive concepts to help them stand out.
Resorts World Sentosa has brought in acclaimed Dutch chef Richard Van Oostenbrugge, who, with his business partner Thomas Groot, are said to have pioneered the ‘fine casual’ dining experience at Restaurant 212 in Amsterdam. Table65, their first foray into Asia, is an extension of that.
Its contemporary European fare is on par with what you can expect from a fine dining establishment without being confined by the strict rules and formalities that often come with such an experience. Instead, diners sit at the counter surrounding the open kitchen, take their utensils from the drawers, and enjoy front-row seat view of the chefs working their magic. “Our goal is for diners not to be intimidated, but to engage in friendly conversations, like in a home kitchen,” says Van Oostenbrugge.