Singapore's list of celebrity chef restaurants just grew longer – the long-anticipated spot, The English House, helmed by legendary British chef-restaurateur Marco Pierre White and his team has finally opened its doors. Occupying two adjoining 19th-century conservation colonial shophouses at Mohamed Sultan Road, the project took nearly three years to complete, from restoring the space to sourcing the statement furniture you see when you enter.
Keeping to the colonial theme and feel (there were doormen to open doors for the night), White and his team filled the restaurant with antiques from England, some dating back to the 18th and 19th century. A 1940s dining table acquired from the Rolls-Royce boardroom can be found in the private room, huge 19th-century shelves originally from Birmingham Library line the walls, two large hanging lamps in the main dining hall once used to light up London's 19th century Burlington Arcade – you get the idea. If you look around, you'll also notice the traditional round marble top dining tables similar to those you'd see in a kopitiam. This local touch was influenced from White's favourite chicken rice place in Purvis Street – something he wanted to recreate.
Moving past antiques, the walls of the restaurant are filled with photos by iconic British photographer of the 60s, Terry O'Neill and illustrations by political cartoonist Raymond Jackson (JAK) from White's own collection, so expect portraits of Margaret Thatcher, Kate Moss, Serge Gainsbourg, Jane Birkin and some questionable cartoons as you stroll around the space.
Food-wise, the restaurant serves up modern British cuisine, putting a spin on English classics like stuffed cabbage in fresh tomato and generous sharing platters of Black Angus beef with braised spiced tendons and jus viande. Feeling stuffed from dinner? Rest up at one of the 18 rooms on the second floor that is set to open in the first quarter of 2019.
Part museum, part respected dining establishment, you can't help but feel like you're an outsider traipsing in someone's very grand house for the night. But if you feel like you would enjoy the experience and some photographs of Colin Firth, then it's time to make a visit to the House of White.