[category]
[title]
Four years in, this modern Australian-Italian restaurant feels like it has properly settled into its skin. Cenzo started as Chef Drew Nocente's comeback into the F&B scene after the closure of Salted & Hung in 2022. The restaurant has rolled out its biggest menu revamp to date, introduced a weekend brunch and spruced up the space with new furniture and paintings done by Nocente himself. Perhaps most importantly, Cenzo now opens its doors seven days a week, including Sunday.
The two-course weekday lunch set is priced fairly at $39 per person, with your choice of antipasti, secondi and a dessert at an additional $6. And yes, the famed pastrami sandwich remains on the menu. Weekend set lunches are served family-style, at $68 per person, with the option of topping up $55 for two hours of unlimited spritz and wines. But if you want to leave it entirely up to the kitchen, go for the chef's menu – $78 to 130 per person – where the meal is specially customised for your table.
Each à la carte menu refresh happens every three to six months, guided by seasonality and anchored by quality produce, much of it sourced from Australia. The cooking still leans into that familiar mix of modern Australian with Italian influences, but this latest iteration feels more confident and creative, full of unexpected flavour combinations that work surprisingly well. We start with snacks like generously loaded tarts of crab and uni ($6 per piece) and porchetta croquettes ($5 per piece), which come with addictive, deep-fried shards of crunchy pig's ear. But our favourite is the wagyu tartare cannoli ($8 per piece), which flips the script on a traditional beef tartare. Instead of spooning the meat onto potato crisps, the beef is neatly piped into a cannoli shell and lined with chives, the filling itself layered with hints of bone marrow and garlic.
Among the starters, the sea bream crudo ($24) and Iberico pluma ($30) shine. Both are new additions to the menu. And while we are not typically fans of crudo, this one is really well composed. The quality of sea bream itself is excellent – firm, dense, slightly chewy. Each mouthful starts bright, with sticks of apple that add acidity and texture, giving way to the caviar's salinity, before meeting the creamy, rich flavours of buttermilk and herb oil. Even more impressive is the Iberico pluma, executed so brilliantly you'd well mistake it for beef. The leaner cut is nevertheless tender, perfectly charred and loaded with pickled celery and fennel. But we are taken by that savoury tonnato sauce made of a blend of tuna and anchovies with other aromatics.
Pasta remains a strong suit at Cenzo. The Australian wild boar pappardelle ($32) has moved away from its previous red sauce iteration into something deeper with a red wine brine. But it is the slipper lobster campanelle ($35) that has our vote. Crab is replaced with generous chunks of slipper lobster, and the tulip-shaped pasta with ruffled edges, cooked al dente, keep every bite interesting and full of texture. We also have to give it to the sauce – balanced and lightly spicy thanks to a touch of yuzu kosho.
For mains, the herb and fennel-stuffed lamb porchetta ($44) is not for the faint-hearted. Intensely flavoured and excellently charred, it leans into the natural gaminess of lamb. What saves it from becoming too heavy are the accompaniments. A burnt onion purée and a red wine sauce add sweetness and depth, rounding out the dish nicely. The confit cabbage, brought back by popular demand, is another rich plate. The sauce is creamy and laced with nduja, and the gentle, watery sweetness of the cabbage comes through beneath the spice. Paired with the lamb, it might be a touch too much, so consider spreading these punchier dishes across the table.
Desserts lean playful for sure. The peanut butter flambè ($16) arrives with a bit of theatre, fired up by the table with Nikka From the Barrel whisky. It is unapologetically sweet, layered with caramel, dark chocolate, raspberry gel and a bit of puffed rice – clearly meant to be a crowd-pleaser. We are more intrigued by the whipped pannacotta ($16), where things take a slightly savoury turn with meringue, fermented strawberries and a drizzle of herb oil. And if you have a bit of stomach space left, we hear Cenzo does one of the best tiramisus ($18) in town.
Cenzo is open daily from noon to 2.30pm and 5.30pm to 10.30pm at 81 Club Street, Singapore 069449. Find out more and book a table here.
READ MORE:
Tokyo's Michelin-recommended pasta is now in Singapore with bowls from $13.80 – here's our review
5 new restaurants in Singapore to check out this April 2026
This seasonal omakase might be Singapore’s prettiest Japanese meal