28WilKie quietly opened late last year, flying under everyone’s radar. It’s only through word of mouth that I found out that there’s a new caviar bar in town. But instead of pairing caviar with its usual mates of vodka and Russian cuisine, 28Wilkie deals in fine wine, Shangri-La craft beer and Italian-Japanese fusion food.
While 28Wilkie feels very much like a fine dining restaurant with its elegant interior and white tablecloths, I can’t shake the feeling that it hasn’t decided what kind of restaurant it wants to be. There are café-style truffle fries ($16) and devilled eggs ($16) on the menu alongside more refined dishes like onion confit risotto with unagi ($28) in the primi section and crisp-skinned red snapper with green pea purée ($32) in the secondi. But despite their creativity, the fusion dishes lack the complexity that’s needed to marry East and West.
Even more confusing is the caviar bar concept: 28Wilkie only brings in only five types of roe, ranging from the affordable Siberian sturgeon ($130/tin) to the prized Kaluga sturgeon ($400/tin). Yet for a caviarfocused restaurant, the black pearls only make cameos in two dishes: the Hokkaido scallops ($32) and egg with potato mousse ($28). Neither allows the diner to really take in the flavours – you’re better off forking out for the full tin.
Time Out Singapore reviews anonymously and pays for all meals. Read our restaurant review policy here.
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