The acts at Esplanade might be temporarily paused, but the show must go on. New restaurant Dopo Teatro hopes to impress the crowd with its reinterpretation of Italian flavours – through the usage of Japanese ingredients. At the 86-seater waterfront space, classics of antipasti, pizza, and pasta are presented in ways that feel familiar yet fresh at the same time.
Fisherman’s Catch ($20), for instance, features the usual hoops of calamari. But the sharing platter also comes with shishamo, soft shell crab, and river shrimps, best enjoyed with the accompanying mentaiko-laced aioli. Or whet the appetite with Sakoshi Bay oysters ($34 for six), where plump, briny halves are topped with yuzu and cucumber granita that makes for a refreshing mouthful.
Pizza dough, which undergoes a 36-hour fermentation process, helps create an airy, chewy base that can come topped with cheeses and pistachio ($24), or sake soya mushrooms ($22) and layered with shiso pesto sauce. Also laborious to prep is the restaurant’s selection of handmade pasta. Try the Sugo Al Granchio ($25), made using ikasumi, or squid ink tagliatelle, tossed with marinara and crabmeat.
The Eastern influence creeps into mains and desserts, too, albeit tenuously. Locally farmed fish ($26) is garnished with ice plants, while pistachio-piped cannoli ($16) sits atop matcha gelato. And for a sweet end to the meal, get the bomboloni trio ($14), where soft rounds of dough are filled with centres of matcha pistachio, dark chocolate ganache, and yuzu lemon custard.