For a restaurant that’s housed in Capella Singapore, one of Sentosa’s finest beachside resorts, Fiamma isn’t at all what it appears. A chef with a three Michelin-starred restaurant (Mirazur, France) under his belt helms this new Italian kitchen but Chef Mauro Colagreco doesn’t seem to be taking it all too seriously. In a good way, that is – they’ve bid a parting ciao to starched white tablecloths and formal cutlery lineup.
Stepping into this newly opened restaurant is meant to remind us of home. Not quite the quintessential home in Singapore, but an Italian farmhouse that’s been taken up a notch with wood-fired ovens and cosy seating nooks. It’s a home, but still one undeniably for the bourgeoisie, with each dining area having its own title: you can choose to casually lounge by the “Den” or get front row galley seats at the “Kitchen Chamber”.
It’s much like how the menu is inspired by Chef Colagreco’s grandparents. Rustic flavours pay homage to his grandma’s cooking and he’s also adamant on using fresh produce, thanks to the fond childhood memories spent foraging at his granddad’s vegetable patch. As he poetically muses, one of his earliest memories is of “a juicy sunkissed tomato, plucked straight from the vine in the vegetable garden”. Fiamma also translates to “flame”, so you can expect lots of wood-fire cooking and grilling over open flames.
Whatever the influences are, we’re liking it – our meal started on an excellent note with an antipasti range of carpaccio and crudo. We didn’t expect a vegetable-based carpaccio to be one of the more memorable dishes, but kudos to the Carpaccio di Pomodoro e Pesca ($26): finely sliced tomato and peach slivers paired with pistachio bits and chives. Others, after fresh seafood, might prefer the Mediterranean red prawn crudo ($48) with added citrusy notes of kumquat, or the sea bream carpaccio ($34) with mint oil and orange sauce.
Fiamma follows the traditional Italian route with an unsurprising lineup of pasta and pizza. The pizza (from $24) is artfully kneaded using a homemade dough before coming to an airy but satisfying crisp in the wood-fire oven. The Tartufo ($36) is one of the more appealing choices, with a smoked Scamorza cream cheese, Tuscan salami, and fresh black truffle shavings. As for the pasta, it’s none other than a blue lobster tagliatelle ($56) tossed with tarragon and confit tomatoes, that takes an easy centre stage.
In true Italian spirit, Fiamma is equally attentive with the proteins. It’s the Bistecca alla Fiorentina ($160) that will have your table oohing and ahhing, a dry-aged beef chop weighing in at a hefty 1kg that comes with a side of balsamic-glazed grilled eggplant. If dining with a larger group, order a Pescato del Giorno ($68) to share. As a fresh fish of the day, the exact fish and cut varies, but you can expect grilled fish that’s been prepared using traditional Ligurian techniques – that is, with fresh vegetables and a lemon-infused butter sauce.
Desserts do not disappoint either, ranging from the all-time favourite tiramisu ($20) to the Meringa Cotta ($16), a slow-baked meringue with vanilla cream and a drizzle of berry sauce. Safe to say: our palates were more than pleased by the end of this communal-style Italian feast. Even the service is seamless but affable, and not at all strait-laced like what you might expect from a restaurant at Capella Singapore.
Book here.
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