André

"Casual French Dining" proclaims the red-white-blue signage at 66 Tanjong Pagar Road, but tonight's other customers at this 3-month-old (according to the waiter) restaurant weren't dressed in tee-and-jeans like J and I were.



The dining hall is upstairs, and it wasn't immediately obvious where the staircase was, but that proved to be no biggie - shophouse restaurants aren't that complicated. The high roof and dangling ceiling lamps make the place feel quite roomy, and the decor is simple but modern, having very little of the "old shophouse" feel.



Quick food recap. Starters:
Mushroom Soup with Sauteéd Mushrooms (<$10) - A little coarse, but flavourful. Dad liked the texture, I didn't.
Escargot (<$10, house recommendation) - Garlicky and nice, served in half-dozens.
Pan-seared scallops (<$10) - Only two scallops! Then again, it's a sub-$10 starter. Overcooked and a bit tasteless.
Foie gras (<$20, house recommendation) - I didn't try this one, but Dad said it was really good value for the money.

Mains:
Squid-ink pasta with salmon (about $20?) - J ordered this one, but the oil from the salmon made her queasy. Decent serving of salmon, but nothing else to shout about.
Pan-seared cod with soya-based sauce (>$20, house recommendation) - Now this fish was nice! Wasn't a very big serving though, wish it could have been bigger.
Pan-seared lobster with risotto (>$25) - Didn't get a comment about this dish.
Parents also ordered another pasta but I didn't try that either.

Dessert:
Passionfruit cheesecake (<$10) - I liked this one. Nice texture, not too sweet either. Easy on the tastebuds.
Coffee ($2.50 ea) - (What's there to say? Not bad.)



Other comments: Food timing was messy, with J finishing her soup before everyone else's starters came. Otherwise, service was fairly attentive. The floorboard under my chair tended to give way every time a waiter walked past, although after a while I just ignored it.

After a 20% discount with UOB Visa/Mastercard, the damage worked out to be around $150 for five people. André is a B.Y.O. (Bring Your Own) restaurant; corkage charge for the bottle of wine we brought was just $10.

Verdict: Some hits, some misses. Fair value for money, but didn't find anything outstanding.

André Casual French Dining
66 Tanjong Pagar Road
Singapore 088487
Tel/Fax: 6223 4548