Back
Image Alt

The Singapore Law Gazette

Jarrell’s Bistro – A Steampunk-Themed Restaurant with Asian-Fusion Dishes

There is certainly no shortage of restaurants and bars in and around the Central Business District but the Telok Ayer district is a favourite of mine. Although it’s just a short walk from the ubiquitous glass and steel structures of Raffles Place, stepping into the area with its beautiful conserved shophouses, always feels like I’ve been whisked away into another time and place (and far from work).

I visited Jarrell’s Bistro, which opened in March 2021, with a colleague-turned-friend for dinner after work on a Tuesday night. We were immediately struck by the murals lining the walls, and as we sat at our table, we noticed that even the tables had been specially picked to go with the steampunk theme, with exposed pipes and bulbs under the glass top.

We started off with the mushroom soup, served with miso milk foam and truffle oil. The milk foam certainly lends an interesting mouth-feel and elevates a simple dish.

Next, raw oysters, served with parsley, lemon, and tabasco sauce on the side. These were delightfully fresh and my friend, who usually steers clear from raw oysters, enjoyed them!

The chef (Jarrell himself!) recommended the Gamberone skewers, which were stuffed with an addictive paste made of parsley, Cajun spice and lots of garlic. This was a dish I really liked, despite all the work of de-shelling them!

Having had three starters, we only had space left for one main. As the clams were unfortunately not available on the day we visited, we opted for the kimchi mushroom pasta. The portion was larger than expected, but the spicy kick from the gochujang and slight sourness from the kimchi meant that the dish was not overwhelming.

We couldn’t resist dessert to round off our meal and shared the brown sugar sea salt panna cotta, served in a cocktail glass. The shot of baileys went really well with the black tea jelly, brown sugar crumble and sea salt foam.

While dining, we couldn’t help noticing that many of the other patrons had ordered a variety of cocktails. Upon enquiring, we found out that the cocktails were all off-menu – certainly something that we will have to make a second visit for!

Jarrell’s Bistro
198 Telok Ayer Street, Singapore 068637
https://www.jarrells.com.sg/

Associate
K&L Gates Straits Law LLC
E-mail: [email protected]