Previously known as “Flutes at the Fort”, the Flutes Restaurant is now at the Singapore National Museum. The former location, which was a colonial black and white bungalow on Fort Canning that was once the residence of the Chief of the Central Fire Station, is now occupied by another restaurant, Lewin Terrace. The address may have changed but one thing about the Flutes Restaurant has remained constant – its good taste in selecting historic and desirable locations.
The Flutes Restaurant is an elegant restaurant on the ground floor of the museum which, by the way, offers free admission to Singapore citizens. We had a quick walk through the permanent collection and have some pictures for you at the end of this post. On weekdays, there are two set lunch options available at the Flutes Restaurant – two courses at $34 or three courses at $39. Â Here are pictures of the executive lunch menu and “relaxing brunch” menu. The complete menus (including a la carte and wine list) are available on their website (link below).
A generous serving of bread was brought very soon after we ordered. Flutes has a short but quite comprehensive wine list, with bottles starting from $75 to a couple of first growth Bordeaux. We had a bottle of German Riesling ($85). Light and mildly sweet, it was a nice cool drink on a hot day.
Only one of us had a starter – the pea soup. Â It was thick and full flavoured. The addition of some truffle oil made it taste even more complex.
For the main course, we have more pictures to show you as we tried all the main courses. The grilled grain-fed hanger steak was served with some braised oxtail. Â The steak was nicely seared and had a good taste, but there were some sinewy bits. We actually liked the oxtail bits more.
The fillet of yellowfin kingfish was quite plain by itself. It was however saved by the wonderful curry-flavoured lobster bisque. The curry flavour was very subtle and did not overpower the fish. Â The cous cous added more substance to the dish.
Finally the Iberia pork chop with scallops. The pork chops were quite bland. We liked the scallops better, but overall it was an interesting dish which was a blend of pork and seafood with some leaves and grains (which we could not identify).
The most interesting part of the meal was the dessert. Â We ordered all the three available (not counting the cheese of the day). The desserts were attractively served in a big platter. The restaurant quite generously served us an extra portion.
The best dessert by far was the Eton Mess.  Not having attended any public school in England before, we had no idea what it should look like. It turned out to be not  messy at all (at least before we started on it).  The rich chocolate and the fruits were perfect companions.
The other two desserts take joint second place. Both were very good, so everyone was a winner that day. Â The watermelon and cherries was an explosion of the taste of fruits and nuts. A very pretty and refreshing dish.
The final dessert was the apple, pear and raisin crumble with salted caramel ice-cream. Also very good indeed.
Overall, we thought that the executive lunches at Flutes Restaurant,  National Museum were quite good value for money. Good food in a beautiful restaurant and served by attentive staff.
As promised here are some pictures of our day at the museum. Some of them may not be very historical, but this being a food blog, we thought we should include them for good measure.
Ratings:
Food: 4
Service: 5
Value: 4
Atmosphere: 5
Overall Rating: 5 TOPs  
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Flutes Restaurant and Bar
93 Stamford Road, #01-02
National Museum of Singapore
Singapore 178897
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Tel: +65 6338 8770
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Opening Hours:
Weekday Lunch: 11.30am till 2.00pm
Weekend Brunch: 10.30am to 2.30pm & 4.00pm on SundaysÂ
Dinner: (Mon-Sat) 6.30pm till 10.00pm & 10.30pm on SaturdaysÂ
English Afternoon Tea Tea will be served for parties of 10 and above
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Nearby MRTÂ Stations:Â Dhoby Ghaut, Bras Basah
The Ordinary Patrons | Real Dining Experience of Ordinary People
an independent Singapore food blog