Italian restaurant and microbrewery PocoLoco Jurong, Snow CIty (Outlet Closed)

Are they going loco down at PocoLoco Jurong? Opening an Italian restaurant and microbrewery in Snow City in Jurong East is a bold move. This is an area where (we would assume) the main human traffic exists in the form of school children arriving by the bus loads on excursions to visit the Science Centre or the Snow City itself. This is PocoLoco’s second restaurant. Their first outlet is in Ang Mo Kio. We always welcome more dining options in the West of Singapore, and so we made it a point to check out the newly opened PocoLoco Jurong.

For those who are not so familiar with this area, Snow City is a place where visitors can experience snow in tropical Singapore. It is next to the Singapore Science Centre on Jurong Town Hall Road. PocoLoco Jurong is located inside the Snow City building. Enter the main entrance and walk up the flight of stairs to the second level.  There are some PocoLoco signs around the place, but they are not visible from far. It is easier to look out for Snow City if you are heading here for the first time.

The restaurant has an eclectic mix of styles. Heavy wooden Asian style furniture, sports bar-like big screen TVs and a modern bar counter backed by five gleaming metallic tanks of freshly brewed beer.  The microbrewery is located upstairs. There is an alfresco area which looks like a perfect place to organise an Oktoberfest event with the beer brewed here.

Here are pictures of the PocoLoco food menu, daily specials and the beer list.

First things first. There were five types of beer brewed here. We decided on the Birra di frumento (wheat) and the Verde (green) beers ($7 each). They were both fruity and light. Not the most complex of tastes but very drinkable.

We tried a selection of three food items – a Vongole starter (clams in white wine sauce $10), a Zafferano (seafood pasta in saffron sauce $12) and a dish from the daily specials – Red Snapper Alla Siciliana ($18).

The clams were not very juicy. Most of them were detached from the shell. Perhaps a result of over-cooking. The wine sauce was nice.

The seafood fettuccine  in saffron sauce drew mixed reactions from us. Basically it boils down to whether you are a fan of creamy pasta sauce. If you like a thick creamy sauce, you will enjoy this. But those who don’t will find the sauce very thick and rich. The seafood and the pasta itself were fine.

The best dish of the day was the pan-fried red snapper. It was fresh and perfectly cooked. We also liked the sauces and herbs that went into the dish. The result was many layers of taste that enhanced the good firm meat of this fish.

Overall, we are glad to see the move by PocoLoco to open a branch in Jurong East. It is however more of a destination-dining kind of place as those who come here will probably be deliberately looking out for this place. Its out-of-the-way location means that it is unlikely to see many casual walk in visitors. But once the place is located, the visitor will be rewarded with an experience of a laid-back restaurant serving decent Italian food and freshly brewed beer.

Ratings:
Food: 3
Service: 3
Value: 4
Atmosphere: 3
Overall Rating: 3 TOPs 

PocoLoco Jurong
Snow City Level 2
21 Jurong Town Hall Road
Singapore 609433

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