The English House by Marco Pierre White

The opening of the English House by Marco Pierre White in Mohamed Sultan Road Singapore was an eagerly awaited event. There are many notable facts about the place. The chef was the first Briton to be recognised with a three star Michelin award at the age of 33. He appeared in one of the last rounds of the Masterchef Singapore competition. Former nightspot Madam Wong’s used to occupy one of the houses. We remember Madam Wong’s as one of the first places to open in the area, a pioneer in the gentrification of the Mohamed Sultan area. It was therefore with some anticipation when we finally went to The English House for lunch recently.

The English House restaurant occupies the ground floor of the premises. The rooms of a small boutique hotel are housed on the upper floors. The place is typical of shophouses in Singapore. Long and dark with areas where light flows in via skylights. There are many things on display. Pictures on the wall, sculptures, collectible objects and interesting things.

The marble topped tables and wooden chairs resembled those of a Singapore kopitiam, except that the seats have cushions.

The English House by Marco Pierre White Interior

There is a gin bar and a whisky bar to cater for those with a soft spot for these beverages.

The English House by Marco Pierre White Menu

The English House Singapore serves a more affordable menu at a lunchtime when there is a choice of a 2 course $38 set menu and a 4 course menu ($55 – $65). Here are pictures of the menus. We tried one of each.

The English House Set Lunch 2 Course Menu

The 4 Course Lunch at the English House by Marco Pierre White

The 4 course lunch started with a couple of canapes – Devil’s on Horseback and Quail Scotch Egg. The former was a prune wrapped with a piece of bacon. The name of the canape was more interesting than the taste. The quail scotch egg was a small version of the usual Scotch egg.

Our second course was asparagus with truffles. It was an average dish, nicely presented.

For the main course we elected to have the Wheeler’s Classic Fishcake. We did not ask what it was and assumed that it would be some sort of deep-fried fish. We could not be more wrong. It turned out to be literally a fish cake i.e. fish flavoured cake. Under the tartare sauce was an egg and a piece of cake which had salmon incorporated inside. It was an interesting experience but this is a dish which we are unlikely to order again.

For dessert, we tried the bread and butter pudding. It was not bad but not exceptional either.

The 2 Course Set Lunch at The English House Singapore

We had better success with our 2 course lunch. We opted for the Smoked Mackerel Brandade as the starter. It was a flavourful dish. Not fishy and went well with the thinly sliced and crispy toast.

Our choice of main course was the Crispy Pork Milanese. This deep-fried pork dish with a balance of vegetables was a good dish as well.

Overall, we had mixed feelings about our lunch at The English House by Marco Pierre White Singapore. We were impressed by the place and the service but not the food.