Wine Company Dempsey opens new outlet at Block 8 – our Italian/Chinese/French lunch

Wine Company Dempsey has opened a new, bigger restaurant in Block 8. Their first outlet in Block 14D is one of the earliest restaurants to set up at Dempsey Hill and has been there for around 15 years. The same eclectic food menu is available at the new Wine Company Dempsey and so we had an Italian/Chinese/French/Japanese multicultural lunch with German wine.

The new Wine Company Dempsey takes over the space that was previously occupied by Ben & Jerry’s and Little House of Dreams. The combined space is huge – we can fit a ballroom into this space. The restaurant space is sparsely furnished with plain white walls and bare concrete floors. But the interior designers have wisely put up red drapes and chandeliers at strategic spots to transform the space into quite a nice space. It almost looks glamorous from some angles. Their two outlets are now operating concurrently. We do not know if there are plans to consolidate them into one in the future. The new space is not only larger, it is nicer and more comfortable than the original one.

Wine Company Dempsey Menu

What was the initial draw of the Wine Company was its range of good affordable wines. We find its food menu equally (if not more) interesting. We like the assorted mix of dishes available – from fried Hokkien mee and Teochew porridge to baked camembert and fish and chips. To maximise our exposure to the vast variety, we tried an assortment of dishes from around the world at our lunch at the newly opened Wine Company Dempsey Block 8D.

Here are pictures of some sample pages from the Wine Company menu and the wine list. The lunch menu is interesting and a 30% discount is offered for mains, pasta and dessert items.

Food and Wine

We were unfamiliar with most of the wines in the menu. And so we went to the default category which has so far served us well – an affordable German riesling. This usually goes well with a wide variety of food and usually ranges from not bad to good. The bottle of 2017 Thomas Steigelmann Riesling Kabinett Trocken was just that ($62.90). Not very complex, but light and refreshing – enough for our lunch with different types of food.

We started with an Italian antipasta dish – prosciutto & melon ($11.90). It was better than we expected. The melon was very sweet and the salty, earthy proscuitto ham taste provided a good balance.

Next were grilled shishamo ($9.90) and roast pork ($13.90). The shishamo were fine but we would have liked them more if they were slightly charred. We were less enthusiastic about the roast pork which had crackling skin that was not crisp.

The ‘wok hei’ fried rice ($8.90) turned out to be the over-performer of the day. This humble looking dish was our favourite dish. We can safely say it is the must try dish at Wine Company Dempsey. It was perfectly cooked. The rice contained many different small ingredients that made every mouthful enjoyable.

Our main course was duck confit ($20.90), a classic French dish. This item received a 30% lunch discount. The confit duck leg was tasty and would not be out of place in a French restaurant. The Wine Company version of duck confit was served with vegetable crisps and local spinach.

Our other main dish was the pig trotter beehoon ($6.90) from the lunch menu. I think that this is probably one of the most affordable lunch in the Dempsey area. The taste was very good as well. The pork was soft and the gravy was rich with flavour. Another must try dish at Wine Co. Dempsey.

Overall we are glad to see the new and improved version of Wine Company opening at Block 8D. Service was warm and friendly. Even though we were there on one of their first days of operation, there was no hiccup or mishap.

For other restaurant options in Dempsey, read our post: TOP Restaurants at Dempsey.

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

The Wine Company 
Block 8, #01-14
Dempsey Road
Singapore 249688

Website

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