Basque Kitchen Fullerton Waterboat House (Closed)

The new Basque Kitchen Fullerton Waterboat House opened in early 2021. It is big change from its former Amoy Street address of Basque Kitchen by Aitor. From a dark, cosy shophouse to a bright glamorous waterfront spot, the transformation is major – and we like it.

The decor of the new Basque Kitchen by Aitor restaurant at Fullerton Waterboat House has an air of quiet elegance. The spaciousness of the dining room and the panoramic view of Marina Bay with MBS and the “Durian” right in front are impressive highlights of the new Basque Kitchen Fullerton. In terms of restaurant atmosphere I think it is now right up there with Singapore’s 3 Michelin Star restaurants – Les Amis and Odette.

How to Get to Basque Kitchen Fullerton Waterboat House

According to Wikipedia, “The Fullerton Waterboat House, originally known as the Water House, is a historic water supply house formerly used to supply fresh water to incoming ships in Singapore”. It is a separate building from the Fullerton Hotel which is a short walk away but with no sheltered connection. The nearest carpark is at One Fullerton. At the time of our visit, we understand that they provide a free car valet service. That is the best way to get to the restaurant (if they still provide the service). In these uncertain times do check out what the arrangements are when dining-in resumes.

Pintxos Bar : a casual dining area

Just before the main Basque Kitchen restaurant is a small section known as the Pintxos Bar. This is a casual dining area with an a la carte menu, as compared to the formal dining area where only fixed course menus are available for both lunch and dinner.

Basque Kitchen Fullerton Menu

Here is a picture of the Basque Kitchen Fullerton menu for lunch. The five course lunch ($168++) was the only menu available. At the former location, a similar lunch was priced at $158++. You can read about our previous lunch here.

Amuse Bouche & Starters

Four amuse bouche items were attractively served on a block of wood. The taste of all of them was delightful. I can’t describe beyond that as I cannot remember the details of each of them.

We had two starters at the Basque Kitchen Fullerton lunch. The first was cured bonito with tomato essence and olive oil. The thin slice of bonito (I guess it is a type of tuna) was beautifully served. It had a light clean taste. A very good start to our meal.

The second starter was oxtail bomba rice which I believe is a signature dish of Basque Kitchen. It is like a small portion of paella made with concentrated beef broth. The intensity of flavours is unimaginable from such a simple dish. A generous sprinkle of grated truffle completed the flavours. The truffle (which I understand is from Australia) was not as intense as those from Europe.

Main Courses at Basque Kitchen Fullerton

Our main courses were charcoal grilled monkfish and vintage wagyu loin. The monkfish itself was quite ordinary but the accompanying gravy with cockles and razer clams were the highlight. The shellfish gang was rich in flavours and helped to liven up the otherwise plainness of the fish.

I learnt that the term “vintage wagyu” meant wagyu beef from old cows, and said to be more flavourful. The vintage wagyu served at Basque Kitchen Fullerton was barely cooked. We found it too rare but this being my first vintage experience I went with the advice that it is best way to appreciate the taste. My dining companion asked for hers to be cooked to medium. In the end I think I preferred the cooked version which had better textures.

Cheese and Dessert

After the main courses, the cheese trolley came along and we decided to share one serving (which requires an extra charge of $38++). All the four selected flavours were interesting in their own way. The best one was the Époisses cheese from Burgundy (the round scoop in the picture). The orange coloured gooey cheese was scooped out of the wooden container. The taste is quite intense and to us it tasted wonderful.

A small palette cleanser of green apple sorbet was served followed by the dessert – Japanese peach with smoked ice cream. We had tried smoked beer before in the Schlenkerla pub in Germany but never ice cream. The smoked ice cream tasted surprisingly good. A simple and sweet way to end our three hour lunch at Basque Kitchen Fullerton Waterboat House

Our wine of the day was a bottle of 2004 Chateau Trotanoy. Fully matured, the red wine from Pomerol, Bordeaux had a soft and easy going character. It was easy to finish off a bottle like this over lunch.

Ratings:
Food: 4
Service: 5
Value: 4
Atmosphere: 5
Overall Rating: 4 TOPs 

Basque Kitchen by Aitor
Tuesdays to Saturdays:
Lunch – 12pm to 2.30pm (Last order at 2:00pm)
Dinner – 6.30pm to 11:00pm (Last order at 8:15pm)

Pintxos Bar
Tuesdays to Saturdays: 4pm to 11:00pm (Last order at 9pm)
Closed on Sundays and Mondays

3 Fullerton Road, The Fullerton Waterboat House,
Singapore 049215

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The Ordinary Patrons | Real Dining Experience of Ordinary People
an independent Singapore food blog