Buona Terra – Michelin Star Italian Restaurant Singapore

We had lunch at Buona Terra, Michelin Star Italian restaurant in Singapore recently in August 2021. There are 3 things you should know.

Buona Terra Italian Restaurant Location

One Michelin Star Buona Terra is situated on the ground floor of a grand black and white bungalow along Scotts Road. There is a row of such houses opposite Goodwood Park Hotel. The house is known as Chateau TCC. Inside the main house is a Japanese restaurant known as  Ki-sho 葵匠. Buona Terra Italian restaurant is housed in what looks like an extension on the right side of the building. Which explains the long narrow shape of the restaurant. It is a small restaurant with about 10 small tables and a private room.

The first thing you should know is that there is no sheltered car park and the toilets are outside the restaurant. They are connected by a partially sheltered walkway along the exterior. Appropriate footwear would be a good idea, especially during this rainy spell in Singapore. But we should say that once you are in the restaurant, it is a nice place to be in. The interior looks better than its exterior. In fact, it feels quite posh with the soft lighting and white tablecloths. The service is attentive and friendly.

Buona Terra Italian Restaurant Menu

The second thing we should tell you is that the price is not indicated on the lunch menu. Fortunately, we had seen the menu on the website and were aware that they only have a set course menu with a choice of 3, 4 or 5 courses which cost $88, $108 and $128++ respectively. Here is a picture of the Buona Terra Italian restaurant menu for lunch.

How it works is that the pasta, main course (choose quail or seabass) and dessert form the basic 3 course lunch. The 4 course gets the Scampi dish. Those with a big appetite can opt for the five course which is the same as the 4 course, but served with both choices of main course. We picked the $108++ 4-course lunch at Buona Terra.

A nice selection of bread was served as well as some interesting canapé (picture below).

4 Course Lunch at Buona Terra – Michelin Star Italian Restaurant Singapore

The third thing you may like to know is that we think that the Scampi was the best dish of the day. This was the difference between the 3 and 4 course menu. We were glad to have selected the latter. The quality of the crustacean was very high and the sauce was the perfect accompaniment.

Our next course was spaghetti with cured egg yolk and summer truffle. This was also a very enjoyable dish but not as memorable as the scampi. The chewy, springy texture of the pasta was very good.

The Main Courses and Dessert

Like most fine dining places, the main course tends to be the most predictable (and boring for us). This was the case at Buona Terra Italian restaurant. Between the two of us, we covered both main course options – the Quail (picture above) and the Seabass (picture below). The quail was more interesting as we seldom come across quail in our meals. Both dishes were very competently executed and good.

There is a Hokkien saying : ‘ho kuah boh ho chiak’, meaning nice to be seen but does not taste good. That sums up the dessert called Exotic Cigar. This dessert was expertly shaped like a cigar with ashes. Presented on an ashtray, it does look the part. The cigar part had the texture of the love-letter roll that makes its appearance at Chinese New Year. The ashes were mostly sweet. I did not think much of the taste but the cheekiness of the item brought a smile to my face.

More sweetness followed with the petite fours, bringing an end to our lunch at Buona Terra, Michelin Star Italian restaurant in Singapore on a rainy afternoon.

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

Buona Terra
29 Scotts Road
Singapore 228224

Mon-Fri: 12-3pm (Last Order: 2pm), 6-10:30pm (Last Order: 9:15pm)
Sat: 6-10:30pm (Last Order: 9:15pm)
Closed Sunday & PH

---

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