Luce by Davide Giacomelli : $52 Semi-Buffet at Hotel Intercontinental Singapore

The $52 Semi-Buffet lunch at Luce by Davide Giacomelli looks attractive considering that this is price of a single dish at a decent restaurant these days. And so we headed down to the Italian restaurant at Hotel Intercontinental Singapore for a rare buffet meal as we are not very big eaters.

Luce by Davide Giacomelli Restaurant at Intercontinental @ Singapore

Arriving at the hotel, we realised that the restaurant had taken over the space that used to be occupied by the Olive Tree restaurant, subsequently rebranded as Ash & Elm. Some parts of the decor have changed but the layout of the restaurant next to the Lobby Lounge Intercontinental Hotel Singapore remains recognisable. It is a long restaurant with a high ceiling running down the centre. There are nice cosy places by the side, which are good if privacy is what you want. But not so good for quick and frequent access to the buffet spread on the left side of the restaurant.

Luce by Davide Giacomelli : $52++ Semi-Buffet Lunch Menu

Being light eaters, we do not fancy buffet meals as we are unlikely to realise the full potential of the wide buffet spreads made available. But semi-buffets are a good comprise. There is just one main course to be selected and served in the regular way. Other courses such as the salads, appetisers, soup and desserts are laid out buffet style for self-service. The Luce by Davide Giacomelli Semi-Buffet Lunch menu has a food selection that looks quite modest and suitable for our situation.

Salad, Cold Cuts and Cheese Stations

Here are pictures of the Salad, Cold Cuts and Cheese Stations. It is best to go for buffets right at the beginning of the meal when the selections are fresh and full. We arrived in the middle of lunch hour and the food had begun thinning out. All the choices were still there but, slightly less attractively presented after the first round of diners have had a go at them.

Here are pictures of the appetisers – Italian Style Frittata di Zucchine Pancetta Ham and Mushroom Quiche.

Our Semi Buffet Lunch : Salad and Appetisers

“Adequate but not very exciting” is probably a fair description for the salad station and possibly the rest of the buffet offering. We made the best of the situation by putting together a salad that had as many of the offerings as possible. This is a plate I have done as beautifully as I can to show you. The appetisers were better than the salad. Both the zucchine pancetta ham and mushroom quiche were quite tasty.

Luce by Davide Giacomelli Lunch : Main Course

The main course dishes arrived when we were in the middle of our second round of salads. That settled our decision whether we would go for another round of appetisers. There were five options for main course. Our choices were Salmon e Avocado (salmon confit, guacamole and avocado à la plancha, fresh herbs) and Straccetti di Pollo con Verdure (corn-fed chicken thigh with seasonal vegetables).

“Tastes better than it looks” was our immediate reaction to the main course items. The salmon confit looked lonely on the plate but the taste was very good, possibly the best item at lunch that day. We had asked for the salmon to cooked well and were happy with that decision. The chicken thigh with seasonal vegetables dish looked confusing. There were chicken pieces with fried vegetables topping a base of steamed rice. It reminded us of economy rice, but nicely plated. The taste (thanks to expert seasoning) was much better than it looks.

Dessert

We had more fun with dessert than the salad station. Possibly because the items look more colourful and playful. These are some of the fruits and sweet things that were consumed that day.

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

Luce by Davide Giacomelli
InterContinental Singapore
80 Middle Road, Singapore 188966

Opening Hours
A LA CARTE LUNCH
Monday – Saturday
12:00pm to 2:30pm 

SEMI-BUFFET LUNCH 
Monday – Saturday 
12:00pm to 2:30pm (Last order at 2:00pm)

DINNER
Monday – Sunday
Bar operates from 5:30pm for pre-dinner drinks
6:00pm to 10:00pm (Last order at 9:30pm)

INTERNATIONAL CHAMPAGNE BRUNCH BUFFET
Every Sunday 
12:00pm to 3:00pm 

Nearby MRT Station: Bugis (EW12 DT14)

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