ADRIFT

Came here with family for a meal, tried a fair amount of their menu and I have to say I’m nowhere near impressed. Generally food tends to try too hard to be adventurous and mix in strange tastes into all their food, but it doesn’t seem to work too well. Maybe my expectations are too high, but then again they should be when you’re paying almost 80 a person.
Iberico pork chop was good, flavourful and tender, but nothing really special. Lamb chops likewise were alright, but nothing much to rave about. The lemongrass fish was just weird, but that might just be my bias against lemongrass. Lobster roll was hilariously tiny, and the wasabi in it didn’t do it any favours. Crab pasta was average as well.
Tl:Dr, just go eat at db bistro instead, it’s way better.

Visited Adrift with friends from Australia! Good and friendly staffs, food is awesome! Ambiance is very cosy! Choices of drinks is extensive! Its an amazing place to catch up with friends and have a good time!!! Definitly a must place to try again and again!

Pro:
— Ambience is pretty good — not so loud/​noisy like some of the other bars
Con:
— Cocktails are normal…

Love dining in on this cosy restaurant, interior is really amazing, ambiance, location and service is excellent for chill out, romantic dinner or with family. My favourite place in Singapore! :)

Foods are delicious, wonderful location, friendly staff. If you are looking for a place to chill and enjoy, adrift is a great place to go.

Met Chef David Myers and tried his signature king crab melt at Epicurean Market and decided that I must try the restaurant! Also tried his laksa popcorn which I absolutely loved but I can see how it’s a hit or miss with different people’s palate.
This review is for Friday dinner service. Our server was very friendly and helpful, the rice crackers they served to start were super addictive, and the food came out so quickly (but it was slightly annoying to have all came out at once, especially with the mix of cold and hot dishes).
The king crab melt was as delicious as we remembered and so glad we ordered it again. The fried okra was probably my favorite — it’s halved and fried whole, giving it an interesting crispy and chewy texture dipped in a tamarind porky sauce. The crispy baby potatoes were simple but very well-​seasoned. I thought the cured hamachi and duck confit gyoza were solid, but did not like the karaage chicken and eggplant salad as much.
For drinks, we both had multiple rounds of troublemaker (reminiscent of pimms cup) for me and bee keeper (reminiscent of manhattan) for my boyfriend.
For dessert, our server recommended the caramel french toast which was mind-​blowing! Best french toast I’ve ever had in the world — the inside is pillow-​soft and the outside is crunchy with sweet coconut sorbet mixed with the slightly bitter coffee syrup. Yummy!

ADRIFT is located in the Tower 2 Lobby of the MBS Hotel. I’ve been twice in the last month: once for lunch in the dining room and again for drinks & snacks in the lounge. Both visits, I encountered a very friendly & helpful staff and enjoyed both their signature and classic cocktails. The menu is a mixed bag of modern Asian inspired shared tapas dishes. On both visits everyone had unfavorable impressions of the food.
In reply to ADRIFT’s pretentious slogan — «Indulge Your Palate’s Wanderlust» (Kudos for combining three cliched «50-​cent» words into one nausea inducing catch phrase) No matter the marketing tag line, the drinks are good, but there is not much of an epicurean adventure here.
As the first course of our set lunch, we were presented with a plate of slightly stale spiced caramel popcorn and rice crackers. It’s the sort of thing you might expect your 10 year old child to serve you after volunteering to make dinner and using only what was already on hand. Not a good way to start a journey.
The Buckwheat Chicken Nuggets served with a honey mustard sauce ($ 18) was another dish directly from the mind of a 10 year old. Entirely forgettable except for the battered and fried Cock’s Comb that was presented on the plate as garnish. (Yes! That’s the floppy thing from the top of the chicken’s head) Like the restaurant’s catch phrase — this too wreaked of dou¢#€ baggery.
The Fried Okra with Pork Belly and tamarind sauce ($ 14) was again the kind of unexpected dish that seemed concocted from random mismatched ingredients already on hand. The okra was oily, not battered or crispy enough, and the combined flavors of okra, pork and tamarind were mediocre.
The King Crab Pimento Cheese Melt ($ 35) is one of their signature tapas. For the price and the buildup, we had high hopes. But the sandwich (cut into 3 pieces for sharing) had only one note of flavor. The crab was overpowered by the pimento cheese. They could easily 86 the crab and serve a cheese only version for half the price.
The Shishito Peppers with Sea Salt ($ 13) were mildly flavored and this little wallflower of a dish could quietly disappear from the menu without being missed.
The Crispy Baby Potatoes with Seaweed and Parmesan ($ 13) were enjoyed on both visits. Baby potatoes with a crispy outside — this was the clear favorite of the small dishes we ordered.
With the fixed price lunch, we were served two dry and very forgettable sandwiches. Afterwards, we shared two ala carte «mains» that get better reviews than what I’ve listed above. Simple and straightforward, the Iberico Pork and Wagyu Beef with caramelized onions were the highlight of the meal. (see photos) This was followed by 2 forgettable desserts both served with ice cream.
During both visits we noted the silly notepad-​like menus. Written in difficult to read all CAP text, there’s very little on each page — resulting in a lot of flipping back and forth. The dim lighting in the lounge made the text on the shimmery paper difficult to read. With several different menus in circulation, the staff got the lunch, dinner and bar menus mixed up.
The Good: The comfortable stylishly retro décor, a friendly, attentive staff, good drinks. For those keeping score, the Iberico Pork, the Wagyu Beef and the Crispy Baby Potatoes got thumbs up from everyone. From the bar, the Penicillin and the Gin and Tonic were also delicious.
The Bad: Just the act of flipping back and forth through the notepad style menu cheapened the experience. Most of the tapas dishes we ordered seemed uninspired and poorly conceived — resulting in mediocre and mostly forgettable flavor combinations. Presentation of the plated dishes was not spectacular either. Over 2 visits, I was with 6 friends and we ALL agreed: The food menu is ADRIFT’s Achilles heel, and we’d be hesitant to recommend it solely because of the food.
The Verdict: I really wanted to like ADRIFT, but its menu concept is literally adrift (amiss, astray). A good tapas restaurant has a menu full of gems. We uncovered too many inferior to mediocre dishes to warrant another visit. I’m not familiar with the chef. Maybe the concepts for his other restaurants inspire more appealing recipes that have queues wrapping the block. Maybe his name and reputation or the 3 towers full of tourists will keep this place afloat. I highly doubt locals will be returning en masse to «indulge» in the items we tried.
2.5 Stars for the Food