Sopra Cucina & Bar

This is a nice Italian restaurant in a somewhat unexpected location. The ambiance was nice… I requested a quiet table and had a lovely spot in the back dining room, with candles. The service was good, and the food also good. I worried at first about noise from the Orchard Towers clubs next door, but it was quiet and cozy inside. The one thing I was less impressed by was the wine selection, but I’m rarely impressed by wine in Singapore

I was looking for a decent pizza place near the office for lunch, and after reading a few reviews, Sopra looked promising. And for the most part it delivers! It helps to know that the restaurant is inside the Pan Pacific Hotel; otherwise, you will have difficulties finding it. Once inside, you have basically 3 seating choices: outdoors, bar, or restaurant proper. I liked being in the bar, as you have large windows overlooking uh, Orchard Towers (first sign I saw was for Naughty Girls…), but the AC is a little weak and smoke from outdoors fins itself in. We started with some bruschetta and salad, and both were very well done. The brushcetta was interesting as it was done over a freshly baked pizza crust instead of bread, but it was very tasty. The salad of artichoke hearts was also quite good. As I was with 3 interns, I ordered 2 family sized pizza, which was more than enough to feed the group. The Sopra with prosciutto and shaved parmesan was very good, but the vegetarian pizza was almost better — loved the fresh zucchini and mushrooms. The crust was definitely one of the better ones I’ve had in Singapore — thin yet flavorful, chewy yet not tough. The place was pretty empty during lunch, which is a shame. I think the location doesn’t help. But for some decent pizza in the OOrchard area, Sopra definitely delivers, and the rest of the menu looks very interesting as well (Sardinian food)!

Really disappointed. Nice looking restaurant but poorly run and food is not good. We were there on a Saturday night and it was real slow. They had a band playing pop music loudly, which effectively destroys the ambience.
There are quite a few decent Italian restaurants right in that area in the same price range — Modesto, Forketta, etc. do yourself a favor and give Sopra a miss when you’re in orchard.

Business dinner was handled nicely. This place has very regional cuisine. It wasn’t the best Italian I have had– particularly because most of the items were heavy. The pizzas looked nice and the meats were cooked well, but the real flavors and spices were missing from many of the dishes. They did handle a crowd pretty well.

All 3 Italian diners (1 from Sardinia) agreed our meal was super. Bravo to the team.
The star of our meal:
Porcheddu Sardo
Traditional Sardinian style roasted pig with potatoes
Everyone on this blessed island should enjoy this dish.
Perfection from Sardo Chef Simone. Pig is from Spain and cooked with love.
$ 48 but can be shared by 2

When we talk about Italian cuisine, the first that comes to mind would probably be pasta or pizza. But there is more to Italian food than just that. I think that as we travel more and become more refined in our palate, we are now ready to explore the lesser known regional flavors. Sopra Cucina & Bar is where you can be educated on the lesser known Sardinian cuisine, which is influenced by many cultures such as the Arabs, Spaniard, Romans and Phoenicians.
Hidden just off the main stretch of Orchard Road, Sopra Cucina & Bar is Singapore’s first Sardinian restaurant. The exterior reminded me of old school Hollywood and the décor an ode to the glamorous days of post-​war Italy. The menu features dishes unique to the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, together with great thin-​crust pizzas, wines and cocktails.
There are many dishes to try here and the best way to sample the Sardinian classics would be to go for the Menu Sardo, a set meal which allows you to try many traditional dishes. The 4 course meal is priced at $ 98 with a minimum of 2 pax. The dishes that i’d be highlighting are also available in the a la carte menu should you feel not up to it for a full meal.
Pecorino cheese is a staple in Sardinian cuisine and we saw a repeat of that in many dishes to follow.
Even though Sardinia is an island and many would expect seafood to be a staple but lamb plays a huge role in the food scene due to its mountainous region. The Zuppa Gallurese ($ 26) is a traditional Sardinian bread soup with lamb stock and Pecorino cheese. There is only 2 tablespoons of rich lamb stock and it was soaked up by the bread and cheese. It smelled pretty gamey but i thought the taste wasn’t that bad. Then again i think my tolerance for gaminess is pretty high. W thought otherwise but the Zuppa was still acceptable for her.
Other highlights include Agnello alla Sassarese ($ 35), a slow-​cooked lamb and olive stew. The lamb was very tender and the gravy salty and flavored by the olives. W thought this to be gamey but again i was good. I wished that there were crusty bread to mop up the sauce though.
The Porcheddu Sardo ($ 48/​pax) is a traditional Sardinian roasted suckling pig with roasted potato. (Additional $ 15 to set menu). I didn’t enjoy this at all. There was too much fat that weren’t rendered enough to melt in the mouth. The skin wasn’t crispy enough and the meat was bland. Honestly i would rather have my Chinese sio bak over this anytime.
We also tried the Sopra pizza (not on the set menu) ($ 26 for personal 9″). The pizzas are made by co-​founder and award-​winning Pizza Master Chef Luigi Gianni. These traditional pizzas have a thinner, crispier crust than Neapolitan pizzas. The light fluffy dough with savory Parma Ham was addictive enough for me to come back with a bunch of friends to have this again. Oh yums.