Spruce

Food was reasonably delicious, but service was rather slow.
The space at Spruce was minimalist and well designed. However, the courtyard and lounge area, where marriage solemnizations take place, are strangely located. Both are located right next to the kitchen, which looks a little messy. Also, although it is a great effort to construct a natural feel for the courtyard, the courtyard faces a poorly maintained fence of greenery. My friend commented that she can’t imagine having a solemnization ceremony here!
My friend and I visited during lunch, and it started off quiet at noon, but quickly filled up by 12:30pm. It took a long time for someone to come and take our order. And another half hour or more before our dishes came out! And then, it took lots of waving at the end before we got our cheques.
But despite what is rather unacceptable service, I really enjoyed my dish. I had spinach pasta with truffle sauce and sausage. The pasta was cooked al dente, the truffle sauce had good truffle taste and sausage was well cooked. My friend had cesar salad and a side of mushrooms. It was rather surprising how small the mushroom dish was. One nice thing was that they were willing to pack my leftovers in a to go box! Yay.
Overall, I wish something can be done about the service. And perhaps when I crave italian pasta I might be back to visit. It is a pity that such a delicious place isn’t complemented with good service.

So I just finished breakfast here with my parents and thought I should share my experience with everyone else.
It is always a bit challenging to find a place for Sunday morning breakfast with the family (a ritual). Choices are bountiful and popular eateries quickly fill up. We went to Spruce because my mother suggested it.
We walked in and nobody was there to assist with seating so we proceeded to seat ourselves only to have the manager almost tackle us to the table — the look on his face said «how could you have the audacity to seat yourselves.»
For breakfast we selected the Steak with Eggs, a combination of side dishes (egg white, beef sausage) and a Cajun and Eggs dish. The quality of all food items were very good and the cappuccinos we had with the meal were excellent!
The ambience is very soothing, with a waterfall fixture (ok, «waterfall» may be pushing it) on the side of the seating area. It is hard to imagine that you are only moments away from downtown orchard road.
The question I always ask myself at the end is: would I return?
Considering the quality of service and the availability of alternatives, the answer in this case is a «no».

HORRENDOUS SERVICE! THINK TWICE BEFORE GOING!
Been to spruce a few times already, but this time would probably be our last.
Went in at 315pm thinking that the crowd would be sparse and hence service would be more prompt. How wrong we were.
Was greeted with a black face by the on duty manager (315pm, 19 dec 2014) — chinese lady wearing rimless glasses.
staff: «we have a event at 4pm, so if you eat here, we want the table back by 4pm»
us: «err… okay…»
we proceed to sit down and the manager looks unhappy that we opted to stay, beckons a waitress to set our table and we see her tapping on her watch furiously to the waitress, instructing her to shoo us out by 4pm!
That was the last straw and we promptly packed our bags and left.
Nobody should have to pay a premium price and be treated like beggars. We have better places to spend our cash.
Management: if you are reading this, please look into the matter and up your game.

Looking for some value-​for-​money dinners deals in town? Dine with American Express Card at any of the 30 restaurants under the AMEX 30-​licious promotion and enjoy scrumptious feast at only $ 30 for 30 days! The #30liciousAmex here features a House Salad, a Main and choice of beverage (coffee/​tea/​soft drink/​in-​house lemondade above) The House Salad is a class of its own, relished with truly sweet juicy tomatoes and unique champagne dressing that has a nice vinegrette tang to perk up our appetites.
For the mains, the pastas are really the showstoppers, because they were so confidently delivered that you thought you were dining in an authentic Italian trattorias. The Signature Prawn Pasta looked like anything, but a prawn pasta. This inventive dish born out of Spruce’s first-​generation American head chef to mark its opening, has been a popular mainstayer on the menu.
Luxuriously coated with spinach and zuchinni purée, the orecchiette (cat-​ear) pasta is tossed with chopped sea prawns and savoury zucchini bits. Brilliantly peppered with grana padano cheese, the flavours are superior than an average basil pesto pasta; strong, garlicky without letting your fork paused for any moment. This is probably the tastiest prawn pasta I’ve ever had.
The Squid Ink Pasta Carbonara is also too good to share. Being a carbonara fan, there have been many scary encounters of bad cabonaras being either too watered-​down or too dry. This achieved the right consistency, though it could be less salty since there were already rewarding amounts of smoky bacon in the creamy swimming pool.
The oven-​roasted Chicken Pullet might not eclipsed the pastas in terms of richness in taste but it does have the power to win on its natural flavour. Served with rosemary velouté sauce, the effect is of simplicity rather than showiness.
Desserts are not available as part of #30liciousAmex but if you like to have a sweet ending like me, there is a simple yet achingly fragrant Pandan Crème Brûlée. The Baked Ginger Date Pudding (below) is not too intimidatingly dense as the classic American sticky date pudding. Fluffy with undertones of ginger, the cake itself was, in fact, not sweet unless you lap it up recklessly with the Kapiti Ice Cream and chocolate toffee sauce.
Alternatively if you prefer a course that has a dessert, head to the Firestation Outlet where its lunch promotion features a choice of drink, side salad with different menu for mains (roasted chicken/​vegetarian pasta in Aglio Olio or Tomato base) and a dessert of chocolate cake. This double layer chocolate sponge inter-​layered with a winning salted caramel sauce and crunchy chocolate pearls was served chilled, a pity because the smooth texture was locked up a solidified form and the sponge lost its moisture.
Besides the food, the Phoenix Park outlet actually houses a playground, a courtyard and an alfresco area that can total accommodate nearly 200 pax. No wonder it has been a popular location for families and events such as garden theme weddings or solemnization. But all these plus points will not distract me from the fact that Spruce dishes up solidly good mains. This reality alone, is sufficient to bring me back for more.

I really like Spruce for the food but the service is spotty. Tonight I had an excellent tenderloin cooked perfectly to my order. Spouse had rack of lamb and he said it was delicious. Kids had chicken nuggets but regretted not ordering «grown-​up» food after they tasted our meals. Kid’s meals are fine, especially for the under-​10 crowd and Spruce works hard to bring those meals right away, which is a plus.

Too damn lazy to think of a more comprehensive review. So I’ve summed up my experiences leveraging the resto name (aren’t I clever?):
Service leaves something to be desired
Phoenix Park is a pain to get to
Return visits remind me why I no longer recommend brunch here
Underwhelming food. PS Café provides a better dining experience any day.
Come prepared for at least a 15−30min wait for brunch
Eggs ain’t bad, but nothing to go out of your way for
Perhaps the place needs some ‘spruce-​ing’ up. Har har har.
I’m sorry, food coma is descending and my brain function has slowed to a halt.

Nice place for brunch with family and friends.
The food is mediocre but it’s nice to go to a place where you can be seated outdoors and it feels like you are in the jungle. Service is so so…

Spruce is a delightful restaurant tucked away in a quiet corner of Phoenix Park. Nestled among lush greenery, Spruce is a nice hideaway from the hustle and bustle of modern day Singapore. Unfortunately, Spruce can be a little difficult to get to, especially if you do not have your own transport.
There is very little to complain about the food — it is good, but not great. The portion served for the main course and overall prices are reasonable. They do have a small selection of wine and liquor to go along with your lunch/​dinner selection. The must have items are the dessert, which I think is affordably priced and yummy.
Overall, I would recommend this restaurant for people looking to have a quiet and relaxed meal in a soothing environment. The selling point for Spruce is definitely the ambience, more so than the quality of the food.

Spruce is a nice corner of hidden treasure. Though not the most accessible but easily walkable from Redhill MRT (about a 10-​min or so walk).
It’s got a cozy ambience both with its interior and exterior seating, all sheltered, though slightly dim.
Came here with my partner for brunch and ordered our usual eggs, which was well made. What was a nice surprise find was the mac&cheese. It was scrumptiously good and its hard to find good restaurant mac&cheese. The brunch menu have got breakfast favourites that can come with sparklies or beer if you choose to include them.
Other than for a quiet, cozy ambience with a loved one, I’d come back here just for the mac&cheese alone!

Spruce is a restaurant hidden away in Phoenix Park, in the Tanglin area. It’s a place similar to PS Café but I would go for PS Café over Spruce any day. The food in Spruce is decent, but its not great. Portions are not as generous, especially for the price that you are paying.
I tried the veggie brunch plate which was good, but they said it would be served with brioche, but was served with regular toast again. Ive also tried the tuna burger which was alright, but looked kind of pathetic on the plate with only about 8 fries. The cakes aren’t that great either. Not a place to frequent in my opinion.

Besides the wonderful setting, Spruce is terribly overrated and rather expensive. Like Relish, this restaurant offers a variety of gourmet burgers most of which are european inspired.
With that mentioned, I tried the blue cheese and poached pear burger. Although the meat was cooked well, the juices did make the bun soggy and the blue cheese was way too heavy. Overall it was the cheese that killed the meal for me.
The serene setting however, makes it a great place to have a few drinks and catch up with friends.

Brunch at spruce was a pleasant affair. Perched at the top of a hill in Phoenix Park, it is surrounded by lush greenery, offering me a nice escape from the concrete jungle.
They have quite an extensive menu, and if you are a fan of breakfast food, you will be spoilt for choice with their brunch menu. They offer options of having a wine or fruit beer with your meal, adding a spark of luxury to it.
I had brunch at spruce on national day at the outdoor section so it was really crowded and a tad bit too noisy. The lighting was a bit too dim and the day light did not come in enough to light the place. The orange lights that hung above were more suited to give a romantic evening glow than the openness of the day. However, the place in general is done up nicely, exuding a simple charm in its slightly rustic décor.
I had the Crab Cake Benny, which was delicious. The Crab Cake was absolutely divine, crisp on the outside yet it sorts of melts in your mouth with each bite. It was very flavourful and fresh, one of the best I’ve ever had. The egg benedicts were done just right and their hollandaise sauce was very enjoyable. I didn’t have enough space for desserts so I did not get to try their cakes and sweets.
Overall, I had a great experience at spruce and would return soon (to try their desserts)!

While others might sing praises of its all day breakfasts and its main courses, Spruce for me has been more of a getaway from my office which was located at Pheonix Park as well. Nicely surrounded by greenery and with a fairly chic décor, Spruce is perfect for a cuppa whenever you need a break. Parking is free throughout Phoenix Park so the only hassle you’ll face is probably the walk to and from your car. The cakes on offer are excellent but the size of the coffee cups could do with an upgrade to make it a better value for money.

Lovely location perched on top of a hill and a wide selection of food.
Brunch is pretty good and you have the option of adding on some bubbly sparkling wine or beer with your bacon and eggs. On weekends, Spruce begins as soon as 8.30a.m. for the early birds.
Pancakes here are fluffy and have my seal of approval. Lunch is decent, I’ve only ever had the Wagyu burger from the lunch menu and it was okay.
I’d definitely return, probably at brunch hour. Spruce is great both for group get-​togethers or an intimate brunch with your better halves.

Spruce is up on a little hill in Phoenix Park and it was pure coincidence that we decided to have dinner there on a cold rainy evening, having eschewed all ideas of going to town. I had passed it several times but had never tried it before as it seemed to be touted as a brunch kinda joint and I’m usually never up early enough, heh.
Food: The menu looked simple and straightforward enough, nothing fancy just good old fashioned comfort food. Friend had the steak frites while I had the duck papperdelle pasta which was pretty awesome! Somehow the texture of the pasta, the flavours of the duck and sauce all worked really well together and I don’t even normally like pasta to begin with. Excellent! Regrettably, we didn’t get to try anything else on the menu as we weren’t very hungry.
Ambience: Quite nice. Cosy with candles. No complaints.
Service: Quite good. No complaints.
Will prolly swing by again to try the other stuff on the menu though I didn’t spot anything that made my mouth water. Or I might just come back again for the duck pappardelle. Friend also claims Spruce has the best eggs Benedict in Singapore!