Sabio By The Sea

My very first tapas experience. Another first was the sautéed octopus I was convinced to try, which was surprisingly tasty. Thank you! My favourites were the seared tuna, roasted veggies and an omelette dish. The presentation of the food was to my liking, but the service could have been a bit better as the waitress was stumped when we asked questions about the menu.
The atmosphere was lovely. It was a beautiful night, clear skies with a slight breeze making it a really enjoyable meal as we gazed at all the yachts that populated Sentosa Cove. Still, for the price, I’m not sure we will come back to this restaurant. If we did, it would be for the walk along the cove, not the restaurant. Something in me thinks there is a better tapas experience waiting for us out there in Singapore.

Not the best Tapas I have had in Singapore. Food was below par. However I loved the beautiful view at Sentosa Cove, next to all the fancy yachts and sailing boats. Both the advantage and the disadvantage of this restaurant maybe Sentosa Cove. Advantage is that beautiful seaside setting. Disadvantage is the higher price because it is Sentosa Cove with that view!

Good food, but service is just too slow. I came on Sat night, 8 pm. I’d come back on a weekday only.

We ordered a pitcher of Sangria which tastes watered down. There was almost no wine/​alcohol in it. It took almost an hour for the food to arrive. Food tasted ok. Asked for hot sauce but again it never came. Service was downright appalling. The manager was apologetic stating it was a busier than expected night and gave us two glasses of free Sangria to apologize. The bill came pretty quick when we asked for it…

On cooler days, it’s quite a lovely setup near the waterfront. But they have no fans so it can get really stuffy on a warm or still day.
I like the food generally. It’s tasty, freshly cooked. The sangria packs a respectable kick and doesn’t have that too oxidised taste like some places. The pork shoulder and sliced steak from the ala carte I really enjoyed — although a bit greasy they are very juicy and tender.
We also really enjoyed the grilled pulpo, gazpacho. I’ve tried the classic and the squid ink paella, both quite good and had a bit of al dente bite to it with enough ingredients. First time I ordered it at Sunday brunch it came surprisingly fast. Another time I ordered paella on a weekday night (it was quite busy) it came really really late after our 2 rounds of food order were all eaten. Surprisingly the tomato bread was quite tasteless and hard. this is a very classic simple Spanish dish so you would think they should get it right.
They do quite a nice All Day Weekend Brunch at $ 35. This includes, coffee, fresh juice, a basket of mini breads and croissants, a pot of yoghurt and a main course. You can actually order that to share and add more tapas/​main courses on the side to get more variety.
They take reservations.
But the service… Ok, I gave it 4 stars overall which is more for the food and view. It’s not that the service is rude or terrible. It just seems so overwhelmed when the restaurant is ½ full to ¾ full. There is an Indian assistant manager guy and he works so hard. You can see him rushing everywhere to clear plates, take orders, get water… he should have 8 arms. There were 2 other staff that looked quite blur although they did try to get water/​cutlery but they just weren’t very experienced.
And they have a 15% discount for Islander Pass holders. bit disappointed they didn’t mention it when we asked if there were any discounts for credit cards. Use it or lose it!

For pictures and full reviews, visit my blog!
Sabio by the Sea, like its sister Sabio in the city, echoes the same painted traditional Catalan tiles and hand carving inspired by a 200 years old bar in Seville. Yet, the vibe is contemporary with bright red metal stools lining the length of the space and CMYK Dada inspired artwork. There is also the fluidity in space with the al fresco areas spilling onto the quayside.
I went to Sabio by the Sea expecting to be feasting on tapas but was delighted to know that they do a Weekend Brunch. For $ 35, diners get to enjoy the «El Sabio basket», a choice of main dish and a hot
drink.
The El Sabio Basket was a delectable tray of wonderfully baked pastries. I absolutely adored the Mini Croissants (both plain and chocolate). The perfect marriage of moist buttery center and crispy browned flakes blew me over. The mini baguette was almost too perfect to be eaten as well. Excellent quality butter and strawberry jam in little jars accompanied the bread basket and i happily buttered away.
Included in the basket is also a glass of fresh orange juice and home made plain yogurt served with berries. This is the perfect start to a great 3h brunch. ;)
Choose from 8 main dishes, all of which would have gone through the TLC of the Josper Grill to give it the smoky flavor. One of our favorites was the Chachouka With Chorizo Sausage, Two Fried Eggs, Toasted Brioche And Green Salad. The Chachouka is a hearty stew of peppers, zucchinis and tomatoes and i loved how the porous bread readily soaks up the earthy stew flavored with the saltiness of cured sausage.
Want something meatier? The Grilled Ribeye (120g) with Chachouka, Fried Egg And Grilled Mushrooms is a great option as well.
As compared to the dishes that we had, the Fluffy Omelette was easier on the flavors. Loved the juicy asparagus in the omelette which was topped with roasted potatoes, Manchego cheese, Serano ham, basil and grilled cherry tomatoes.
Apart from the extensive hot and cold tapas dishes available on the menu, I highly recommend the El Cerdo ($ 21) from the Josper grill. Herbs Marinated pig shoulder pieces that appeared like the Chinese braised pork belly turned out to be more substantial in bite and taste. The chunks of meat wore the caramelized crisp like a badge of honor, having survived the ferocious oven. You may want to skip this if you are afraid of clogging your arteries though.
Now, save some space for desserts because you can’t miss the best Churros ($ 11) in Singapore. The crispy dough sticks, evenly and perfectly coated with the golden ratio of sugar and cinnamon, were divine with the viscous and rich dark chocolate. It’s even better than the ones i had in Spain!
And you gotta have the Signature Salty Butter Caramel Lava Cake that Chef Bruno Menard created which i raved about in my &made review (read it here).
The meal preparation was overseen by Chef Damien Le Bihan, Group Executive Chef, who earned his ranks in several Parisian Michelin restaurants. A man of few words but there’s no doubt he’s passionate about his food.
Need a getaway but don’t have the time to hop on a plane? Head on down for brunch at Sabio by the Sea. It sure felt like i was in a different place. Wanderlust. Brunch is served on Sat from 12 to 3.30pm and Sun from 10.30 to 3.30pm.

I came here courtesy of a food tasting session, accompanying my girlfriend who’s a food writer. So, the caveat for this write-​up is that my meal was unpaid for. Judging it purely on the quality of the food unlike my other reviews where I also look at value for money.
The fact that they have a fancy schmancy oven for grilling does make a difference! I tried the pork shoulders which was super tender and melt-​in-​your-​mouth. On the other hand, I would recommend that you also get the ribeye, but do it medium rare as medium is a bit too tough. Other things to try are the grilled octopus which is a hot favourite. They use some purple potatoes instead of your normal yellow ones.

Reputed to have the best food in the new key side aisle and reasonably authentic. The brunch menus are good value, and the a la carte offers some interesting options such as the Manchego Croqueta and marrow served in the bone which seems to be unique to this restaurant.
Sadly let down by that far too common Singaporean phenomenon where the servers have not been trained. Food didn’t come out on time or was missing. Settling the bill seemed to cause difficulty. No doubt this will be sorted after a month or two after opening, yet should not be an issue for a ‘high end’ brunch.
Beware getting a cab back from here is still a nightmare. We had to wait 20 mins even after attenpted bookings before the W hotel felt sorry for us and gave us a lift in the shuttle.