The Altivo Bar & Glass Bar   [Closed]

Rating : [ 6.5 ] based on 8 reviews

Food and Beverage - 5.9
Ambience / Setting - 8.2
Value - 6
Service - 5.8

One of the most important day in a man's life is Wife's birthday..and if that gets spoiled because of an unproffesional restaurant..too bad!!
No doubt its a beautiiful and romantic location(thats why we went there)
Right from the netrance..the Bad service began...They had some x mas lighting done blah blah..and 3 different venues had 3 different cover charges..we were fine with the cover charge..but we didnt know which place to choose..so we requested if we can have alook at the venue before we decide..STRANGELY ENOUGH..THEY REFUSED (so much for good hospitality)
so we had to shoot in the dark and select for this restuarnt.
things were still looking ok..as we were looking forward to the snow fall(soap water foam..ha ha !!), ropeway ride etc.
As we settled down on our table..the unproffesional service started to unfold...
No water, drink oreder messed up(wife ordered for a Mocktail(virginpinacolada)it took 3 waiters to understand this simple order.trainess going back and forth.
the food was ordered with great difficulty as the staff was totally raw . food was ok but came much before my beer and wife's drink.
what eventually came was an alcoholic pinacolada..my wife never takes alcohol and that was really irritating.
when we explained the waiter to take it back..she went backand forth twice and finally came and said she will replace it but will charge us for both(cocktail and mocktail)
by the n I lost my temper and had to raise my voice and demanded to see the manager....
no manager was in sight..lots of confused looking waiters chatting amongst themselves.finally they obliged...
I checked with the waiter that do they offer some small cake & birthday song as it was my wife's birthday,,as expected they REFUSED!!
by then we had lost our apetite, mood and my wife's happy birthday...was no more HAPPY...
That place is an iconic destination for singapore and tourists..please the management should not spoil our countries reputaion by such unproffessional service standards.

I dunno when they changed their name but it was called Black Opal when I visited the place.

When I did research on this place a couple of years back, reviews said that the service there was horrible, so I didn't expect much when I went there.

The service was quite good at the reception of the Jewel Box cos the lady did an explanation of their different food outlets and even escorted us all the way into the restaurant with a bright smile. But I was a little confused when I asked her if I could explore the rest of the Jewel Box... and she said "No, only the restaurant you choose to go". I thought it was kinda weird. Perhaps some miscommunication.

The service was acceptable, though I agree with the review below that water was not served at all until they took our orders some 20 mins later. The servers were made up of young inexperienced boys, foreigners with poor English and mature servers who were a little proud. But overall, they seemed like they were making an effort & the meal wasn't too ex considering the view and portion of the food.

Side Note: It's a pretty good deal to go there now cos for $4 each to enter the place and see its pretty decorations and shows, you get a free round trip cable car ride and its pretty windy and romantic at night.

Anywayz we had cream of mushroom, cream of prawn, t-bone steak and salmon fillet. The cream of mushroom was rather disappointing for $10.80. It was rather plain. I prefer ground mushrooms rather than large chunks. The cream of prawn was nicer but not exceptional. The toasted garlic bread served was rather hard and felt more like biscuits. And... they had no bread baskets like the high class restaurants they were trying to be like.

The T-bone steak was huge, and served in a Japanese style on a hot stone. But I didn't really like the taste and frankly I think hot plates destroy the doneness of beef, unless you have onions below to moderate the heat.

The salmon was served half-cooked and I pretty like the pistachio crust that came with it. It enhanced the taste of the salmon and complemented it rather well.

The Black Opal is supposed to be a Western restaurant but the menu has all our local favourites like Nasi Goreng and Hor Fun. I really wonder what it is trying to be... especially when you are suddenly told that the T-Bone Steak is actually Japanese style. Very weird.

But they are lucky cos the ambience was fantastic. They have the place done up pretty classy now and the view is magnificent. Plus you get to see a snow show now during the Christmas season. Oh and the entire Jewel Box is really pretty now. Children will love the snow, the lights and Santa's visit.

I'll probably be back some time for the view, better in the early evening when you can still see something, but don't expect much from the food or other things...

Went there for my birthday celebration with someone who mattered to me. But it didnt go really well.

Location.
We werent exactly sure which was to the route that brings you nearest to the jewel box. So we went past the little car park, past the hill, further down near where the little merlion was. Its a good 10-15mins walk away from the jewel box, plus the ups and downs of the hill.. not that good for someone in heels :x But i'd say this was due to insufficient research, so i cant really put the blame on them.

Dinner
i chose to sit in the airconditioned area (glass bar) as i was afraid of mosquito attacks (dengue cases went up again.. better safe than sorry). we were ushered in by a man in suit, he told my DOTN (date of the night) that we could change the main dish on the set menu, but the price will change accordingly.

& I was seated.. facing outside, where construction was taking place, and where i can see the workers BATHING. perfect view i'd say ? well thankfully DOTN blocked my view, or rather my attention was on him more than anything else that night.

So here comes the problem with their service.
1. When you are first seated, you shld be expecting a glass of water first isnt it ? it took them 20mins after taking our orders to realise that we didnt have a drink. And this drink came in AFTER our "ordered drinks were presented -_-:

2. when we took our order, the waitress said that we cant change it. took a good 10 mins to find out who told us (and that guy just disappeared.. we never saw him after he ushered us). and to get back to us, saying that dinner set is fixed, and no changes are allowed. So.. we went ahead with our original orders : 1 salad + 1 soup + 2 main dishes + 2 drinks. already feeling abit unhappy about it.
> Soup of the season (for DOTN)
> Caeseur Salad (for me)
> steak (for DOTN)
> Spaggetti (for me)
> Champagne (for DOTN)
> Mocktail Princess (for me)

3. few moments later, waitress came back, saying sth about not having the champagne and had to change it for something else. Since there is nothing we can do anyway, we agreed to the change.

4. few moments later, again, waitress came back, asking if we were the one who made reservation.. that we were seated at a reserved seat, just wanted to confirm if we were the ones. DOTN was already quite irritated, because of the above two disruptions. So he went all sarcastic saying, "so if i didnt make a reservation, i cant take a reserved table.. ? Especially when it was someone who ushered us in?? Why dont you tell your own staff instead of me ?"
the waitress replied "Its not that, but because i actually reserved this table for someone else instead". Talk about tactful reply.

but we stayed where we sat after we confirmed that we werent that couple. On a side note, the reason was because a loving boyfriend had reserved a table, and arranged for a bouquet of flowers to be presented half way through the dinner. how sweet huh ! hehe.

5. Salad was alright for me. Well mixed, though i would have preferred with less dressing, but.. im not complaining :)

6. DOTN's soup was leak and potato if i remember correctly. Asked for pepper, she gave the "salt and pepper" instead of the grind-ed pepper. having the quirky hugging salt and pepper bottle, she pointed to the salt bottle, saying that its pepper. WOW. and then came back later, to realised she should have given us the other kinda pepper instead.

7. DOTN ordered steak well done (bad choice). the sause was on the sweeter side. And there's no wow factor to that steak, considering that it costs $48 (i think). thankfully, my spag was alright :)

8. I ordered the desert with an icecream and brownie. It appeared to be really unique in shape. However, the brownie at the bottom was too hard. We had a had time cutting it up using a spoon. In fact, we created alot of the "kiang" sounds when we attempted to dig in. Not too good for a place with a quiet ambience, was quite embarrassing in fact.

All in all, for the price you pay, its definitely not worth the quality of food, and service provided. Maybe for drinks, yes its a good choice. But are you sure you wana risk rolling down the hill after having one too many drinks ? Ha !

I most likely will not be back again, this is just my 2cents worth of comments.

On the top of Mount Faber, 4 restaurant and bar are in The Jewel Box.One of them serves western style dishes, steak, fried chicken, mash potato while enjoying the fantastic night view from alfresco seats. It has a great ambience.

Been here many times for drinks (yawns…) but the most memorable of all was on 1 Jan 2005. This was the significant day when I met my MR RIGHT. That aside, this bar really do serve up good priced drinks for that awesome view. But the food can’t really speak for itself…

However, if you got spare stash of cash, charm your date by spending a min of S$100 to sit on that plush cushioned seat that comes with the unblocked view of cable car, VIVO city, Harbour Front with Sentosa far behind it and the ridiculous looking merlion with laser eyes. Then if the feeling’s right pluck up that courage to smacker up some kisses. You can feign ignorance later if he/she’s quite bad at that or worse suffering from some bad breath hehehe.. Basically, I mean how can don’t feel “LOVED” in that dim light, plus the abundance of greenery, (lots of oxygen to feel light-headed) and if all things fail, down a more few beers and gulp a bottle of wine!

I always order the cosmopolitan, the alcohol was sufficient to make me yawn and to keep me awake, I tying the cheer stalk with the tongue. Psst…That’s a good old trick to check how good your date is at kissing!

I have come here several times because it is very popular with my visiting colleagues. I must admit the view is great for photo-taking. There are all sorts of people dining here - from couples, to families with kids, to tourists and corporate dinners. The food is, I guess at best above average. I guess the thing that got this restaurant going is the view and ambience.

What I like best from the menu is the Seafood Ragout and the Salmon Pistachio Herbed Crust. The former is a selection of prawns, slices of cod, succulent scallops, mussels and potato covered in lobster bisque, which was what made the meal. The latter, is perfectly grilled Salmon atop a delicious bed of garlic mashed potatoes. The desert though, is a total disappointment. The cheesecake assortment tasted like those store-bought, commercially packed cheesecakes. The brownie was too dry and you know it just came out of the microwave. So for someone who would die for deserts, this is big minus point!

One point to note, if you are trying to impress a date, ask for the quiet corner at the far back of the bar. The front area is too noisy from the playing band and tourists/families. If you have a corporate group, try to have them arrange it at the viewing deck; you'll have the whole place to yourselves and the view is the best.

Went to Altivo on a Fri nite for some light dinners and a bottle of wine. Dun think this place needs much introduction. This is basically one of the two restaurants up there at Mt Faber where the cable car station is (the other one being Faber Rock, I think). This place dun usually have a full house, even on public holiday eve. My frens were bounced out of so many bars and clubs on the eve of Vesak but they managed to get in Altivo that nite.

Been here several times, tried several dishes. Must say that the food is passable, not really those you would come again for. However the wine list is pretty good and mind you, they even serve Rothschild @ a price of $890. This is also quite a good place for smokers as about half of the floor size is catered to diners/drinkers who smoke. Try to get a table with cushioned benches right at the far end which allows you to see the skyline of the island. Then order a bottle and sip wine.

Eh best lah friend... atmosphere was superb..view magnificent... This is THE place to impress your DATE(Damn,i went with my food kaki,Joline J Lim again).. the food is not the best,but still the Salmon is somethin u should try..Of course,wats dinner at a nice place without a bottle of wine eh..Dessert,try the much recommended Chocolate Concorde for those chocolate lovers.. The staff wudnt try too hard to please.. if you finish your dinner n still wanna hang out,could always hang out with a glass/btl of wine at the viewing deck at the top...view to kill for..All in all,your date (provided she likes you enuff) will already be wet enuf by the time you get there,if not,she'll think you are trying too hard...

And one more thing friend..Go Prepared(Pockets filled&Cards Checked) HAHA!
Aand ladies,the place to test a man's worth..HEH!
Enjoy...

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