Bonta Italian Restaurant & Bar

I headed to Bonta with my boyfriend a couple of months ago and I was kind of neutral about the place, because I've heard nothing much about it except for its complimentary bread which was much raved about by everyone who has patronised the place. But boy was it a pleasant surprise.

The bread was well-worth the attention that everyone was showering upon it and we were impressed by the effort put into something which was technically complimentary for the patrons. We ordered the black angus tenderloin which came with a silver of pan fried foie gras and roasted potatoes as well as the saffron risotto. The former was the star of the night. What can I say, it was definitely exceptional - the outside was perfectly chargrilled but when you cut the steak open, it was still pink inside with minimal blood, just the way i like it. The intensity of flavour of the outside was robust but the insides were sweet and tender. The foie gras was great as well, and so were the accompanying sides of veggies. Two thumbs up.

The risotto was good as well, but not on par with the standards of the steak. Still, it was done the way that I like - not too dry or wet, and and the sauce was creamy.

For dessert, we ordered the bonta trio which came with the tiramisu, warm chocolate lava cake and berry cheesecake. All were above average but I would think the berry cheesecake was the nicest, even though I'm a huge fan of tiramisu.

Would definitely be going back again. I would gladly head down for the steak whenever the craving for it arises but sadly, its a little too pricey.

Ps. I recommended this place to my friend and he thought the food was amazing as well ;)

I went with my hubby for dinner at this ronantic Italian restaurant. It was cosy and the feeling was warm and welcomed. The waiters were very polite.

We had Australian Scallops with olive and Grilled Jumbo Prawn with olive oil for starters & Home made angle hair with live lobster and roasted mediterranean seabass fillet with spinach as the main course. After huge main course, I still kept some space for their welknown tiramisu

Including the wine we spend about $340. It was a fantastic dinner. 

Read the full review at http://thehungrybunnie.blogspot.com/2010/05/bonta-italian-restaurant-bar.html

Overall, the food at Bonta is good, but we had one big gripe about the restaurant. The service was pleasant enough (no service staff was unpleasant, in fact, they were pretty sweet and nice), but the chef seemed very biased. I'm not sure which chef it was that night, but I'm pretty sure he was a chef because he was wearing a chef's white jacket.

Why do I say that the chef's service seemed biased? We noticed that he only entertained the Caucasians. We saw that he bypassed the Asians, and only spoke to the Caucasians. He was asking about their meals, recommending vinos, informing the specials. Only to the Caucasians. Maybe it was a one-off incident or maybe the chef was more comfortable speaking to Caucasians because he's Caucasian himself, but it sure looked like the chef was very preferential in his service standards to the Caucasians. Half the tables that night were occupied by Caucasians, and the other half by Asians. Throughout the time I was there, the chef approached all the tables occupied by Caucasians, but not one single table that was occupied by Asians. I was pretty disgusted by what I saw.

We ordered:

1) Oven-Baked Australian Scallops with Sauteed Garlic Spinach and Black Olive Hollandaise Sauce ($22): The scallops were plump and succulent

2) Home-Made Tagliatelle with Porcini Mushrooms, Spinach and Pan-Fried Goose Liver ($29): The pasta ribbons were soft and chewy, and I liked the addition of spinach

3) Porcini Risotto with Veal Jus and Chianti Reduction ($24). The risotto would have benefited from a few more minutes in the pot, the individual grains of rice were still very discernible.

Dining in a high quality restaurant is generally an expensive matter, except during Restaurant Week from 22nd - 28th of March. Restaurant Week commenced at Bonta over lunch. The pint sized Italian restaurant, bedecked in complete glass walls and classy taupe and white interior design, made it a perfect venue both romantic dinners, as well as professional business lunches. Lunch Menu was as followed: Starter Scottish salmon carpaccio with black olive bruschetta and herbs oil Main (Choice of one selection) * Homemade pappardelle with braised duck ragout and porcini mushrooms * Mediterranean seabass fillet with asparagus, grilled zucchini and tomato soup Dessert Homemade mango gelato with pistachio crust served with wild berry compote Coffee or Tea As soon as orders were placed, we were served with individual cups of freshly baked crusty bread with feta cheese and sundried tomatoes and pesto-like olive oil dip. I simply adore the exterior crust with bits of walnuts embbeded within its soft fluffy insides. I didn’t taste any hint of sundried tomatoes though and left the core of the bread alone where the cheese was concentrated as goat cheese is simply not my thing. Scottish salmon carpaccio was delightful with only the slighest hint of fishiness, as expected of the fish. Mediterranean seabass fillet was very fresh and the accompanying sides of salad, aparagus, grilled zucchini and crispy potatoes were ambrosial themselves. The pasta was done al dente just the way I like it, with bits of tasty duck ragout and mushroom bits mixed into the pasta gravy. Having the gelato with pistachio crust served with wild berry compote final course makes a perfect finale for this meal as the medley of flavours (sweet and fruity from the mango and sour and fresh from the wild berry) and contrasting textures (soft melting gelato against the crunchy pistachio bits) danced on my tongue. *Sigh* What more can a girl ask? Service was professional and polite. Cuckoo me forgot to bring my cellphone along and I was stranded from my friend, who happened to be waiting for me at another location. The staff was helpful to lend me the resturant phone in my attempt to ring my friend and even offered the phone again when it was unsuccessful the 1st time. When my friend finally came to the restaurant with her Starbucks drink, the friendly restaurant manager offered to pour the drink into a nice glass and even added a cherry on top of her drink as a garnish. How sweet. One gripe was that it seemed like the restaurant manger was the only one assigned to taking the food orders and waiting time could be longer than needed be, especially when he had to attend to a bigger table of diners. Also, the spacing of the tables were placed too close together that the butt of the patron next to my table brushed my arm when he attempted to get into sofa seat and my hip bumped into the table when I tried to get out. :/ Otherwise, my heartfelt thanks go out to the whole crew of Bonta who made my lunch an enjoyable one. :)

For those who enjoy a quite evening over good food and fine wine would love this fine dining Italian restaurant. Located at the River Wing of UE square, Bonta is a 2 yrs old restaurant serving Italian food. The genius in the kitchen is none other than Chef-partner Luca Pezzera, a 37-year-old native of Bergamo who has infused his delicious Italian dishes with subtle hints of his adopted tropical home. After spending more than five years as the Executive Chef at Hotel InterContinental-Jakarta (where he pioneered and established Scusa), I noticed that this Luca is not your typical Italian chef. In his creations you won’t find heavy sauces, chock full of heart-burning spices that predominate in most Italian dishes. Instead, subtle Asian influences permeate his dishes, bringing you a sweeter, lighter taste that is truly refreshing on the palate and of a quality unmatched anywhere else I have eaten. I don’t know exactly what his secret is; perhaps this graduate of the San Pellegrino School of Hoteliers developed his style during his tours of duty in Turkey, Jordan, Switzerland, Scotland or Dubai. The ambience there is cool and romantic, definately perfect for a romantic dinner. They have private cheese room and wine cellar. Complimentary Bread Muffin-shaped freshly baked bread with feta and sundried tomatoes, the aroma of which make the whole experience far tastier and delightful. The bread is served in a cup and it is filled with walnuts and feta cheese. The crust is very flaky(eat it while it’s warm!) while the interior is soft. I was a little allergic to the walnuts and dislike feta cheese thus I only had the crust. Well, they would kindly replace the bread with white/ ciabatta bread. However, i wouldn’t want to miss out this bread as it is being raved by lots of people. I pinched a little of the crust and the flakiness of the crust won me over. Degustation of 3 different dishes There are just too many choices on the appetitzers section and when the service staff told me I could actually get the degustation – pick any 3-4 items . I was overjoyed as I could sample a few of their popular dishes. I made my choices carefully and asked for recommendations. I wanted to sample the zucchini flower filled with mushroom ragout and unfortunately, it was not available today. These are what I had: Rocket lettuce salad The rocket leaves were served with roasted pine nuts (omitted), pears, pecorino cheese and white balsamic honey dressing. It was pretty good as a starter and the pears were really sweet. Oven Baked Australian Scallops Scallops are diffcult to handle and prepare well. It mustn’t be cooked for too long as the meat would be tough. This rendition of Australian Scallop is lightly-seared and served with sauteed spinach and black olive hollandaise sauce. The scallop is soft and tender in every bite with oomph factor. The sauce which is a little creamy goes well with the scallop. Ocean Trout and Jumbo crabmeat roll I simply loveeee this! The ocean trout is wrapped with creamy crabmeat like japanese sashimi. The fish is very fresh without any fishy taste. The crabmeat is mixed with some mayonnaise and served together with a slice of grapefruit , avacado and tomatoes with blood orange dressing. It is very light and not heavy. Alantic cod fillet There were 3 fish and seafood dishes on the menu and they do have a chef’s special- Sea bream fillet. One of their signature dish is the roasted mediterrean seabass fillet. The service waiter recommended me the cod fish fillet as the portion is slightly smaller compared to the seabass. Shots of the Alantic cod fillet (with flash) The huge fillet of cod is lightly roasted, the skin is crispy & tender and juicy on the inside. The fish managed to retain it’s rich flavour after roasting. It is served together with grilled asparagus, cherry tomatoes, mashed potatoes and finished it with parsely sauce. I have requested them to prepare some sauce to go along with the fish and they served the Saffron emulsion. Actually the fish is quite juicy and flavouful and there isn’t a need for any sauce. Towards the end, i felt that the fish seems to be a little tough. Perhaps it has turned cold and therefore the texture becomes a little tough. Verdict: The best dish was the Ocean Trout and crabmeat roll,the simplicity and freshness of the fish won me over. At the end of the meal, they served a small portion of home-made chocolates to me. However, I was simply too bloated after finishing that huge piece of cod fish thus I left it untouched. A pity I forgot to snap a picture. I shall leave room for desserts for the next visit. The service here is impeccable. The service staffs are prompt , efficient and have good product knowledge. They would walk around to interact with the customers to ask for feedbacks and rooms for improvements.

For full review and photos, please visit HungryEpicurean at http://www.hungryepicurean.com/

Saint Valentine’s Day, this year, coincidentally fell on the 1st day of the Lunar New Year. For many, it would have been a toss between joining in the festivities of the New Year or celebrating Valentine’s Day. For the lucky few, like myself, managed to celebrate both.

Strangely enough, even as florists and restaurateurs (clearly) profit from the occasion, many people still splurge on this particular day. Commercialized, as it may be, but I, for one truly appreciate the significance behind Saint Valentine’s Day – showing appreciation for someone you love (in any form, as friends or as lovers or as family).

Admittedly, if 2 people are truly and deeply in love, to them, every single day would be Valentine’s. I could not have put it any better than a friend of mine who commented, that any acts of love on the 14th of February every year would be futile if all the other 364 days were spent arguing.

Valentine’s dinner was not an elaborate 9 course, S$15,000 affair;

5 star hotel Swissotel The Stamford’s S$15,000 Sky’s the Limit package  comprises of a candlelit nine-course dinner – on the hotel’s helipad, 225m from the ground – prepared by Jaan chef Andre Chiang.

But rather a simple, albeit an impromptu, 4 course dinner at Bonta located at UE Square. UE Square is located at the junction of Mohd Sultan Road and Robertson Quay. Bonta, specifically, is located at a corner of UE Square facing Mohd Sultan Rd.

Not wanting to be sweltering under the scorching heat, and brave the humidity, we got ourselves an indoor table for 2. The dimly lit interiors added to the cosy ambience of the evening. A personalized menu, printed on Conquerer paper no less, lay waiting on every table for your perusal.

The fixed St. Valentine’s menu consists of 2 appetizers, a choice of a main from 2 choices, a dessert and coffee/tea to end off the meal.

A waitress asks for for your choice of drink, still or sparkling, and your choice of the main course and the dinner adventure begins.

Both of us had heard of Bonta’s infamous Complimentary Bread with Feta Cheese and with such heightened expectations, we were hoping that the bread did not disappoint. And disappoint it most definitely did not! Served hot, it was stuffed with feta cheese, sun-dried tomatoes. Moreover, the bread was served in a white porcelain tumbler in a connical shape  which just adds to the visual appeal of the bread.

While there was a pesto-like olive oil dip, honestly, the bread tasted fantastic on its own. Almost like an additional appetizer on its own.

The Wild Scottish salmon carpaccio served with tiger prawns and citrus mint salad was decent. Yes, the Salmon was fresh and the mayonnaise or cream below the salmon helped to cut through any fishiness of the fish (if any). However, I felt that the clincher of this dish had got to be the tiger prawns. The prawns were crunchy to the bite, a tell tale sign of freshness and tasted well-marinated. However, both my partner and myself felt that the citrus mint salad was somewhat over powering. Personally, I would preferred a more gentle approach to the citrus quotient on the dressing.

The Homemade black tagliolini with jumbo crab meat in a spicy tomato sauce and basil was great! The pasta was a little less than al-dente, but considering how this was home made pasta, it would have been difficult to achieve  an al-dente bite. Nonetheless, alongside the generous serving of crab meat in the full-flavoured sauce, the dish literally left you wanting for more with every single bite! The crab meat and its jus helped to infuse a yummy seafood flavour to the sauce.

The Pan Roasted Mediterranean sea bass fillet in a saffron black mussel broth was my partner’s dish of choice, as she does not take beef. I tried a little and I agreed completely with her comment that while it was decent, she most definitely had tasted better renditions of this dish elsewhere. Add that to the fact that seabass is not one of her favourite fishes. She too, added that the sides and (very small) mussels were not much to compliment on.

My order of the Grilled black Angus beef tenderloin on Tuscan style roast potato, served with wild mushrooms ragout and foie gras sauce had got to be the star of the day! I had ordered a grilled beef tenderloin at Au Petit Salut a few days prior to this meal and while that was disappointing, Bonta’s rendition has got to be one of the better ones I’ve had in a while! The tenderloin, was cooked perfectly to the doneness I had ordered – Medium and had this char-grilled flavour that I so adore! Tender to the bite yet oozing with flavour upon each bite! May I also add that I was surprised with the decently large serving portion, as I was expecting a much smaller portion.

The white chocolate-raspberry cake served with Baileys sauce and mascarpone cream was decent. As I found out from her, white chocolate and raspberry is a relatively common pairing – Firstly, the raspberry is suitable to cut through the sweetness of the white chocolate and secondly, doesn’t the colour combination look lovely?

I’ll have to commend that the Bailey’s sauce was well prepared as you could literally taste the Baileys liqueur and that was quite the plus point for me. I personally felt that this dessert could have done with a little less nuts for they overpowered the subtle flavours of the dessert. While there was nothing much else to note of this dessert, it put a sweet ending to a delicious dinner.

May I just add that the service at Bonta was nothing short of exemplary – Especially so for the hospitable manager Roberto Ume, who so kindly showed us around the restaurant and private room and talked to us a little bit of his restaurant, his personal life and basically a chat amongst friends. I fall for tiny bits of attention, an attention-seeker, if you must, so that little attention that we was showered with, definitely got my thumbs up for their service. Yes, you get the occasional moments where you have to raise your hand for a while to get the attention of a wait staff for the bill or seeking help with getting photographs taken, but your glasses are never empty and your cutlery always laid out nicely in the proper order in front of you.

A yummy dinner amongst sweet company; what’s there not to love?

Bonta Italian Restaurant & Bar

207 River Valley Road
#01-61 UE Square (River Wing)

Tel: (65) 6333 8875

http://www.bonta.com.sg/

For full review and photos, please visit HungryEpicurean at http://www.hungryepicurean.com/

First of all let me tell you this is a fine dining restaurant. So expect good service, good food and not good price. The ambience is elegant and warm. The Chef (I believe he`s also the owner) is italian. We booked a table for 2 and we had enough space and nice spot next to the window. We shared a Beef Carpaccio as entree and 2 risotto as main course: Seafood risotto with bottarga and prosecco and mushrooms risotto. Excellent. We have been suggested regarding some appropriate wine. Nothing to complain. Definately a bit expensive but I think it worths the all package. I suggest this place.

When my parents called Bonta to make a reservation 2 days in advance they said that it was full. And when we wanted to go there again for a Sunday brunch, we wanted to come in and then a man came out and said that the whole restaurant was full. I thought that it was impossible that a restaurant will be full everyday that! I think there is something strange going on. Maybe it is because of the white truffle mushroom promotion. But this will be my first and maybe last time to go to Bonta! Anyway, I can still find better Italian restaurants than this!

The food here is really splendid. The rocket salad was simple but tasty and refreshing to the taste buds. Not at all loaded with olive oil or any sort of dressings.

The seafood risotto was just nice - not too wet or dry, nor was it soggy. The prawn spaghetti was pure and flavourful. It's not soaking in olive oil and you could taste the pureness of each ingredient.

Had the Bonta Trio for dessert, which includes the warm melted chocolate, tiramisu and chef's creation of the day - which tasted like it was cheese icecream. Sounds interesting huh? Tasted good too. My personal favourite of the three was the warm melted chocolate cake, which is slightly different from those I've had before - there was a bit of a crunch, which I liked.

Add to that an extensive wine list... it's gonna be one of my preferred Italian restaurants here.

Simple, pure goodness. Totally blown away.

We've been hearing good things about the food at Bonta for a long time but somehow never managed to go. We took the opportunity of the UOB 1-for-1 set dinner promotion to give it a try. Although the first time I called for reservation on the same day I wanted to go (1 hr before I wanted to go), I was told I needed to call at least 1 day ahead. I couldn't imagine what kind of "special" menu they had planned for us special UOB card holders that they didn't have the ingredients on hand. This almost put me off enough to not bother calling for another reservation, but hubby convinced me to give it another chance, and we finally went on National Day and our friends were right, the food was excellent.

Before the food, we were served piping hot walnut bread rolls baked in a cup, like a popover, but it was filled with feta cheese. I love to see restaurants putting in an effort to make their own bread, like Forlino used to do...

For starter, we had a crab/salmon roll that was light and full of flavors. Next, we had home-made parpadelle in wild mushroom sauce. Unlike a previous reviewer's experience, our parpadelle was definitely home-made, with the tell-tale bouncy chewy texture. The wild mushroom flavor was very pronounced in the creamy sauce, although button mushrooms were the only visible ones on the plate. IMHO, even if you use dry wild mushroom to infuse the cream with flavors, it'd be a nice touch to throw in just a few fresh ones, along with the button mushrooms on the plate for good measure. But I really can't fault the dish for its taste.

For main there are two choices: wagyu beef cheek and cod. The beef cheek had the nicest flavors I've tasted of any braised beef dishes in a long while. Most of the time, the flavor is very one-toned, but Bonta's was very complex. I thought it could've been cooked a little longer, but hubby said he liked it with a little bite. The cod was seared to perfection: a thin crispy layer on the ouside, crumbly thick petals of meat on the inside.

Dessert was a mango sorbet coated in pistachio and some berry sauce. The mango flavor was not strong enough and the strawberries were so sour we were wincing the whole time.

If you only look at the food, this dinner is fantastic, especially if you take into account the $78/2 price tag. However, you can't separate the food from the service and what left a bad after taste is the untrained and unfriendly staff at Bonta.

Here is everything that went wrong at dinner:
1. From the minute we walked in, to the minute we finished (dinner only lasted 1 hour, because no break was left in btwn courses) not one of the service staff (2 waiters, a waitress and a junior waitor) cracked a smile. I know it was a public holiday and they probably would rather be watching the fireworks or the NDP rather than working, but is it so hard to put on a pleasant face?

2. Despite only having two tables occupied when we arrived (one of which on the raised platform area) the hostess directed the waiter to seat us at a table directly facing a hallway in a corner. They seated us at the tables along the wall when I asked, but still, why would you put customers in the worst seat when the place is virtually empty?

2. We asked for sparkling water and rather than asking us if we wanted another bottle when the first bottle was finished, they kept on opening up new ones. The last bottle was opened when we each had more than half a glass and were finishing up our main.

3. Hubby had red wine with his beef and finished it just before dessert arrived. The waiter asked him if he wanted another glass when dessert was served. Maybe we expect too much, but this was not the junior staff, so he should've known to ask whether we wanted a dessert wine, rather than pushing for more red wine.

4. Nobody explained anything when they set down each dish in front of us. This is either indicates poor training or the fact that the wait staff don't take pride in the food they serve and don't give a damn if customers know what they're eating. I forgot the flavor of the sorbet and when I asked, the junior staff who brougth it out had to go get another waiter to come out and answer it. By that time I could've tasted it and found out myself.

5. Nobody asked if we wanted coffee or tea after our dessert so we were left sipping our still very full water glasses with nothing else on the table. After a few minutes, we decided to just get the check and end this dinner experience, which could've been fantastic if it hadn't been ruined by the inadequate service.

Would I go back to Bonta again? I really don't know. It was as if we ate at two different restaurants. The food was from a top-notch fine dining restaurant, whereas the service staff came from some cheap road-side eatery where they received no training on the food or how to serve.