I went to Trattoria L'Ancora for lunch on Sunday after reading about the reviews from HGW. Parking in front of the restaurant was free, but limited. You either used the valet service, or go to the adjacent Guthrie House to park. Its a comfortably 5 min walk from Guthrie House to the restaurant.

On arrival, we were greeted by an enthusiastic Caucasian gentleman, whom I suspect is the manager or owner, who promptly introduced to us their house specials, which were written on a blackboard in the restaurant. There were 2 other Indian waiters who welcomed us. They were friendly and helpful with service.

On Sunday 1pm, there were no more than 10 diners at any 1 time. The establishment could probably sit about 30 diners at its maximum. Most of the seating is indoor. There's only 1 table for 2 for al fresco seating. At best they can probably only fit in another 1 or 2 table for al fresco seating as the outdoor area is limited. I certainly don't recommend al fresco dining even at night because its just next to the carpark.

The furnishing was cosy with dim lighting. Its wine collection was displayed openly on the walls. Italian songs played in the background (or at least I presume it was Italian lyrics)

Wife tried the house special appetiser, pan fried pork sausage served with salad, garnished with Arrabbiata sauce($22) and Cacciucco soup ($14). I had the lunch set ($20) with the choice of minestrone soup as the appetiser and Carbonara spaghetti as the main course. The set lunch also comes with dessert of the day (tiramisu) and coffee/tea.

The appetiser was average in itself. Simply pan fried sausage with eggplant. I've never tried Arrabiata sauce anywhere before, so I can't comment on it, but it was interesting to try it for the experience.

Cacciucco soup was a light tomato based soup with squid, clams and prawns. Minestrone was a clear soup with celery, brocolli, onion, carrots. Both wife and myself prefer Cacciucco soup over the minestrone. As they make the soup fresh, be prepared to wait a couple of minutes even after completing your appetiser. Then again, that's what dining in a restaurant is about, simply savouring the food at your own time.

Spaghetti carbonara was simple, but tasty. Spaghetti had bite to it. Carbonara is always heavy going as its cream based and usually it threatens to make me feel a little ill after it (jelat in Malay). However, in this case it didn't feel as heavy after eating and I felt good after it, appreciating the bits of sauce and bacon left over after finishing the pasta.

Tiramisu was quite big, comes with maple sauce syrup around it and half a strawberry. Its done in the traditional syle, which is wet. Taste wise, its average. Consistency could be improved. We compared it to the tiramisu we tried at Pasta Inc, where the latter's tiramisu's different layers seemed to amalgamate as its placed into the mouth. In the former's case, the tiramisu's different layers are too distinct, making it feel like eating a sandwich.

Coffee was concentrated with pleasant aftertaste. It maybe too concentrated for some, but it suits me fine.

Overall, the service is good. I certainly appreciate the enthusiastic introduction to the house's dishes. It demonstrates pride in their food. The restaurant's lunch and dinner set are certainly worth coming for. 4 course dinner set is available only Mon-Thu, costs $68 and comes with free flow of wine. Lunch set is available everyday, including weekends.

They don't charge 7% GST and only charges 10% service charge, which they certainly well deserve it.