People who have dined there seem to concur in that Chiara should be attracting a much larger crowd than it currently does. The place isn't huge, the setting is rather intimate (although the piped music is slightly annoying), but the emptiness of the restaurant did bother me when I was eating there, especially considering the quality of food served!

The realisation of the sheer number of dining choices available at the robertson quay area came as quite a shock to me. I suppose a central location minus the associated bustle would attract diners in droves, but I digress. We made our way to Chiara to celebrate a birthday, having heard good things about it, and I wasn't disappointed, even if not precisely enthralled by the experience.

The service was attentive throughout, at the beginning of the night when there was only one other group of diners in the restaurant, I found the hovering waiters (as tends to happen when places are overstaffed) slightly creepy. Other than that, the staff spoke good English and were prompt in their service. Our group didn't really seek their help in making any choices or special requests, so I suppose this took away their chance to shine.

On to the food. Firstly, the ubiquitous bread basket was unfortunately sub-par. The crust was unpleasantly chewy and the bread wasn't warm. It was also slightly on the dense side (I prefer fluffy). The dipping saucers holding the vinegar and olive oil was also undersized with respect to the bread, and we had to either tear or fold the pre-cut slices of bread in order to dip them. I know it's very minor, but I'm just picking bones here.

For appetisers, we had the Hokkaido scallops and Parma ham with melon. The Parma ham dish came with a decently large portion of prosciutto, and precisely 4 melon balls about 2/3 the size of a ping-pong ball. I know the highlight of the dish is supposed to be the ham, but I do like how fresh, sweet melon goes well with the cured ham. This was mildly amusing. For the record, the ham was satisfactory. It was also fortunate that we'd ordered 2 portions of the scallops, each portion arrived in the form of 2 scallops sitting in some sauce. The scallops weren't THAT flavourful, but they were quite big, and seeing big scallops on the table pleases me.

I tried the mains served to my friends, and from what little I tried (that's a qualifier right there), I will attempt to pass judgment. The spaghetti vongole, a perennial favourite in my book, was pretty good. The clams were slightly undersized, but they were nicer than those you get in your average serving of vongole. The white wine sauce went well with the spaghetti, and it was a successful iteration, albeit nothing to rave about.

The prawns linguine was nice, and went well with the creamy sauce, but it was supposed to contain sea urchin and champagne as well. The flavours were overpowered by the hearty cream based sauce, and although it was quite good, I think this dish failed to realise its full potential. I love sea urchin and champagne both, and I did get my hopes up when I saw the name of the dish, but there was barely a hint of both elements in the dish.

The guinea fowl stuffed with foie gras was excellent, but I am biased toward foie gras so I shall not rave too much. The fowl was done very well and it went great with the stuffing though!

My main of Tagliatelle with beef tenderloin in truffle sauce was pretty good. I liked how the strong truffle flavour shone through the cream based sauce. I also liked the beef alot, the thin tenderloin portions were done quite nicely, just on the rare side of medium. I did have a large, thick piece of beef in my pasta which was slightly undercooked and chewy, but again I'm just picking bones. The portobello mushrooms with the dish were great too, but what I did not like were the thin cheese shavings in the dish. The taste was a bit too strong for my liking, because cheese was definitely not the best part of the dish. I didn't really like the choice of pasta either, I feel something slightly narrower, and perhaps a tad thicker would have gone better with the sauce, but I have a feeling that this is purely personal.

Overall, Chiara is good, slightly dear but still within mid-range pricing for rather good food. I think this place has the right idea, hearty Italian cuisine done with a touch of class. Now all they need to do is sort out that bread basket.

Nice cosy ambience and friendly staff helped settle us in, with the freshly baked bread and top notch balsamic vinegar signaling greater things to come.

The menu is small but offers something for all tastes. Minestrone soup is thinner than usual but tasted good according to my dad. The daily special cream of capsicum was surprisingly good, with all the smooth sweetness and none of the tart flavours in peppers. The Parma Ham and Rock Melon was superb, the meat melt-in-the-mouth tender without any mustiness or off-tastes, good portion of ham but puzzlingly tiny serving of melon.

The Prawns Linguine with Sea Urchin and Champagne Sauce sounds wonderful, but came across stodgy and bland. Prawns were fresh and plentiful, but the sauce was one-dimensional, the delicate flavor of sea-urchin barely surfacing at all, and the champagne failing to add sufficient acidity to perk up the dish (although the aroma was lovely). Not a bad dish at all, but paling in comparison with the rest.

The serving of Pork Chop (can’t recall the dish name) was generous and done to perfection – slightly pink, juicy and bursting with rustic flavor. Very satisfying, and a testament to the chefs’ way with meat.

The famed chocolate ravioli was delicious and well-made with incredibly smooth and perfect-looking skins, we could polish off another 2 servings easily. The Apple Tart was unremarkable (expect a dryer, thinner European version and not a juicy American style pie), though the accompanying cinnamon ice cream was marvelous – gritty and rustic, adding a very home-made feel to the platter.

The one suggestion I would make is for the wait-staff to be a little less enthusiastic in asking for comments. While it is always nice to be checked on ONCE, repeated questionings become intrusive, even if they are done with the best intentions. I’m not the first to comment on this, so hopefully management reads this and acts to make this place a true class act.

My hubby and I went there 3 times within 1 month, after reading great reviews of this restaurant here! Quality of food wise, there's nothing much to fault. A must try is the Guinea fowl with foie gras which was fantastic and melts in your mouth. We also ate the veal loin, Hokkaido scallops, Foie Gras, tagliatelle with beef in truffle sauce, lamb rack, berkshire pork, tiramisu and chocolate ravioli which were ALL nicely executed.

What we didn't really appreciate were the very unique Minestrone soup (too watery for me) and the other scallop appetizer which we really couldn't tell if there were scallops in it! The beef tenderloin was a little dry but my friends ordered it medium well so I couldn't really comment.

What we really did not appreciate was the lack of service! First time there, the waiter was really thoughtful and always anxiously asking for feedback. The chef even came out to present his dessert to us. That was great, so we went back. Second time round, they forgot the bread and olives and appeared rather supercilious. Was it the way we dressed? Third time round, we wanted our friends to try the food, so we went. This time, the bread was stale.

All in all, you couldn't really go wrong with the food there unless you are really fastidious. However, for the amount paid, we expected impeccable service.

Its a must go for Citibank card members (15% off) and if you are one, don't bother with the free appetiser w/ main course promotion card if you do get one. You can't order the foie gras or hokkaido scallops with it. So the 15% discount is a better deal.

Chiara far supasses its more famous italian cousins.
It's central location makes it easy to get to. And it pricing is very reasonable.
Personally I think when you walk past it, it appears very high end. But when you read the menu it has a braod selection and very good med range pricing.
The wine list is extensive and offers many choices to suit most price ranges.
The cuisine is modern italian and of very high quality.
The young chefs here are both European and bring a true understanding of Italian ingredients.
The freshly baked bread was warm and chewy. Just like a good italian bread should be.
The homemade ravioli of Celeriac truly delectable. The Cod was generous in portion and the sauce light but flavorsome. This was my second time here in a week. Just have to keep going back to try the rest of the menu.

If you look at my previous reviews, you would know that I diligently hunt down Italian restaurants that I hear are good. I get such indefinable simple joy when I find an outstanding one. It's been a while actually and I'm happy to say Chiara reminds me of all that's good in Italian food.

First impressions were positive. Besides the warm bread, they served us a small bowl of pitted olives. The olives had a tart, fruity taste and a good bite to them. I enjoyed popping them into my mouth randomly throughout the meal.

I had my eyes peeled for the famed squid ink fettucine but alas, they had just launched a new menu. The list of items was not extensive, but hey that's sometimes a good thing (if you have watched Gordon Ramsey's Restaurant Makeover, you will agree). In the end, I had the tagliatelle with beef in truffle sauce. The tagliatelle was al dente, beef was moist and juicy and the truffle sauce added another layer of taste to the dish. Thumbs up.

My friend, Greedy Das, was swooning in a corner over the guinea fowl with foie gras. I took the drumstick from her and agreed. The waiters were all slightly manic in asking how she liked the dish as it was a new one they were just trying out. The third waitress to ask her said the owner sitting outside was most anxious to know.

Dessert - yums yums yums. The waiter greatly emphasised that we were to eat the dark chocolate ravioli with the ice cream to counter the bitterness of the dark chocolate. But I dig dark chocolate and it was good! I also liked the crust of the apple tart and the cinnamon ice cream (which they say they get straight from France). Would prefer my apple tart be more pie-like and less waffle-like, a true torta della nonna, but this goes as well.

All in all, I can't wait for my second visit. I've been busy telling friends about this place because I think there's a true danger it will close. Business was slow and it was only towards 9pm+ that some customers came trickling in. It will be a real shame if this gem goes away and all these other freaking mediocre blah restaurants survive. My boss says it's the fengshui (!!), that previous restaurants in the same location had all closed pretty fast.

My only gripe - the glass of Prosecco at S$16++ was overpriced!

Ps. If you look at all the other reviews for this place, there's inevitably one person ticking "I don't agree with this review". Boy does someone have a vendetta against Chiara.....