I went here at lunchtime on a Sunday and it was dead. This was a warning sign I should have heeded but the reviews made the place sound so promising. I note now that those reviews are all quite old and perhaps this place has gone a bit downhill since then.

The decor is dingy Italian taverna, complete with plastic grape vines, dusty bottles of olive oil and fake garlic on the walls. The music, played just a little too loud, was 60s/70s... ranging from Tom Jones to the Bee Gees.

The two waitresses were attentive - as you would expect having only 3 tables to serve. Still, in many other places, idle staff talk amongst themselves and are impossible to hail. So this was a plus.

The menu is expansive, a bit too so given how little business they seem to do. The newspaper clipping on the wall describes the cuisine as "an interesting mix of Japanese and Italian."

At my first attempt at ordering, I managed to pick an item that was unavailable. I suspect that most items that are not prepared from frozen are not consistently available.

We split a starter (chicken wings) and each had a fish course. The chicken wings were decent - moist and crunchy though 6 wings for $10 seems a bit toppish.

We each had a fish main. My "house choice" Salmon Hollandaise was served with cold vegetables. The fish, cooked from frozen, was mostly tasteless and the grilled, dried out hollandaise sauce did nothing to enhance the dish.

My partner's sea bream with sambal was much better. The fish tasted fresh and although we suspect that the sambal was not homemade as billed, it was good - fiery and sweet. With a squeeze of lime the whole thing came together well.

Overall the experience was mediocre. I won't be returning however the much more popular Foo House a few doors down, with a simpler and more focused menu, looks worth a try the next time I'm in this area.

We arrive on Sat 08 Dec'07, about 11pm and we were shortly ushered to a cosy corner near the wine cellar. Romantic and quiet were the first thoughts in my mind. A waitress was quite attentive and showed us the menu for food and drinks.

I asked for the Wine menu and we selected a Riesling white. It was marvelous, the clean and sweetness that linger in our lips. Welll, I can't recall the name of the wine BUT the wine menu Only sells 1 type of Riesling.
(Do Check out its Website ).

A lot of effort was put into its decor to create a christmasee ambience. Except for one flaw. We noticed a Happy Birthday decor above our heads.. hee / Maybe they have forgotten to remove it and left it for the next Bday Kid.

The customers came in intervals, filling up this small and cosy cafe. The music, ranges from Jazz to Acoustics and then to cantonese melodies... Simply Marvelous!

If you're here with your date, its a sure kill and bull's eye for real!
(Wish all you Guys and Gals Happiness ya! )

No comments for food wise as we didn't dine there. However, I would consider having a meal some time.

In conclusion, this is one unlikely Cafe which you won't want to Miss!

Miss U Café is another one of those “interesting-looking” places we’d drove by, caught our interest, and decided to short-list for a visit. Of course, the good reviews we later saw on HGW added to our cause but being a little out of the way, it took us a good couple of weeks before we found the opportunity to make that call.

We visited during a recent weekday evening and the Christmas tree had already been set up. The twinkling lights beckoned us to enter. Coupled with the tealight candles placed on each table (outdoors and indoors) to illuminate and set the mood at the dimly-lit café, everything looks rather perfect through the glass door and panels. But all these were quickly destroyed as we strolled indoors.

Some Cantonese album was playing in the background. I felt like I’d just entered an old-styled Hong Kong café! It was a complete mismatch to the view we had just seconds ago (yes, through the apparently rather sound-proof glass window). Now don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against Cantonese songs and surely not the early 90s legends like Beyond and Jackie Cheung but it was a stark contrast to the image painted by the décor and setting of the place.

A waitress rushed to greet us at the door and gestured us to a small table nearby. Rather attentive to incoming customers, I’d say. She also handed us the menu for orders. My bf had opted for the Daily Set Meal (S$16.90) which comprised of a soup of the day, a slice of garlic bread, sea bream in cream sauce with seasonal vegetables, a drink (coffee/tea/soft drink) and a scoop of ice cream. I had decided on the Black Pepper Garlic Chicken (S$13.90), which was a restaurant recommendation. We also ordered a Calamari Fritto (S$7.90) to share.

Now, I have always thought that ordering calamari is a gamble, even more so at a new unfamiliar restaurant, and often abstained from taking it unless my dining companion insists. Not many places can do it well and more often than the other, it ends up like some oil-soaked thick rubber bands. But something made me suggest it this time round. I don’t know what it was but it was a wise choice indeed! The fresh juicy rings were seasoned in a pepper and salt spice and fried to precision – the outer batter is a crisp crunch yet the inner rings remains soft and succulent. It was definitely one of the better ones I had! Not to mention that it came with both tartar and salsa sauce and a side salad. It may do good as a light meal if you're not too hungry.

My black pepper chicken was rather tasty except the sauce was a wee bit salty and the skin was somewhat oily. I contended with the thought of ridding it but as that would include removing the sauce and spices which lay generously on top, I decided to laugh twice as hard at the next few jokes I hear instead (erm.. did someone once say laughing burned twice the calories? ;p).

Bf’s fish was nothing to rave about. In fact, I was pretty thankful I hadn’t picked it. Although the fish was fresh, I didn’t enjoy the somewhat weird buttery-tasting sauce served over it (snitched a wee bite from his plate). Sides of blanched seasonal vegetables (matchstick carrots, snow peas and baby corn) brightened the chunks of white. If only it'd tasted as good as it looked.

Summing it up, the calamari would probably be the only thing that will draw me back to the place. Well, perhaps the friendly servers too. And when that happens, we would be sure to give the other specialties a shot, before ruling a final verdict. After all, good service can be such a rarity in this nation!

Just came back from a nice dinner with my husband. We have passed it many times but this is the first time we ever stepped foot into the shop. We were pleasantly surprised by the nice and cosy ambience. They certainly put in the effort to create a romantic and yet, 'classy' class for meals and gatherings. The range of food offered is also very encouraging. For pasta alone, they have a good 2 pages full of dishes. Prices? Definitely affordable. The place has won several awards for their wines too.

I had the seafood marinara for $15.90 while my husband tried his hands and taste buds on the 'Must Try' Salmon Hollandaise for $16.90. The seafood marinara is sweet and not too heavily sauced. It makes it very light and easy for the stomach. The ingredients include the usual squids, prawns and green mussels. However, I was surprised to find fish. Wow...that's something new. My husband was more intrigued by the other shell they used (in addition to the mussels) - Family VENERIDAE; Tapes (Tapes) dorsatus (LAMARCK, 1818). A shell which he said is hardly used as an ingredient in dishes. Well, he is the expert and I would like to just leave it as that. It sure was entertaining seeing him going on about his shells and of course, examining them during the dinner. The salmon is really nice. It was cooked to perfection, crispy on the outside and tender and hot on the inside. Yummy! The potato slices (one of the sides) were also fried 'just right'. Not too salty which is just what I need. Wow...you should really try the salmon. Lesson No. 1? Just order the 'Must Trys' It would be a good way to start the meal.

Dessert is 'My Little Brownie' - simply just brownie and ice-cream. It was delicious. Huge, chunky peacan nuts, when mixed in your mouth with the warm fudge and cold vanilla ice-cream, just makes it heavenly....now, it is a good way to end the already good meal.

Besides the food, we are VERY IMPRESSED with the service. Everyone was all smiles and mind you, the smiles are genuine. You can really feel it and it certainly warms up the place even more. We are personally very pleased with Antonio's service. He is one of the waiters working there and he went the extra mile to make sure that the customers are comfortable. First, I saw him approached a couple and asked if they would like to change to a cooler spot in the restaurant. Well, when they arrived, the place was packed and the coupled ended up sitting in one of the corner, which to me, is good enough but guess Antonio would prefer showing his customers the extra care. My husband asked Antonio if he could have the other half of the shell that he is very fasinated about. Even though the chef has already thrown them away, Antonio offered to keep a bag of them for my husband. And he did it with a smile. Now, that's service.

Overall, a good causal dining experience. We would definitely go back again.

Finally a cosy place to chill out in this eastern region of Singapore. This cafe serves surprisingly tasty delights at affordable prices. The menu holds a wide variety of appetizers, italian cuisine (includes pizzas), western food (includes grilled gourmets). I only managed to try the Fried Calamari which was above average with the fritto sauce, i tried the salami pizza which was delicious, however the Salmon Salad had more salmon than veggies in this salad! What i also noticed about the cafe was that they carried a wide variety of wine and beers going at $7 bucks a glass. The ambience was very cosy and vineyard like with draping leaves giving the place a close to authentic vintage feel to it all! Its the first of "boutqiue cafe" opening around the this part of the east and i hope that stretch will start developing into something similar to hillcrest or siglap.