Modesto's has certainly refocussed their target audience since their first outlet at the Orchard Parade hotel. I've not been to Modesto's in years and was still under the impression of the dark and somewhat cosy setting they had at the Orchard Parade hotel...which seem like it was designed for people who wanted a discrete and quiet dining experience.

I thought I walked into a pizza hut at Modesto's at Vivo. It was bigger, brighter and a lot more colorful then I expected. Was there fairly early before the dinner crowd streamed in. It was filled up within an hour by families, young-ish couples and the odd tourists.

I was looking forward to this really yummy pizza I had a few years back which had an egg in the centre of the pizza. I scanned and scruitinised every each of the menu only to find out from the waiter that they don't have a pizza like that...not before she gave me an odd "are you in the right restaurant" look.

Dissappointed, I was half tempted to go to another joint. Settled on a pasta dish with chicken and mushroom in creamy tomato sauce. (Can't remember what it was called).

I REALLY should have left on the onset. The pasta looked and tasted like yellow noodle...over cooked and the dish was barely warm when it was served. The tomato cream sauce tasted like it was out of a can...which it probably is but somehow they could have done a better job masking it.

The dessert was a bit more satisfying. I went with the tiramisu seeing that it probably was the safest bet. The portion was more than generous...enough to share amongst 3. They've probably tweaked the recipe to cater to the family crowd as I could hardly taste any alcohol in it.

I'll probably go back if I was still a kid in school who didn't know better.

Okay, I've been to this place a few too many times without writing a review so I figure it's about time as I just went last night.

This time, we decided to share everything instead of getting our own stuff.

We ordered Carpaccio Funghi, a Quattro Formaggi pizza and Ravioli Di Pesce.

First off, the Carpaccio - I really enjoy carpaccio so I went with this. Good stuff. I liked the rocket and the mushrooms.. but the sliced beef was a wonderful touch to a salad.

What can I say about the Quattro Formaggi? I love this pizza and would eat it all day. ahaha

The Ravioli was pretty okay. Not spectacular but this is pretty okay.

I kind of like this restaurant because it's tucked in a corner of Vivocity and where the better restaurants have huge long lines, the horrid ones are empty, Modesto's is strangely devoid of lines and serves damned good food. The service is pretty good (although could be really much better) and I love the ambience.

I'll keep going again because of the good Italian food and also because I don't have to wait to get a table on a Saturday night!

I had such a good time at Modesto's Singapore at Orchard that I thought I would try out the branch at Vivo City.

After masquarading and walking back at forth showing off my latest fashion at the "please wait to be seated sign", I decided to take things into my own hands and seated myself at an empty available table.

I started out with the mushroom soup which was a typical cream musrhoom soup with intense bits of mushroom floating around. I then had the calamari which was alright. The squid used was rather fresh and the dish came out pleasant. For my main course I decided to go with the Osso Buco, which was the one dish that really disappointed me. The veal was cooked nicely, but the sauce was tasteless due to an over-infusion of olive oil which spoilt the taste.

Maybe I should have stuck to their tried and tested pastas! Oh well, another lesson learnt in my culinary expedition.

The first time we visited this outlet, we waited at the entrance (from the shopping mall) like any obedient, law-abiding citizen would. The Sign said "Please wait to be seated".

Waiters & waitresses strolled back & forth, each with an expression that reinforced The Sign. Empty tables & seats filled a third of the restaurant. A hostess came up to us & said "Table for how many?". 3 was our immediate answer & we were all present. But she walked off as quickly as she appeared. 15 minutes later, a couple came & stood behind us, following our obedient behaviours but left after 5 minutes. They were smarter.

Losing sight of the hostess, we moved inwards, hoping to catch another's attention. That we did, after storming up to the host who was showing 2 other couples, walking in from the outside entrance, to an empty table right in front of us. So much for service. I refrained myself from burning The Sign that caused all the "misunderstanding".

Once seated, we were still fuming. The expressions on the waiters/waitresses changed to become "Please don't eat me". It was obvious no one wants to serve angry guests. The supervisor/manager made a limp effort to apologise for the wait & "misunderstanding" blah blah blah. *Sigh* Don't they expect people to understand English as simple as the words on The Sign?

The brave beer promoter lady saved the day by popping up cheerily to offer us Chilled Beer on Promotion. Once we were chilled, a waiter came to take our orders. Perfect timing.

Ok, Thin-Crust Pizza was really not bad. Blame it on the authentic Pizzas I had already been introduced to, in another place another time, I know my expectations have been set pretty high. We chose Rucola salad, Parma Ham & Artichoke on our pizzas. The choice made all the difference. Perhaps if I wasn't such a grudge-bearing person, I might've enjoyed it even more.

To some extent (more to some, maybe less to others), service is part of the package when it comes to dining out. I don't go to a restaurant to pick out bad service, which sticks out like a sore thumb anyway. I go to fulfill my hunger, to tantalise my palates & to decide if I would return or recommend it.

2 service points for the beer-lady who kept our glasses filled in attempts to mend our "broken" spirits, although I forgot the name of the beer we had. 1 service point for the smart waiter who knew when we were ready to order.

In this case, I would retry Modesto's pizzas at another outlet & try the other restaurants at Vivo.

I've been to the branch at Orchard Parade countless of times and I'm proud to say that the quality/standard of the food is consistent even at this branch at Vivo.

If you like thin-crust, wood fired pizza, this is the place to be. Forget about the thick fat doughs, less-than-generous toppings pizzas you get at Pizza Hut. They're a different league altogether.

The must trys are always the
1. Linguine Modesto
2. Pizza margarita
3. Garlic Bread
4. Tiramisu

The Linguine Vongole is decent but only if I want to eat something a little bit lighter as its brothed in white wine sauce. Their cream based pasta like the Cabonara can be a bit "jelak" not because it doesnt taste good but simply because that's how cream pastas are.

Service is alright and my iced water was refilled continuously. No complaints about the place and I'll definately be back for more.