The Vines Seafood & Steak Restaurant

Ambience: Acceptable. Located within easy walking distance of Novena MRT. Small, but serviceable toilet.

 

Food: Above Average

All main courses come with free garlic bread.

 

Garlic bread: Poor. One of the bread was way too crispy while the other wasn’t. Shows poor quality control since no consistency.

 

Lobster with BBQ Pork Ribs ($20.80++) Same price for all half-lobster combos.

 

Lobster: Below average. The lobster was rather bland. I believe that it may have been prepared in a simple fashion, with steaming. Perhaps others may prefer it this way. I do not. Actually, I don’t think that lobster is really worth the money as they are usually quite small, tastes like prawn and is very expensive. But still. It is usually the signature dish of restaurants and can serve as a quality indicator.

 

BBQ Pork Ribs: Poor. Slightly tough and certainly does not “melt off the bones”.

French fries: Terrible. A lot worse than McDonald fries. Basically, no skill whatsoever.

 

Mashed potato: Acceptable. Normal taste. Not good.

 

BBQ Sirloin Steak with Chicken ($16.20++)

 

Steak: Good. Medium. Juicy and tasty. Had a bit of connective tissue though. Still, pretty good for a cheap cut.

 

Chicken: Above average. Decent.

 

Baked potato: Acceptable. Normal.

 

Mashed Potato: As per above.

Value: Good. Above average food but cheap prices.

 

Service: Good. Warm and efficient service. Had language barriers with one of the service staff though.

 

Overall: Good. Good value and decent food. Unfortunately, food isn’t quite good enough for you to trek there especially from the other side of the island just for it. But for a nice comfortable dining experience, this is all right.

Went to The Vines Seafood & Steak Restaurant again for a meal with two friends.

The manager was very kind to help me reserve the seat by the window despite it was a Friday evening and usually quite crowded.

I always like the setting of the restaurant, rather friendly, casual western food charm. Waiters were very friendly and service was prompt.

We ordered set dinners. My friends had 'Lobster with Pork Chop' and 'Lobster with Fish' respectively of which the portion were big and all tasty. I had Ribeye steak on hot plate which was cooked just right (I requested medium).

The set meals came with soup which we thought were a bit bland.

We had escargot for appertisers, they were good and reasonable priced.

The house wine by glass were quite good too.

Overall experience were great, will go back again.

I come here for dinner with my honey and had mixed grill with set.

All the different meat had different taste, like they take time to marinate until nice nice.

Everything about this place all come together and make you feel damn good about your whole night there. Atmosphere like a cozy dim cafe like that.

very good to pak thaw..

The Vines Seafood & Steak Restaurant is located at Upper Thomson road, not far away from Novena Square and opposite a Church. I have long heard their name as their BBQ pork ribs are one of the best ard, their prices are also cheaper compared to the other Western Food around.

Their dishes had a little Hainanese flavour to it. One must try is the Hainanese Oxtail Stew which is only available on weekends. They have set lunch and the menu changes everday! Thus, you would not get bored eating the same food. The main courses are priced at $12 & above and just add $3.50 to enjoy a soup, dessert and drink. There are only 3 types of fish available- The dory, Salmon and Ikan Kurau(Threadfin).

They would advise you not to over-order your food and please keep that in mind. The portion is here quite huge and listen to your tummy before you proceed with your orders. Initially I have sat my eyes for the Italian Gelato (menu placed on the table) but I had to skip that as I was too full for it. Luckily, I followed his words and did not order that.

2 slices of garlic bread was served immediately when I placed my order. The garlic bread was warm and fragrant with the aroma of garlic and butter. The crust was also very crispy. It’s great for nibbling while waiting for the soup to be served.

Seafood Chowder

The soup was served together with the garlic bread. I am not a fan of soup thus I wouldn’t give any comments on this seafood chowder. The only thing I felt was the soup was just ”ok”. It wasn’t too starchy and there were some prawns in it.

Pan-fried doryfish with curry cream sauce

This was my choice of mains. There was actually 1 fillet of doryfish but they cut in into 2, serving it with carrots, white carrots and long beans. Apparently the fish was served with curry cream sauce thus I pressume the carrot stew goes well with the curry sauce.

The fish is quite fresh and tender and has a crispy outer layer. The crispy layer seemed to ‘’soak” up the curry sauce…. shiok!

The curry sauce was quite fragrant, not too spicy and rich. The vegetables were crunchy and I must admit they served a generous portion for that. They topped the dish with 2 stalks of ”dou miao”.

Sweet Potato Pie

The dessert of the day was The Sweet Potato Pie. I thought the pie was served warm but it was served chilled instead. It was not very sweet but I couldn’t taste much of the sweet potato. The base was a little too thick though.

To sum it up, The Vines Seafood & Steak Restaurant is one of the restaurant that serves the most resonable set lunch. Even their mains were not too expensive and portions are huge. You wouldn’t burn a hole in your pockets. The food here is generally good and they seemed to be full house almost everyday for lunch and dinner. The service here is friendly and efficent too. I wouldn’t mind coming back again for the other dishes on the extensive menu.

That time around cny

and valentine’s day so bo pian must bring girlfren out for dinner. Anyway bring

gf to this place and sit at table facing the main road…Thomson road. We look at

menu for valentines special and also got cny special. We choose the cny special

set cos got fish maw soup and some more will get free yu sheng if party got 4

people. For main cos we order the steak set.

 

The soup come first…quite

thin and watery but got lots of fish maw. Standard so so only.  Then wait for main course talk with gf a bit. Suddenly

got one chio bu come in with her boyfriend and sit directly in front of me,

next to the window facing the road. Fwah she got hot legs and was wearing a one

piece dress. Her dress went up her thigh as she sit cross leg in front of me…heng

ah my girlfren sitting facing me if not I sure get caught looking at the chio

bu liao.

 

Then the steak come

liao…the meat they put on top of mash potatoes and got some veggies at the

side. Must say the steak is very tender and tasty with the pepper sauce…shiok. The

meat portion is quite large. Wah good food and good view siah…kek kek… the mash

potato is quite tasty also.

 

I try to catch a few

more glimpses of the beautiful legs…then suddenly I realise novena church is just

across the road niah…then I feel a bit guilty…feel very sinbad…must confess to

priest liao

: (

 

Later, got dessert. One

or two piece of sponge cake…not bad quite light and also have coffee. The coffee

is strong and good. Pay up get ready to leave liao but not before I admire the nice

legs one more time ; )

 

Ps. Got tit (or is it

tib? Nevermind write review 1st check dictionary later) for you…can park at

revenue hse and walk down the road, around 1 buck per entry cheapest around.

We always head down to The Vines when we want to have some western food that is decent to both our taste buds and pockets. We started out with the potato wrapped fish and ranch styled wings which are pretty mediocre, but we got them for free after spending more than $40 our previous trip. The escargots and garlic bread were alright while the soup of the day, clear vegetable soup was plain blend. Fortunately, we were all rooting for our main courses which didn't disappoint us.

For those who are not fussy about their steak, the lobster/salmon/chicken with sirloin steak were pretty tasty and value for money. (Around $14-$19 without the set meal) The NZ and rib eye steaks were cooked to our liking, but my friends were undecided about the t-bone steak on our previous visit. Oh, the drinks, Orange Zest and Sentosa Beachcomber were surprisingly refreshing and affordable! (Think they were $2.20) I was also pleased with the cheesecake that was served as our set meals' dessert! Not too overwhelmingly sweet or cheesy.

My family had our X'mas lunch here.

special set menu selection were: turkey, fish and ribeye.

all came with salad, soup, ice-cream and coffee/tea @ S$17++

My family liked the turkey and fish.

My ribeye was rather tasteless.

salad and soup were nothing to mention about.

The waiting staff were friendly though a bit slow as the place was crowded.

My family and I patronise this wonderful joint at least once a month because we are enamored with its consistently delicious Western-Hainanese meals and its value-for-money prices. A disclaimer: we have only tried their Set Lunches, and only occasionally ventured into their appetisers, salads, desserts and Ala Carte menu, so in a way this is a review of The Vines's Set Lunches. Still, their Set selection is compelling enough that I feel justified in writing this review for the restaurant as a whole.

My personal favourite is the Ox Tail Stew, which can be had for just $12. The sizable portion, tender meat and generous sauce make this a dish to relish. My family also enjoys the Fish with Mango Salsa (which is refreshing and light on the palate), Pork Chops and Sirloin Steak (tasty, filling, more than affordable). The sauce can be changed from Sambal to Mushroom at no extra cost.

The soup served beforehand is good. Comes with Garlic Bread for everyone (even when they do not order sets, how kind) and it is usually crisp and satisfying.

Dessert is a little more iffy, but their homebaked pies are superb and always a pleasure, to the extent that I've ordered them for festive celebrations for my extended family.

You also get a drink- coffee/tea/soft drink- with the set.

The waiters and waitresses are polite and pleasant.

Though the place is dimly lit, and the toilet is small and a tad run-down (clean though), and their playlist consists an endless stream of nostalgic sentimentality (Boy bands! Love songs!), I'll eat here over a Botak Jones coffee shop any day.

Strongly Recommended if you want a satisfying, fuss-free meal at great prices.

We found this place one Sunday morning while lunching at the Big Prawn Mee and decided to give it a try later in the week for dinner. We were not disappointed (though agree with an earlier poster that if you sit outside you tend to be a bit forgotten). That night it was just my husband and self, he had steak and I had chicken. Mine was OK, his was good. But the best thing was the price of the drinks! Even red wine at an affordable price. We went again with our son (he's 27 and over six foot). He had ribs and gave them the thumbs up. This time I had the lamb chops, which were very meaty and tasty. Husband had the steak again, which was fine and cooked exactly as required - medium. We went a third time, this time taking along son's friend as well, your Burmese lad (but living in Europe for 5 years). He asked for his steak well done (sacrilege in my opinion) but it was perfectly cooked and he declared it much better than a steak from a far more expensive place the week earlier. And I had the fish which was delicious.

Ordered the steak and chicken grill. The beef was well cooked - medium well, slightly pink and tasty. At some establishments, medium well is as rare as the Texas Chainsaw massacre.

But the fault lay with the foul fowl: the meat was not fresh which made it taste 'funky'....and I don't mean the dance floor in a good sort of way. Even the use of the herbal marinade couldn't mask the fowl fiend.

I liked the sauteed veges that complemented the dish and the sprinkling of raw 'dou miao' on top was refreshing. Maybe the chef can try raw watercress leaves next time.

Overall, it's a place for great value and good beef but really they ought to quarantine the sick birds.