Alkaff Mansion Ristorante

After years of neglect, the historic Alkaff Mansion - formerly operating as a rijsttafel restaurant - has been beautifully restored and reinvented by the LHN property developer group. Today, Alkaff Mansion Ristorante comprises an elegant 200-seater Italian dining room as well as alfresco café with 48 outdoor seats on the terrace. 

The alfresco café serves comfort fare for Telok Blagah Park visitors such as kaya toast and waffles for breakfast, alongside pastas, paninis, pizzas and antipasti throughout the day.

However, to truly savour Executive Chef Gabriele Piegaia's finesse in Italian cuisine, you should snag a seat in the main dining room. The Tuscan native, who also oversees the management of the restaurant as General Manager, was formerly Group Executive Chef at Senso, and it shows in his signature dish, the homemade pappardelle with wild boar ragout. The tender ragout, which has been marinated for a week in red wine, has a rich but not gamey flavour, and goes perfectly with a glass of Chianti. Customers have also been raving about the baby spinach and toasted pine nut salad tossed with a sweet mellow honey mustard sauce - balanced and fresh, this is a light, simple starter. The crispy duck foie gras with a polenta crust, on the other hand, is for indulging, and the version here has tart overtones from accompanying beer and cherry relish.

Don't forget to peruse the weekly specials as well, as Piegaia has some superb creative highlights up his sleeve. A starter of smoked sturgeon carpaccio with diced avocado and citrus fruit was superbly refreshing, while tender, sweet beef shortribs was marbled with flavourful fat.

For dessert, choose from the signature tiramisu with mascarpone and Marsala wine, or like us, opt for the lesser known homemade caramelised almond semifreddo served with a lively, and not too cloying coffee sauce. Dried fruit peel added a lively kick.

Alkaff Mansion Ristorante is located at 10 Telok Blangah Green, 6510 3068.