Cover Chef and butcher Dario Cecchini (Photo: Courtesy of Mondrian Singapore Duxton)
Chef and butcher Dario Cecchini (Photo: Courtesy of Mondrian Singapore Duxton)
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Named the “world’s greatest butcher” by the New York Times, Cecchini’s Singapore outpost delivers authentic Italian food with juicy cuts of steak
The first time Dario Cecchini came to Singapore, he fell in love with chicken rice. A master butcher hailing from Panzano in Tuscany’s Chianti region, the philosophy of chicken rice—using every bit of the chicken—resonated with Cecchini’s own ethos of “ethical” butchery and not letting anything go to waste. “You must guarantee the animal a good life and a dignified death, and use every part of the animal well,” Cecchini declares. “When you eat meat you must be respectful, reverential.”
It is probably this experience that inspired Cecchini to open his newest restaurant Bottega di Carna, now one of the newly-opened Mondrian Singapore Duxton’s destination culinary spots. Star of Netflix’s Chef’s Table, Cecchini, the eighth generation of master butchers, has cooked for luminaries such as Elton John, Anthony Bourdain and even King Charles III. The heart of Cecchini’s cooking, however, will always belong to Panzano, and that is what you’ll get at Bottega di Carna—a delightful array of hearty, handmade pasta, charcuterie, fish, and both classic and unusual cuts of meat that pays homage to Cecchini's upbringing in central Italy.
The atmosphere at Bottega di Carna is convivial and bright, with the energy of the open kitchen seeping into the main dining room and bright sunlight streaming in through glass ceiling windows, reminiscent of sparkling family lunches on Sundays. The bar area, however, is decidedly darker and sexier, with elegant furnishing and refined cocktails like its signature negronis and aperitivo.
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Above Interiors at Bottega di Carna
Interiors at Bottega di Carna
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The food is a love letter to meat, where executive chef Alastair Clayton and chef de cuisine Kenny Huang present both classic and unusual cuts of meat. A variant of steak, for instance, can come as Cecchini’s specialty L’Etusco cut for the bistecca alla Fiorentina, located above the shoulder of the cow. The result is just as delicious—if not more—than classic cuts like the striploin, served here bone-in and made of American 28-day dry-aged beef, or the Australian Black Angus Stockyard ribeye. Each cut is dry-rubbed here with Cecchini’s signature salt, Profumo del Chianti, perfumed by sun-dried herbs.
Other delights like Cecchini’s signature steak tartare, seasoned with smoked paprika, olive oil, and lemon for a bright and fresh offering, best eaten with toasted sourdough. Elsewhere, a warm beef salad features boiled beef knee with Tenerumi vegetables and is served in a beef consommé. You would think that the beef would lose its flavour from boiling, but the meat falls apart at the suggestion of a fork and maintains the richness of its fat. And far from only being a carnivore’s paradise, the food at Bottega di Carna is well-balanced with vegetables. Cold zucchini noodles, for instance, are presented with basil pesto as a refreshing appetiser, while roasted cauliflower counts as one of the mains with spiced honey, almond, thyme and garlic.
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Above Bistecca alla Fiorentina at Bottega di Carna
Above Whole-roasted Bronzino at Bottega di Carna
Bistecca alla Fiorentina at Bottega di Carna
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The restaurant is an expression of Cecchini’s poetic culinary ethos, which forges the path for classic Italian cuisine while blazing a trail with its innovative cuisine. A faithful student of Dante, he quotes a passage in his seminal Divine Comedy where an artisan is asked why he has the energy and desire for knowledge. “We are like those who move forward through the dark by instinct,” Cecchini approximates the artisan’s response. “We can’t see the path we should take, but on our shoulders, we carry a light that shows those who follow us a path they can follow.”
But really, the playful vibrance of Bottega di Carna is summarised in an aphorism of Cecchini’s, appropriated from Shakespeare and declared repeatedly on the event of its opening: “To beef or not to beef?”
About
Ethan is a dining writer with Tatler Singapore. Trained in literary arts and filmmaking, their work has previously been published in Esquire Singapore, Men's Folio, and with the Asian Film Archive and the Singapore International and Film Festival, across a wide range of interests from gastronomy to fashion and arts criticism.
Work
Ethan writes about exciting news in the F&B industry, specialising in fine dining, exclusive spirits launches, and new restaurants. They are always looking for riveting voices to bring something fresh to an already-dynamic industry.
Follow them on Instagram at @faustiangourmand.
