Described as an escape to Italy, La Scala Ristorante is a seemingly upmarket yet affordable Italian eatery in the heart of the city located in The Capitol Kempinski Hotel’s Arcade in upscale Capitol Piazza shopping centre. Casual yet stylishly decorated, the restaurant is great for business lunches or gatherings with family and friends and on weekdays their set lunch menu is a must-try.
They have options for two and three course set lunches as well as an a-la-carte menu with a good offering of starters, soups, pastas, pizzas and desserts if you prefer a wider selection. The set lunch is well worth going for though as it’s priced at a very modest $17++ for two courses and $22++ for three. The two course set lunch allows you to choose either a starter and main or a main and dessert but for just over $5 more you might as well indulge in one of their desserts. The appetiser selection currently on offer includes soup, salads and grilled aubergine which is what I decided to go for. The dish, namely Parmigiana Di Melanzane, is a delicious pan-fried aubergine marinated in tomato sauce, basil and parmesan cheese. The melt-in-the-mouth aubergine was beautifully seasoned and the tomato sauce had a rich depth of flavour. A great start to the meal and actually pretty filling for a starter.
For the main course, you can choose between a lasagna, pan-fried seabass, pasta with smoked salmon in a vodka, cream and tomato sauce or braised lamb shank with mashed potato. I had my heart set on the lamb but unfortunately that day they had no lamb available and would instead substitute the lamb with sausage so I decided to go for the Branzino Mediteranneo which is the pan-fried seabass with garlic, tomato and basil. The seabass was a decent sized portion which was cooked nicely with crispy skin. Together with some arborio rice and vegetables, it was a good dish however the tomato sauce lacked the depth of flavour that would have elevated this dish to a higher level. It was however a pleasant enough dish.
I ended the meal with a Tiramisu, you could either choose that or a panna cotta with fresh berries. Although the panna cotta sounded tempting, my coffee addiction kicked in and I succumbed to the Tiramisu. It was definitely a wise choice. Presented in a glass coffee cup, it was generously infused with espresso and liquor that made for a decadent and very moreish dessert. It was incredibly light so it didn’t leave me completely stuffed at the end of the meal. A perfect ending to a fantastic lunch!
Just a word of advice, don’t bother filling yourself up with the complimentary bread at your table as it’s really hard and not very nice.
Service at the restaurant was polite although a little slow at the start when they were just opening however they acknowledged this and were apologetic. All-in-all definitely a place I would return to, to try out more of their dishes!
La Scala Ristorante
Address: Arcade @ The Capitol Kempinski, 13 Stamford Road, Singapore 178906
Tel: 6715 6877
Opening Hours: Daily: 11.30am – 2.30pm, 6pm – 10pm
Hope you’ve enjoyed my review of La Scala Ristorante, please feel free to leave a comment below with your own review of the restaurant or if you have any questions!
