Very cosy and relaxing ambience. Most recommended to go at night, the warm and dim light creates a very gentle and artistic feeling. I tried the Moroccan dish(forgot the name), quite nice with thick n rich flavored saucing. Dessert is sticky pudding, good but not so impressive, a bit too sweet as i remember.

Must try coffee!

They serve brunch till 3pm on weekends. Really delicious and definitely recommended. Try the one at pan pac seviced suites--- no queue.

Happy Hour on Sun to Thurs, 5pm to 8pm, $7 onwards.

Honestly I never like trying new things, and always go back to the same old place where I know the food will never go wrong. Well unless friends/events/contest invites/takes me to new places, then that's a different story.

I was one of the few lucky ones who got invited down to Oriole Cafe & Bar, all thanks to OpenRice Singapore.

Upon arriving late, I was fortunate to have a few bites on their starters, but I'm sure the rest of the people who were there would have already wrote about how good it was.

I am never really good with reviews, but this one was something I felt I had to write about, because it surpass my expectations.

Making something taste good is not very simple as eating it, neither is making something taste rather unique at the same time leaves you wanting more. Steaks, there are a dime a dozen western food outlets in Singapore, and almost all of the ones I'm tried taste roughly similar, but after my visit to Oriole Café & Bar, and my oh my did I chewed on one of the most mouth-watering tenderloin steak ever.

I ordered a Medium well done Parisian steak, served with asparagus and melted butter. After my first bite, I had to have more. The only time I tasted steak this good was when I was at Old Airport road, but that was base mainly on their sauce, while this one was just melted butter and steak.

Enjoyed every bite of it. Thank you OpenRice and Oriole Café & Bar for that wondering dining experience.

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When i first stepped in to the restaurant, the staff is very friendly and bring us to our table.
The location is good but the space is limited. Better make reservation before going unless you do not mind to sit at their outdoor seats.
Although i do not really like the garlic smell, i will still recommend the Hand-cut Thick Fries with garlic sauces. Spicy calamari is indeed hot and spicy, good choice for appertiser.
Ordered the cod fish pie as the main course. The fish is very fresh and without any fishy smell. Pie is so crispy and not too thick.
Sticky pudding is a bit too sweet. For those who do not like sweet food, this dessert is not recommended.

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Good location. Located beside the somerset and 313. Good place for group gathering and chill out. There's indoor and outdoor tables.
As we went there in a group of 10 pax. We ordered few appertisers to share. i recommend the spicy calamari and handcut thick fries.
Capellini Crabmeat is my choice for main course. The portion is quite big and the crabmeat is fresh.
To make the meal complete, dessert is a must. I will recommend the chocolate fudge cake.



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Ever since 313 @ Somerset was open, Oriole is more prominent to shoppers as it is located along the stretch of many other dining restaurants at level 1. It didn’t seem to me that Oriole is a dining place but rather just a place for chillout and some beer or wine after work because of its cozy ambience and dim lights. It is definitely good for social gatherings but not for romantic moments as the place is too noisy

I tried their starters “hand-cut thick fries & aioli – garlic, rosemary, parmesan” where the thick fries (wedges) are pre-marinated in their garlic ingredients before putting it to deep fry. Very nice combi to go with their garlic sauce. Even if you are not a fan of garlic, I bet you will still love it.

Their “spicy calamari – battered squid rings, pickled chili peppers” is delicious. Although it looks very red-hot-spicy, the spiciness is just 3 out of 5 though (5 being super spicy). The spicy garnish is what makes the calamari different from others. Go with a slip of white wine after a few bites, it brings out the ultimate taste of this dish.

“St. louis pork ribs – balinese marinade, sambal matah, tossed greens” is the main that I went for. The portion is just right for Asian, not like some cafes where they serve very huge portion and you probably can’t finish it. Barbecued on the outside, taste a bit of “chao da”, I wonder if it is done on purpose, but I like it still. The meat on the inside is tender, it taste very juicy as a whole with the oriental sauce.

Please don’t be shy to use your fingers when eating this. That’s not all! There is a side garnish that comes with it. It tasted like some Thai sauce. Well, the style looks like a mismatch (western + eastern + thai) but when you put them together, you just want to have more

Generally the dishes have very rich and tasty sauce, so you don’t actually have to ask for chili or tomato sauce to go with your food. Price is pretty steep though but quality of food makes it value for money.

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Oriole Cafe is a rather nice and cozy place to go for a quiet cup of coffee. They're supposed to have one of the best baristas in town as well but I couldn't confirm that since I don't drink coffee.

I tried the beef cheek tagliatelle, and I think it's one of the best dishes on their menu. Soft and tender braised beef cheeks together with red wine reduction sauce make a savoury pasta dish that makes me want more!

However I cannot say the same for their fish & chips, which was too chewy on the crust and not very tasty. 3 portions is value for money but not when you don't really want to eat more of it.

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Admittedly, I wasn’t particularly taken with Oriole on my first visit and brushed it off the moment I stepped out of the place. Months later, a few friends raved so much about Oriole that when an invitation happened to come along, I decided to go back again despite my negative impression of Oriole.

This time round, I had the opportunity to meet Keith, the owner and also the top barista in Singapore. Seriously, this guy really knows his stuff well. And so passionate about coffee that he almost talked our ears off haha. He’s the coffee guru, no doubt in my mind about that.

While I’m guessing hardcore coffee lovers will swear by Piccolo Latte ($5.50++, pic above), the coffee amateur in me prefers the Chilli Chocolate Mocha ($6++) cuz of the interesting mixture of flavours, especially the lingering spicy aftertaste.

Honestly though, I still don’t care much for the savoury food here. Tried the hand-cut thick fries & aioli ($8++), spicy calamari with pickled chilli pepper ($13++), portobello mushroom salad ($12++), salmon tagliatelle ($19++), seabass papillote with Sicilian blood orange ($28++) and none of them jumped out at me in particular. Just very average simple bistro fare. Or comfort food, if you wish.

Covered with a golden puff pastry, the cod fish pie ($28++) is decent enough and not too bad with a creamy mushroom ragout. It’s HUGE so unless you really want your calories to shoot through the roof, better get it to share =)

Initially, I thought the honey crumble affogato ($7.50++) was just so-so but halfway through, the irresistible combination of vanilla ice cream, espresso and honeycomb crunch got me hooked! Strong coffee in desserts always always works for me.

I’m really glad I accepted the invitation cuz my impression of Oriole has definitely changed for the better. Don’t get me wrong, I still won’t come here for a proper lunch/dinner cuz the food just doesn’t entice enough. But for coffee and desserts, Oriole scores.

If interested, you are welcome to drop by www.myfoodsirens.wordpress.com for more reviews/photos =)

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