The Place Located at the lobby level of Novotel Clarke Quay, The Square is the only restaurant managed in-house by the hotel and possibly the only buffet restaurant in the Clarke Quay vicinity. With a comfortable seating capacity of 200 diners, this is truly quite the hidden gem above the crowded party-goers haven at Clarke Quay.

Don’t expect the endless stream of food for the buffet line here, as the spread is concise yet it delivers all the obligatory selections a buffet should offer. That said, we confess that we were quite surprised by the fusion items offered here as part of the Fusion Flavours Dinner Buffet promotion during our visit, a special theme which will last till 30th Jun.

The Food Quite frankly, we have quite low expectations of the buffet here, since we have not hear any raving reviews of The Square prior to our visit; but we were surprised. The Fusion Flavours themed buffet focuses on delivering Asian flavours through western concepts, at $58++ per adult and $29++ per child. Two stations here will seek to bring this to diners here – both the Laksa Bar and the Western Cuisines.

First up, the Laksa Bar. Of course, the requisite Original Laksa can be ordered at the live station, but your focus shouldn’t be this. We recommend you these three items – Laksa Risotto, Chilli Crab Pasta and the Nasi Lemak Risotto with Mix Berry Sambal. Both the risotto will let you enjoy our familiar local delights in a very unconventional way, and yes, it worked. For the folks whom cannot take spice that well, the sambal here is prepared by mixing strawberry into the usual sambal concoction, giving it some sweet notes while enjoying this with the nasi lemak risotto.

At another station, the Western Cuisines, you will get to enjoy other fusion mains including Curry Lasagne, Rendang Beef Pie, Chicken Rice Arancini and our favourite Laksa Burger! On the arancini, you will find it stuffed with chicken rice, giving this Italian stuffed rice balls a very comforting taste. I implore you to give this a try, and have it warm, and you might find yourself going back to the buffet line for a second serving again.

As for the Laksa Burger, the patty is made with prawn and fish paste with laksa paste, and we are giving this high marks for turning such an authentic local dish into an American-styled burger! The laksa tones are very well managed here too.

Of course, with the exceptions of these 2 stations, The Square has other selections available too. From the usual seafood choices, to the salad counter and other live stations including Roast Beef.

Surprises await you when you conclude the meal at the desserts counter, with unconventional dessert selections such as the Black Pepper with Chocolate Mousse, Wasabi Butter Cake, Chendol Raspberry Cake and the Risotto Truffle Cheesecake. Not all of these creative bites hit the right notes for me, but fusion they are no doubt. I will recommend you to go for the Black Pepper with Chocolate Mousse cake, which we were all pleasantly surprised by how well the pepper paired off with the sweets.

Rants You may find the spread here relatively limited, considering it being a buffet. Giving this place some distinctive highlights might well get the buffet goers returning more often.

Will I Return Again? This will not be the buffet with the best offerings, but we were impressed with the fusion selections served during the Fusion Flavours Dinner buffet. If you are looking for some culinary twists to the usuals with an affordable price point, then The Square might just be what you are looking for.

Make your reservation instantly at The Square Restaurant here.

For all dining concepts at Novotel Singapore Clarke Quay, read here.

TheRantingPanda says:
Taste bud: 3/5
Hole in the pocket: 3/5
Ambience: 2.5/5
Overall Experience: 3/5

The Square Restaurant
Novotel Clarke Quay
177A River Valley Road
Singapore 179031
Tel: +65 6433 8790

Opening Hours
Daily Dinner Buffet 6pm to 10pm

Ranted by The Rantee