The Place At a quiet stretch of Robertson Walk, facing the Mohamed Sultan Road, Teppan Bar Q is relatively new Japanese-Spanish inspired Teppanyaki-styled food. The restaurant is part of the Ishida Kikaku Group of restaurants, which has restaurants in Kyushu (Japan) and is also the team behind the popular Torikin restaurant at Crown Centre (Bukit Timah, Singapore). Majority of the seats here are counter seats, with most having a view of the teppan, but if your preference is to avoid the grill smell after a meal here, you can request for the other tables in the restaurant – although they will only be serving you light bites and drinks at these tables.

The Food Of course, you should expect to be served teppanyaki food here, with a twist though. The Spanish influence here ask for the chef to dish out his grills in small tapas servings, and in fact a couple of mains we had here have clear Spanish influences in them. This Roasted Hakata Mentai (S$12.90) kicked off the meal here, and we felt that the bitter taste was rather overwhelming. This is probably best to down with a Japanese Beer in hand, or add in some refreshing bites to balance this dish.

Another Spanish inspired dish, the Octopus Galician Style (S$13.90) hit the right spots for us. The Octopus was well-grilled, retaining the chewy texture with a good texture, and laid on top of boiled potatoes. The combination of both turned out well, which is an interesting pairing admittedly.

This Foie Gras with Daikon (S$26.80) was definitely a highlight for us. The rich Foie Gras paired almost perfectly with the subtle Daikon, and we have never expected this light Japanese Oden dish to strike such a good balance with Foie Gras. That said, we did find the pricing for this dish a tad too steep.

As the chef is from Hakata, Kyushu, it would have been a mistake not to serve up some of Hakata’s most popular okonomiyaki-inspired dishes at Teppan Bar Q. The Tonpei Yaki with Rice Cake & Cheese (S$25.90) has cabbage, pork slices, egg and topped with homemade plum-infused soymilk mayonnaise to complete it. Simple, yet appetisingly good.

Imported from Australia, the Steak (S$58.90 for 200g) at Teppan Bar Q was diced up while being grilled. Though not the wagyu of meats, the jus of the meats were retained, and we found ourselves enjoying the meats quite a fair bit. Couple of tipping sauces by the sides, though we still like our meats without any.

A good chef doesn’t waste any part of his ingredients, as evident from the next dish. The fats from the steak are used to prepare this Garlic Fried Rice ($12.90). With the good heat at the teppan, some garlic and not forgetting the fats, this brings a good meal to a comforting end.

The dessert served during our visit was the Vanilla Ice Cream Kinako ($6.90). Nothing fanciful here, sticking to the proven mix of Japanese ingredients to perfect a simple vanilla ice cream.

Rants We find the pricing here a tad too high for the a la carte items. Go for the set meals instead, starting from S$60.

Will I return again? We like some of the dishes here, but felt the portions were a tad too small. And for the bill, this might not be the most gratifying meal. Having said that, there are highlights here which will lure us back, someday.

Make your reservation instantly at Teppan Bar Q here.

TheRantingPanda says:
Taste bud: 4/5
Hole in the pocket: 4.5/5
Ambience: 3/5
Overall Experience: 3.5/5

Teppan Bar Q
11 Unity Street, #01-21/22 Robertson Walk
Singapore 237995
Tel: +65 6235 0629

Opening Hours
Daily 6pm to 12midnight

Ranted by the Rantee