The Place If you are a regular Orchard Road shopper, you would have noticed that there is a new dining space located right beside Robinsons The Heeren, which took over the former TGIF. Managed by the Deliciae Hospitality Management (DHM) and coined as “The Hub” for now, this few weeks’ old duplex is a three-in-one concepts under one roof, literally –  L’Entrecôte The Steak & Fries Bistro, Sabio Tapas Bar and the return of &Made Burger Bistro. The location is right smack in Orchard Road, and it is quite an ideal spot to dine to people watch or be seen.

The concept and layout is pretty open one level one, where you first stepped into the space of &Made Burger Bistro, followed by a few steps up into Sabio Tapas Bar. Take the flight of steps at the end and it will bring you to L’Entrecôte The Steak & Fries Bistro, a gorgeous space at level two with a view of one of the busiest intersections of Orchard Road, a nice alfresco dining setting and literally a bird’s eye view where you can probably spot the countless chirping birds during sunset hours. There is also a direct link from here to Angela May Food Chapters, which is also under the DHM group.

How does this duplex dining concept works? You can choose to sit anywhere in this Duplex, with the exception of the space at Angela May Food Chapters, and order food from any of the other three dining concepts. I thought that this is a very good idea, especially if you have a group of indecisive and fussy friends who can’t decide what cuisine they feel like having, and this multi-dining concept sounds like a perfect compromise.

The Food We tried some of the dishes from the various concepts, starting with the some Spanish tapas from Sabio Tapas Bar. The Croquetas de Jamon (S$15) and Pan Con Tomate (S$10) were great combinations from both the hot and cold tapas selections respectively.

For mains, we had the El Pulpo (S$24), which is grilled octopus leg served with ‘Viola’ mash potato and paprika. The chef uses Spanish Josper charcoal oven, which gave the octopus a very tender texture and not being overly chewy.

One of my favourite dishes for the night is the Le Medula (S$19),  grilled bone marrow served with toasted baguette and seasoned butter. The soft bone marrow had a nice aromatic flavour, and it was a good spread for the toasted baguette, which was surprisingly very good as a complimentary side to the bone marrow.

Moving on to &Made Burger Bistro, we tried one of the classic burger options, the N.Y Bacon Burger (S$24), a traditional dry aged beef patty with smoked bacon, tomato, garlic mayonnaise, yellow mustard, lettuce, pickled cucumber and cheddar. The serving is quite huge, which also comes with fries. Alas, I found the beef patty to be too dry.

Comparatively, I much preferred the Angela May Burger (S$22), one of the newest health conscious burger specially made for &Made. This Asian inspired burger has elements of laksa yogurt sauce and red curry prawn, where the burger itself is made from steamed flax seed mantou buns. The fish patty within tasted like our local “otah”, and it went well with the hints of laksa yogurt sauce, lending this burger its spicy notes. The Angela May Burger is also served with generous kale salad

Finally, from the menu of L’Entrecôte The Steak & Fries Bistro, we definitely had to try the Trimmed Entrecôte Steak (S$34.90). The taste of this steak is still the same good old flavour I remembered from my dining experience at its first outlet at Duxton Road from many years ago, especially the generous legendary sauce which the succulent steak is soaked in. Even the fries were very addictive, and there is no better way to enjoy it other than soaking it in the legendary sauce as well.

If you are feeling generous, there is also the option of the Tajima Wagyu Ribeye MS8 ($59.90), also served with fries and salad. From its name, this plate of steak is supposed to be better in terms of the marbling of the beef and flavour, though the differences in taste were relatively marginal and muted for me. Go for the Trimmed Entrecôte Steak for a better value instead.

For desserts, we only had space for one item and went for the Homemade Lemon Tart ($12) from L’Entrecôte, a tangy version of this classic dessert which wasn’t too sweet for me.

Rants My greatest gripe for this duplex concept is the “alfresco dining”, which can be challenging on a hot evening or for the heat intolerant folks.

Will I Return Again? It will be perfect if this duplex concept is a glass house, where you get the view of Orchard Road and the air-conditioning at the same time. The multi-dining concept is a good on many grounds, provided you can keep your cool well.

This was an invited tasting, though all opinions expressed are our own.

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

The Hub
260 Orchard Road
Robinsons The Heeren
Singapore 238855
Tel: +65 6681 7440

Opening Hours
Sunday to Thursday: 12pm to 12 midnight
Friday and Saturday: 12pm to 1am

Ranted by The Ranter