The Place Located at the top of Ion Orchard on level 55, Fire restaurant at 1-Atico only opened last month and takes over the space of the now-defunct Salt Grill & Sky Bar. The new Argentinian restaurant in Orchard Road is part of 1-Group, which also manages restaurants such as Alkaff Mansion, The Summerhouse and The Garage.

The interior of Fire at 1-Atico is gorgeous. High ceiling with ample natural light, the highlight is definitely the panoramic city view as well. There is a dining section once you enter the restaurant, as well as a mezzanine level with ample of tables by the window for the best dining view.

1-Atico is a multi-concept space, which houses Fire, Flnt (a Japanese-Peruvian nikkei gastrobar concept) and Atico Lounge.

The Food This contemporary Argentinian restaurant specialises in a variety of wood-fired cooking which features authentic Argentinian dishes. I visited Fire & 1-Atico during lunch, and there is a 3-Course Set Lunch priced at S$48++ per person.

Alternatively, there is also a concise ala carte menu for lunch. For a start, I had the Wood-fired Sourdough brushed with Wagyu Fat (S$10). The highlight is not the sourdough for me, but the accompanying smoked sea urchin butter.

The portion of the butter is generous and it spots a good balance of the sea urchin flavour. This was a day to forget about calories count. Though I may not encourage you to put you order in for this sourdough, more on the Rants section below.

Another starter I had was the Provoleta ‘Chapa’ (S$24), where the Provolene cheese is served on a cast iron skillet. Served with slices of fugazatta, spread the melted cheese on it and have it like a pizza!

This portion is good to share even for four persons, as it can be cloying for two.

The Rantee went for the 3-course lunch set and the starter was the Cured Ocean Trout with avocado, sour cream, like and coriander.

For mains, I went for the ‘Devesa’ Argentinian Grain-Fed Thick Skirt 250g (S$48). Served with red chimichurri, this is the only steak dish on the lunch option. Cooked to medium-rare, the steak is decent though not as flavourful as I expected it to be. That said, the chimichurri sauce elevates the taste of the skirt slightly.

From the set lunch, he had the Sustainable Sea Bass with caponata, salsa and crispy baby potatoes. A relatively good portion mains to have, the sea bass spots a crispy skin, fresh flavours and overall nice accompanying sides.

Dessert from the set lunch was the Dulce De Leche, a combination of chocolate and olive oil mousse and blueberries.

Rants One perplexing observation was the fact that I noticed other tables were served a bread basket, except ours. I asked the staff about it, and the staff mentioned that it is only available for tables which didn’t order the sourdough bread. It seems that diners who ordered the sourdough bread get shortchanged, no? Unfortunately this practice is rather contradictory, as diners whom paid for the sourdough are not given the complimentary bread basket and butter.

Treat all diners fairly, or the very least is to mention that to the diners on what they will be missing out before they order the sourdough bread. I highly doubt anyone would order the sourdough bread if made aware. I guess I paid $10 for the sea urchin butter, and the sourdough left a sour taste in the mouth. Eww.

Will I Return Again? Awesome view, though the food fell short of my expectations with the Argentinian fare somewhat missing. I think Fire has a lot of potential, especially as its positioning as an Argentinian restaurant and the fantastic ambience of the restaurant. Hopefully, the dinner menu is able to showcase more of the Argentinian character in the dishes.

Make your reservations instantly at Fire @ 1-Atico here.

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

Fire
2 Orchard Turn
#55-01 Ion Orchard
Singapore 238801
Tel: +65 8028 1489

Opening Hours
Monday to Sunday: 12pm to 10:30pm

Ranted by The Ranter